Library of Heaven's Path

by Little Merger

Traversing into another world, Zhang Xuan finds himself becoming an honorable teacher. Along with his transcension, a mysterious library appears in his mind. As long as it is something he has seen, regardless of whether it is a human or an object, a book on its weaknesses will be automatically compiled in the library. Thus, he becomes formidable. “Emperor Zhuoyang, why do you detes

40. 1249

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Chapter 1249: I Shall Assess Him Personally!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The opponents were attempting to heap pressure on him, aiming to launch the decisive blow when he finally exposed an opening in his defenses. Such a move might have worked against Zhang Jiuxiao, but against him? A piece of cake!

Putting aside the fact that his Soul Depth had already achieved a level equivalent to 8-star high-tier master teachers, even if it was beneath the other party's, there was no way such simple tricks would work on him.

Hong long!

That single step forward may appear to be nothing much, but to those young men, they felt as if a towering mountain was crushing down on them, placing them in a fluster.

Following which, the pressure that they had exerted on Zhang Xuan was immediately returned to them, causing their minds to spin wildly.

"Terpsichorean art?" Zhao Xingmo's eyebrows shot up.

Even though Zhang Xuan's hands remained firmly behind his back, Zhao Xingmo had sensed a soul offense belonging to that of a terpsichore for a split instant. Not only did it wipe away the pressure from the wills of the two young men cleanly, it even struck terror into their hearts.

To be able to see through the psychological attack and even return the favor in an instant, causing the two listening-in students of the Sanctum of Sages to suffer a setback... that fellow was not bad.

"Begin," Zhao Xingmo declared impassively.

Boom!

To an outsider, it would not seem as if there was anything peculiar to his voice. However, to the two young men, it sounded just like a bolt of lightning, jolting them awake from their daze.

"Damn it!" Realizing that they had fallen from Zhang Xuan's counterattack, their faces reddened in fury as their eyes narrowed menacingly.

They had come here to teach the young man a lesson, but before they could accomplish anything, they had ended up falling for the young man's counterattack and lost themselves. The intense frustration they felt from this failure left them with a blazing inferno raging inside their bodies.

Huala!

Driving their zhenqi furiously, they sealed the space around Zhang Xuan. After which, the two of them dashed forward simultaneously, and two palms struck down on Zhang Xuan simultaneously, one from the front and one from the back.

Their assault was perfectly coordinated with one another, such that even if their opponent succeeded in avoiding one of the attacks, they would never be able to avoid the other. Even a Leaving Aperture realm primary stage expert would have found it hard to escape from their collaborative offense.

However, it was a pity that even though Zhang Xuan was no Leaving Aperture realm expert, he wielded fighting prowess comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage cultivator, far beyond the likes of them.

A glint flashed across his eyes as he began moving his lips.

"It seems like both of you are attacking the wrong target..."

His words carried a unique melody reminiscent of the whisperings of a lover, causing the faces of the duo to redden upon hearing it.

In an instant, the palms that were heading for Zhang Xuan's body abruptly changed their trajectory to strike the other instead.

Peng! Peng!

Two deep moans sounded, and the two young men were sent flying.

They had intended to assault Zhang Xuan together, but somehow... it turned into a battle between themselves instead!

"Demonic tune?" Zhao Xingmo was startled for a moment before his eyebrows shot up. "Is he trying to warn me?"

Previously, when the two listening-in students had fallen for Zhang Xuan's terpsichorean art, he used his voice to jolt them back from their trance. While he had done it very discreetly, it seemed like the other party had still noticed it, and he was using the same method to turn them against one another.

The provocation behind his intention was clear.

Demonic tunes? I know some, too!

It was a clear warning toward him against interfering with the duel.

"What an interesting fellow!"

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This realization did not anger Zhao Xingmo. Instead, it only served to deepen his interest in Zhang Xuan.

Those who were qualified to enroll into the Sanctum of Sages were either the offspring of the Sage Clans or unparalleled geniuses of the Master Teacher Continent. In either case, they were destined to become the leaders of humanity, taking charge of a region to guard mankind from other threats. If they dared not speak up in the face of injustice, it would really be doubtful if they had the necessary qualities to become one of the powerhouses of the Master Teacher Continent.

In a sense, Zhao Xingmo's previous action was an intentional attempt to goad a response from Zhang Xuan. He wanted to see how the young man who had been so highly complimented by Pavilion Master Wu would react.

But who would have thought that the young man would actually return the favor straight to him, not allowing anyone to wrong him at all?

With such a mentality, if he could set his mind to furthering the prosperity of mankind, he would surely become a valuable asset to the world.

"However, those who are able to become the listening-in students of the Sanctum of Sages don't make easy opponents either. Given that he has already revealed his cards as a terpsichore and demonic tunist, it'll be hard for him to survive the remaining two blows," Zhao Xingmo analyzed with a smile.

Just to become a listening-in student of the Sanctum of Sages, one would still have to clear several rigorous examinations. If Zhang Xuan thought that he would be able to defeat those two young men just by relying on his prowess in demonic tunes and terpsichorean arts, he would really be looking down on his opponents.

As expected, even while they were retreating, they had already shaken themselves out from their trance, and killing intent flickered within their eyes.

They had gone there to invigilate the candidates, not to be toyed around with!

Yet, they had actually been humiliated time and time again by a mere fellow from the remote countryside. This had left them feeling deeply embarrassed.

"Fortify your soul—he specializes in soul attacks!" bellowed the young man on the left.

At the same time, he thrust his palm slightly behind him and successfully halted his retreating figure. Following which, he clenched his fists together, and the space before him froze.

Despite being only at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, he was actually able to execute Spatial Seal, a technique that only Leaving Aperture realm cultivators should have been able to wield!

"Rest assured!"

The young man on the right had also noticed this much by now, and he furiously drove his zhenqi and clenched his fist.

The Spatial Seals cast by the two of them immediately compounded upon one another, causing the entire area to feel like an invisible marshland. Any attempt to move was met with overwhelming resistance, making it an arduous task to even take a single step forward or backward.

"Impressive." Zhang Xuan nodded slightly in approval.

Under normal circumstances, if two cultivators were to attempt to overlap their Spatial Seals, it was likely that their Spatial Seals would conflict with one another and cause destructive interference instead of constructive interference. As a result, the Spatial Seal would be weakened instead of fortified.

It was for this reason that Leaving Aperture realm experts did not fare that well in group fights.

But astoundingly, the two young men were actually able to harmonize their Spatial Seals together with one another perfectly. This was a sight to behold, even for Zhang Xuan.

As expected of students from the Sanctum of Sages, their grasp over their techniques was indeed far superior to ordinary cultivators!

While there was no doubt that the compounded Spatial Seals was powerful, and no ordinary Primordial Spirit realm cultivator would ever be able to escape from it, to Zhang Xuan, breaking out of the compounded Spatial Seals was really a walk in the park. He took two steps forward and tapped on the area in front of him.

Si la!

As if an invisible balloon had been popped, air currents began leaking out furiously into the surroundings.

Peng! Peng!

The two young men had not thought that Zhang Xuan would be able to overcome their Spatial Seals so easily, and they suffered an energy backlash as a result of it. The both of them simultaneously took two steps back as their faces turned ghastly pale.

"It has been two moves... It should be about time for me to make a move now!" Zhang Xuan said with a smile.

As long as he could withstand three moves from them, it would be considered his victory. He had allowed the two young men to attack him as they pleased for the previous two moves, so the least he could do was return the favor for the last move!

"Come!"

The eyebrows of the duo shot up. They swiftly got into a unique formation, and an indomitable aura began drifting between them. In their current form, even a Leaving Aperture realm intermediate stage expert would have to fall back temporarily against them.

At this point, they had also realized that the young man before them was no ordinary cultivator, and they dared not let their guards down anymore.

Despite facing such an overwhelming aura, Zhang Xuan calmly clasped his fist and said, "Allow me to apologize in advance for any injuries that you might sustain later on."

"Injuries?"

"You are courting death!"

The two young men nearly exploded on the spot! The other party had not even made his move, but he was already apologizing to them. He was clearly looking down on them!

Why don't you brag after you have achieved victory?

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Fueled by their rage, all their strength poured out unreservedly, whipping up deadly air currents that threatened to tear the entire hall down.

A shockwave rippled into the surroundings, leaving a searing sensation on the skin of those standing in the area.

"They are really strong..." Zhang Jiuxiao's face paled.

In this moment, he finally realized why Zhao Xingmo was so confident that they would not be able to withstand three moves from the two young men. Putting everything else aside, just the sheer might of this move would be able to tear apart every single secret art he had learned in the past!

Worried for Zhang Xuan, he quickly turned his gaze over, only to see the latter calmly standing his ground, not bothering to dodge at all. Without using any battle techniques or complicated maneuvers, he simply raised his hand and struck at them as an ordinary human would strike down a fly.

"Let's end this."

Padah! Padah!

As these leisurely-sounded words echoed in the air, the furious outburst of zhenqi around the two young men abruptly vanished, as if it had never appeared before at all. In the next moment, the two men were knocked flying as if ping pong balls.

Hu!

They were smacked right into the wall, and buckets of blood spewed from their mouths.

Despite gathering all their might together, those two listening-in students of the Sanctum of Sages could not even withstand a single slap from Zhang Xuan!

After knocking the duo flying, Zhang Xuan calmly raised his gaze to look at Zhao Xingmo. The perfect nonchalance on his face made it seem as if he had only done something insignificant, unworthy of mention.

"Does this mean that I have passed?"

Zhao Xingmo was also startled for a moment before nodding slowly. "You have overcome their collaboration with a single strike, and it's clear that you haven't even used your full strength. You have passed!"

At the same time, Zhao Xingmo could not help but feel a little perplexed.

In the first two moves, it was apparent that Zhang Xuan had gone easy on them. Or else, given that the two young men had their guards down, he would have been able to knock them out easily given his proficiency in terpsichorean arts and demonic arts. Since that was the case... why did he suddenly go overboard in the last move?

It might have seemed like a trivial detail, but Zhao Xingmo felt like there might have been more to it.

Could it have been that even Zhang Xuan was pressured before the combined might of the duo, so he did not want to take any risks?

Zhang Xuan turned around and said, "Thank you! Jiuxiao, it's your turn. You should be able to survive three moves from them."

"My turn? Now?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback.

The two young men were currently still pressed into the wall, severely wounded. Surely it would not be good for him to attack them at that moment.

"Un. There are two of them, and there are two of us here. Thus, even though I have just fought with them, surely it will be fair for you to face them right after," Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

"Ah, I see! Alright!" Hearing those words, Zhang Jiuxiao immediately understood Zhang Xuan intentions.

The latter was trying to help him clear the Selection of Sages! He had intentionally executed a heavy blow for the final move so as to injure them and grant him an advantage in the battle!

This way, he would stand a chance at surviving three moves from them.

It might have been a little despicable, but considering that a slot for the Sanctum of Sages was at stake, he swiftly vanquished all of the hesitation in his mind and stepped forward. Clasping his fist at the duo pressed against the wall, he said, "I'll be in your care."

"You two... Damn it!"

Hearing the conversation between the two and seeing that Zhang Jiuxiao shamelessly stepped forward to challenge them in their injured state, the two young men felt so indignant that they could have exploded on the spot.

How can there be such shameless people in the world?

We are already injured to this state, and even standing up would be difficult for us. How can we possibly fight you like that?

"Zhao shi has said that as long as we can withstand three moves from the two of you, he will consider adding another slot to our Qingyuan Empire. If the two of you think that you aren't up to the fight, I suggest that you surrender," Zhang Xuan said.

"You want us to surrender and let you win so easily? Dream on!"

"Even if we have to put our lives on the line, we will make sure that you don't survive three moves from us!"

Gritting their teeth, the two young men forced themselves out of the wall and began preparing themselves for a second round.

"Enough! Stand down, both of you!" Zhao Xingmo waved his hand.

"But Zhao shi..." The young men panicked.

They knew that they had failed their responsibilities this time around. They were supposed to invigilate all qualified candidates, but they ended up being nearly incapacitated after the first battle. Zhao shi must have been really mad at them at the moment.

"Don't worry, this isn't your fault. This was all part of Zhang shi's plan." Zhao Xingmo waved his hand to allay the worries of the two young men before standing up himself.

"I'll assess Zhang Jiuxiao personally!"

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Chapter 1250: Zhang Xuan Imparts an Ultimate Technique (1)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"You will assess me personally?" Zhang Jiuxiao's face paled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He understood Zhang Xuan's intentions. He had injured those two young men and rendered them incapable of battle so that he would be able to take advantage of their weakness and obtain an easy pass for the Selection of Sages. But who would have thought that Zhao Xingmo would actually disregard his own standing as a senior and declare that he would conduct the test personally!

Given how formidable those two listening-in students were, the guide was bound to be even more so. Against such an opponent, how could Zhang Jiuxiao possibly stand a chance?

Hearing Zhao Xingmo's words, Zhang Xuan frowned. "As a guide to the Sancutum of Sages, isn't it inappropriate for you to make a move against your juniors?"

"Don't worry, I'll suppress my cultivation down to your level, Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage," Zhao Xingmo replied calmly.

"This..." Hearing that, Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before asking, "As long as Jiuxiao is able to withstand three moves from you, it'll be considered a pass, right?"

"That's correct!" Zhao Xingmo nodded.

Following which, the energy within his body began flurrying, and in the blink of an eye, his cultivation had already been suppressed to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, the same as the two challengers.

Zhang Xuan fell quiet.

To be honest, even if Zhao Xingmo suppressed his cultivation, he still possessed an absolute advantage in terms of his experience and eye of discernment. It would be extremely difficult for Zhang Jiuxiao to withstand three moves from him. Or to be more precise, it was impossible.

"Zhang shi, I appreciate your goodwill, but it's fine. If I am unable to clear the test, it can only mean that my cultivation hasn't met the mark yet, and I'm not fated with the Sanctum of Sages." Zhang Jiuxiao stepped forward and smiled.

To be honest, he was rather touched to see Zhang Xuan speaking on his behalf. However, since things had come to this point, there was nothing else that could be done.

At the very most, it would just be a loss. It was not like it would be the end of the world. As an offspring of the Zhang Clan, he could at least take a defeat.

Hong long!

Zhang Jiuxiao began furiously exerting the zhenqi within his body. While his aura paled in comparison to the collaboration between those two listening in students, it carried an unwavering and fearless intention behind it.

"Good." Zhao Xingmo nodded.

Considering the overwhelming disparity between the both of them, Zhang Jiuxiao could be said to be rather courageous to still be willing to step forward and face him.

Of course, courage was not enough for one to become a student of the Sanctum of Sages. More importantly, one had to possess sufficient strength!

Without strength, everything else would be for naught.

Just as Zhang Jiuxiao's entire body tensed up, ready to face whatever Zhao Xingmo threw at him, Zhang Xuan suddenly spoke once more. "Wait a moment!"

"What's wrong this time?" Zhao Xingmo frowned in impatience.

This lad sure was a ton of trouble.

You have already cleared the test yourself; do you really value whatever friendship you have with Zhang Jiuxiao so much that you are determined to have him clear the test with you?

Other master teachers would know to back down in such situations, especially since the matter does not concern their own interests. Do you really know what kind of figure you are attempting to haggle with?

"I understand that Zhao shi is in a rush, but surely it would be fine to spare us twenty minutes?"

"Hmm?" Zhao Xingmo was not sure what Zhang Xuan was getting at.

"It's like this. I have gained some insights from the previous battle with those two young men over there, and I would like to share them with Jiuxiao." Zhang Xuan raised his gaze to stare intently at Zhao Xingmo. "Zhao shi, as the guide, you should at least have some time to spare for us to trade some insights, right?"

"... Fine." Zhao Xingmo frowned in displeasure, clearly unhappy with this proposition. Nevertheless, he eventually nodded in agreement.

Twenty minutes would not make a difference to the outcome of the test.

If it was that easy to raise a person's fighting prowess, everyone would have been an expert by then.

"Thank you, Zhao shi. Jiuxiao, come over for a moment!" Zhang Xuan gestured with a smile.

Knowing that Zhang Xuan was doing all of this for him, Zhang Jiuxiao unhesitatingly headed over. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly caught sight of something that left his eyes widening in shock.

A massive cauldron was plummeting from the sky, headed straight toward Zhao Xingmo's head!

Seeing this sight, Zhang Jiuxiao nearly fainted from fright.

Who was Zhao Xingmo?

A guide of the Sanctum of Sages, a Saint 6-dan expert at the very least! Even if Zhao Xingmo had suppressed his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, such a crude assault would never work on him!

Just as Zhang Jiuxiao was about to scream out loud, he suddenly saw Zhang Xuan's figure blurring before him. With a powerful leap off, Zhang Xuan dashed straight toward Zhao Xingmo, and in that moment, it seemed like his figure had warped into a sword itself, seemingly wanting to tear the latter into pieces.

"It's over..." Zhang Jiuxiao felt that if there was an end to the world, this would likely be it. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he nearly burst into tears.

Even if I can't clear the test, you really don't have to kill the guide for me! If you succeed, you will become a fugitive of the Master Teacher Pavilion, condemned to an entire life of escape!

This sight did not just challenge the limits of Zhang Jiuxiao's rationality, even Pavilion Master Wu and Yao shi felt as if they were going insane.

To make a move against Zhao Xingmo... Too reckless!

If the other party got mad, putting aside the fact that Zhang Xuan would not be doing Zhang Jiuxiao any favors, he might even be stripped of his own slot.

But everything had happened so fast that even they were unable to intervene in time.

"Humph!" Noticing Zhang Xuan's assault, Zhao Xingmo's eyebrows shot up. Driving his zhenqi, he raised his finger and stabbed it forward like a sword.

Even though his cultivation was still suppressed at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, this simple maneuver amply displayed his superior eye of discernment, experience, and combat sense.

The finger stab was directed straight toward the blind spot of Zhang Xuan's offense. Not only would it be able to keep Zhang Xuan at bay, it would also allow him to fend off the cauldron above him at the same time. Two birds with a stone!

To be able to make such sharp instantaneous judgement from the unprepared state he was in, there was no doubt that his combat experience was superior even in comparison to Zhang Xuan.

Hula!

However, before the finger stab could strike Zhang Xuan, the young man suddenly flitted to the side before raising his palm, thrusting it toward the cauldron above to neutralize the force behind its descent, and catching it with a single hand.

His movements were actually not an assault against Zhao Xingmo but a maneuver to rescue!

Zhang Xuan swiftly shoved the Golden Origin Cauldron into his storage ring before apologizing awkwardly to Zhao Xingmo. "My apologies, Zhao shi. I have really spoiled my cauldron. It never thinks before acting, and I never thought that it would suddenly make a move against you either. I was alarmed when I saw it earlier, and that's why I leaped forward to save you. I hope that I didn't scare you!"

"You say that you were saving me?" Zhao Xingmo nearly choked on his saliva.

To use your body as a sword and charge toward me with such frightening momentum, as if preparing to launch a lethal strike at any moment... Are you sure that you were trying to rescue me?

That's clearly attempted murder!

If I hadn't reacted fast enough, I would have been split in half by now!

Not to mention, that vicious cauldron even wanted to smash my head. Do you really think that I will drop the matter with a simple 'I didn't know that it would do that'?

Zhang Xuan clasped his fist apologetically. "Indeed. I am the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and this cauldron is the Saint Guardian Artifact of the academy. As such, it's constantly keeping a lookout for my safety and protecting me. It sensed the overwhelming strength that Zhao shi was emanating, so it thought that you were planning to harm me. That's why it would recklessly make a move against you. Zhao shi, I hope that you will be as magnanimous as to let this matter go..."

"Alright, alright! Hurry up and impart your insight. I'll give you ten minutes!" Even though Zhao Xingmo still felt deeply indignant, he eventually decided to drop the issue.

The other party had been pushing all of the blame to his artifact right from the start, and he could not stoop down to the level of venting his anger on a mere artifact.

If the guide to the Sanctum of Sages were to pummel its owner out of fury toward an artifact... His peers would use that as a reason to mock him for many years to come!

Not to mention, the cauldron was the Guardian Saint Artifact of a Master Teacher Academy, so it was bound to have contributed plenty to mankind. Even if he was an advanced master teacher, there would still be repercussions if he killed such an artifact that easily.

Nodding in relief, Zhang Xuan returned to Zhang Jiuxiao's side, and his face immediately turned grim as he sent a telepathic message over. "Even though Zhao shi has suppressed his cultivation, given your current strength, it'll be impossible for you to emerge victorious. However, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to withstand a few moves from him. I'll teach you three maneuvers right now, and as long as you learn them seriously, no matter what kind of move Zhao shi throws at you, you will be able to neutralize it by repeating them again and again... Got it?"

"Yes!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

Considering that the young man before him was a Celestial Master Teacher, and taking into account everything that the other party had done for him, Zhang Jiuxiao no longer harbored any doubt toward him.

"I'll describe those movements to you in detail, so try to simulate them in your head. Don't execute them, or else he will be prepared for them," Zhang Xuan instructed.

These three maneuvers were directed toward Zhao Xingmo's flaws, and their aim was just to catch him off guard. If he noticed their intentions in advance, given his strength and eye of discernment, these maneuvers would surely be rendered useless.

Understanding this as well, Zhang Jiuxiao listened earnestly as he pictured those movements in his mind. It did not take long before he grasped the zhenqi circulation method and the trajectory of each attack.

As for the remaining time, he continued driving his zhenqi as he simulated those three moves in his mind in order to execute them perfectly when he faced Zhao Xingmo later on.

These three moves were actually rather simple, much simpler than any battle techniques in fact. A couple of minutes was more than enough for him to hone them to perfection.

Seeing that Zhao Xingmo's complexion was still rather awful, Pavilion Master Wu stepped forward to alleviate the situation. "Zhao shi, please don't take the matter to heart. Zhang shi's cauldron is indeed a little reckless. Just earlier this morning, an envoy from Qianchong Empire, Song shi, was turned into a eunuch by it."

He had no idea why Zhang Xuan would attempt to assault Zhao shi, only to stop at the crucial moment, but considering the relationship between them, he felt obliged to cover for the young man.

"Someone has been turned into a eunuch?" Zhao Xingmo was unaware of the various affairs that had happened earlier in the morning, and he frowned upon hearing Pavilion Master Wu's words.

"Indeed..." Pavilion Master Wu proceeded to fill Zhao Xingmo in on the various matters that had happened earlier.

Even though he had not been on the scene personally, he was still able to picture the situation through Pavilion Master Wu's descriptions.

"That cauldron sure is reckless!" After hearing the full story, Zhao Xingmo could not help but shake his head.

For an artifact to cripple the manhood of a quasi 8-star master teacher, even the word 'brazen' would be an understatement!

Of course, that was even more so for Zhang Xuan. To dare talk back to a quasi 8-star master teacher and even walk away from the conflict unscathed... yet it was the other party that had ended up being punished.

Just as Zhao Xingmo wanted to inquire deeper into Zhang Xuan's history, the person in question suddenly spoke up from the side. "Zhao shi, we are done trading insights. You can start the test now."

Turning his gaze over, he saw that Zhang Jiuxiao was already standing at the center of the hall, his body conditioned to its peak, ready to face any opponent before him.

Zhao Xingmo made a rough calculation of the time, but it seemed like five minutes had not even passed. Slightly perplexed, he stepped forward and said, "Very well, let me see just what kind of insight he has shared with you!"

To haggle with him just to stall for a mere five minutes... what kind of valuable insight did Zhang Xuan impart to Zhang Jiuxiao within this short period of time?

"Zhao shi, please pardon me if my moves offend you later on!" Zhang Jiuxiao clasped his fist and spoke apologetically.

"Offend me? Worry not! Feel free to use whatever you have against me. As long as you can withstand three moves from me, I'll consider allocating you another slot!" Zhao Xingmo replied calmly.

"Thank you. I'll be making my move then."

Hu la!

Before finishing his words, Zhang Jiuxiao had already leaped off the ground to dash furiously forward. His right leg shot up, traveling along a trajectory that would land perfectly in between Zhao Xingmo's thighs.

"You..." Not expecting that fellow to actually aim for Little Zhao right from the start, Zhao shi's face turned livid.

It was just a moment ago that he had heard about how Song shi's manhood had been crippled by a cauldron, and then Zhang Jiuxiao suddenly came at him with this move.

Don't tell me that the supposed insight that Zhang Xuan imparted to you was to strike me there?

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Chapter 1251: Zhang Xuan Imparts an Ultimate Technique (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Zhao Xingmo was fuming inside. However, no matter how angry he was, there was no way he could take that kick head on. Thus, he quickly sidestepped to avoid it.

It was not that he was afraid that he would be crippled by that kick but because of how humiliating it would be if he were to be kicked there!

Huala!

However, as soon as Zhao Xingmo fled to the side, Zhang Jiuxiao's fingers immediately shot for his armpit. It turned out that the attack toward his crotch was only a feint—the young man's real goal was this!

"To deduce the movement technique I would use in reaction to your kick and assault my armpit, where one of the mingmens of my movement technique is located..." Zhao Xingmo narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

The other party's finger was accurately aimed at the point where the greatest mingmen of his movement technique was located! If he were to be struck, his entire body would be numbed, resulting in a complete loss in his fighting prowess!

It was too much of a coincidence to think that the other party had found his mingmen by sheer luck in the middle of a battle. Rather, it was more likely that the other party had predicted this right from the start.

At this point, Zhao Xingmo suddenly realized that he had been dragged into Zhang Jiuxiao's pace from the very first strike... The young man's combat sense was really a little way too strong!

"Such a cunning fellow! He has been using psychological warfare against me even before the start of the battle..."

With his sharp eye of discernment as a Saint 6-dan master teacher, it didn't take Zhao Xingmo too long to see through the crux of the matter.

Prior to the battle, Pavilion Master Wu had casually mentioned that Song shi had his manhood crippled, and this had effectively planted a subconscious notion in his mind. As a result, when Zhang Jiuxiao angled his attack between his crotch, he instinctively moved to avoid the attack, not doubting that it might be a feint at all due to the planted subconscious notion.

To think that he had already lost in the psychological warfare prior to the battle...

Impressive!

"If it had been any other ordinary Primordial Spirit realm cultivator, he would have been cornered with this blow. Without expending at least ten moves, it would be impossible to resolve the situation and turn the tables around. Unfortunately for you, your opponent is me!"

Zhao Xingmo twisted his body to avoid Zhang Jiuxiao's finger jab. At the same time, he raised his hand and jabbed his finger toward the latter as well.

Finger against finger, Zhao Xingmo was intending to use his superior strength and comprehension of battle technique to forcefully overpower Zhang Jiuxiao, and through doing so, he would be able to regain to turn the tides of the battle back to his side.

Even though their cultivation were both at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, it was apparent that the might of Zhao Xingmo's finger jab was far stronger than Zhang Jiuxiao's. Even before the finger arrived, the air was already groaning under the immense pressure, and vaguely, the sound of a storm could be heard.

In face of the might of Zhao Xingmo's finger jab, Zhang Jiuxiao was visibly flustered. Knowing that he couldn't face such an attack face on, he hurriedly retracted his finger. But perhaps because he was too anxious, his body ended up tilting to the side, placing his head in the trajectory of Zhao Xingmo's finger jab.

Seeing this, Zhao Xingmo frowned.

With his strength, if his finger jab were to land, Zhang Jiuxiao's head would explode on the spot. In other words, Zhang Jiuxiao would die!

In the first place, as a Saint 6-dan expert, his choice of intervening in a duel between juniors was already one that many would frown upon. If he were to kill Zhang Jiuxiao on top of that... without a doubt, he would be stripped of his position as a guide to the Sanctum of Sages.

"Hmph!"

Thus, Zhao Xingmo pulled back his might, and the sudden withdrawal of zhenqi left a groan escaping from his mouth, and his face reddened from the backlash.

If he hadn't suppressed his cultivation, this bit of backlash would have been nothing at all. However, with his current cultivation of Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, and given the fact that he had devoted his full strength into the finger jab on top of that, the sudden withdrawal of his attack inevitably left him with some injuries.

Huala!

But even though Zhao Xingmo had withdrawn his finger in order to avoid killing Zhang Jiuxiao, the latter, seemingly having expected Zhao Xingmo to react in such a way, abruptly charged forward to knock Zhao Xingmo's chest with his shoulder.

With a deep frown between his brows, Zhao Xingmo swiftly struck his palm forward to ward off Zhang Jiuxiao's charge.

That palm strike moved at an astonishing speed, such that it would land on Zhang Jiuxiao before his charge could strike Zhao Xingmo.

"My apologies..."

Zhao Xingmo was still guessing that Zhang Jiuxiao might retreat for the time being before launching another wave of attack when he suddenly heard a faint voice sounding in the air. Following which, he suddenly felt a piercing jab beneath his armpit. Unknowingly, Zhang Jiuxiao's fingers had already landed on his mingmen.

Huala!

Zhao Xingmo felt his strength receding swiftly from him as if a tide, and in an instant, numbness and powerlessness permeated his entire body.

"You..."

Hu!

After landing his finger jab, Zhang Jiuxiao didn't continue his assault. Instead, he hurriedly leaped back before clasping his fist apologetically, "Zhao shi, thank you for sparing me earlier..."

"Hmph!" Driving his zhenqi, Zhao Xingmo was able to swiftly recover from his numbed state. However, the loss had left him so frustrated that he couldn't speak a word.

If Zhang Jiuxiao were to continue his assault after his mingmen was struck, he would surely have been pummeled badly... And just thinking about the matter was enough to leave him stifled within.

"If Zhao shi intended to kill me, I would have died by the second blow. I apologize for using such a despicable trick against you..." Noticing Zhao Xingmo's displeasure, Zhang Jiuxiao lowered his head further and continued apologizing.

In truth, in the second move, if Zhao Xingmo hadn't retracted his finger for fear of endangering his life, he would have never been able to close in on him. It was only due to Zhao Xingmo's forceful withdrawal of his finger jab that gave him an opportunity to strike.

It could be said that he had played on the other party's compassion to achieve victory.

"Forget it. A victory is a victory, I have no excuses for my loss!" Zhao Xingmo waved his hand impassively. "I'll allocate Qingyuan Empire with two slots, but note that this is only the preliminary selections. I hope that you will be able to retain your slot during the secondary selections, or else your effort would have gone to vain!"

While Zhang Jiuxiao did resort to underhanded tricks to achieve victory, he did mention beforehand that all tricks were allowed. Furthermore, Zhang Jiuxiao had not just withstood three moves form him, he had subdued him even...

Just from that in itself, it was undeniable that this battle was Zhang Jiuxiao's victory.

Since that was the case, it wasn't a big deal for him to give out another slot... However, whether they would be able to secure this slot would depend on their performance at Qianchong Empire later on.

"Is this the insight you have imparted to him?" Zhao Xingmo glanced at Zhang Xuan and asked.

Judging from Zhang Jiuxiao's reflexes, it was unlikely that he would be able to come up with such a plan in the middle of the battle. Since that was the case, this matter would have to be linked back to Zhang Xuan, especially considering the bizarre five minutes break he had called for earlier.

"Un. They are three maneuvers that I casually came up with earlier." Knowing that there was no point hiding this from Zhao Xingmo, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and replied truthfully.

"Casually?" Zhao Xingmo scoffed. "A maneuver you came up with casually is able to predict that I would use the [Steps of Stalling Leaves, which mingmen was located beneath my armpit. Not to mention, you were even able to take into account the fact that I wouldn't kill Zhang Jiuxiao, and after retracting my finger jab, I would have to take half a step back in order to ward off the momentum from the withdrawing energy, so you had Zhang Jiuxiao to dash forward to strike my mingmen in this temporary opening... Do you expect me to believe that?"

There was no such thing as a coincidence in battle.

Of the three moves that Zhang Jiuxiao had used earlier, the first one was psychological warfare, the second one had him putting his life on the line as a gamble, and the third one was a result of a careful calculation... Only one who had a thorough understanding of Zhao Xingmo's habits in battle would be able to design such a battle plan to deal with him...

Considering how every single step of the plan took advantage of his weaknesses, there was no way it could be something that was 'casually came up with'.

"I guess I was lucky then." Zhang Xuan replied.

In truth, the reason why he had the Golden Origin Cauldron assault Zhao Xingmo earlier was to force him to execute a battle technique, thus allowing him to compile a book on him in the Library of Heaven's Path.

With a compiled book, he would be able to gain a thorough understanding of Zhao Xingmo's strongest moves and flaws, thus making it easy for him to tailor a set of maneuvers to corner him.

However, considering that the secret of the Library of Heaven's Path was at stake here, he could only feign ignorance in this matter.

"Lucky?" Seeing that Zhang Xuan was unwilling to speak any further on this matter, Zhao Xingmo decided not to ask any further either. Shaking his head, he took a look at Zhang Xuan and said, "Just a casual pointer from you can allow Zhang Jiuxiao to defeat me within three moves... If I were to suppress my cultivation once more, would you be willing to face me in a battle?"

"You want to have a duel with me?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

"That's right." Zhao Xingmo nodded.

To be honest, he was really getting more and more interested in the young man before him.

To subdue two listening in students of the Sanctum of Sages easily within three blows... To grant Zhang Jiuxiao the strength to defeat him with just a casual pointer...

If the young man before him were to utilize his full strength, just how powerful would he be?

"Ah... That might not be a good idea. I'm afraid that there might be a fatality!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Don't worry. I'll immediately release my seal as soon as I feel that you are in danger. You will be safe." Seeing that Zhang Xuan was slightly apprehensive at the idea of having a duel with him, Zhao Xingmo consoled.

When two cultivators of equal strength fought with one another, it was indeed very easy for a fatality to occur as they would be unable to control their strength precisely in battle. However, Zhao Xingmo was a Saint 6-dan cultivator, so if they were to find themselves in the middle of a perilous situation during their duel, he would at least still be able to release his seal and take control over the situation.

"I'm not referring to myself... I'm afraid that you will be unable to withstand my attacks..." Seeing that the other party had misunderstood his words, Zhang Xuan explained awkwardly.

"You..." Zhao Xingmo nearly exploded on the spot.

It is one thing for you to remain unfrightened and fearless in a battle against a guide of the Sanctum of Sages, but to actually worry that you would hurt me... Ludicrous!

"You don't need to worry about hurting me. Given my cultivation realm, it'll be difficult for you to inflict any damage on me!" Zhao Xingmo replied coldly with a livid face.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was still a little hesitant.

"Feel free to make a move! I know that you possess exceptional strength, and your talent is superior to your peers too. However, all of these are nothing in the eyes of the true experts of the Sanctum of Sages!" Zhao Xingmo placed his hands behind his back as he spoke in an air unique to experts.

The Sanctum of Sages was the highest academy in the Master Teacher Continent. Even the powerful Sage Clans would send their offspring there in order to study. From that in itself, it was apparent just how formidable the personnel there were.

Do you really think that a countryside bumpkin like you would really be able to defeat me?

The only reason why he fell from Zhang Jiuxiao's tricks was out of a moment of carelessness! Now that he was fully prepared, there was no way he would allow himself to be defeated that easily anymore!

"Since that's the case... I'll give it a try then." Seeing how confident Zhao Xingmo was, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.

To be honest, as he had just achieved a breakthrough, he had been wanting to find someone to test out his newfound strength. The reason why he initially turned down Zhao Xingmo was because he was afraid that he might accidentally hurt the latter, considering that he still lacked precise control over his strength especially since he hadn't really tried it out in battle yet. But since Zhao Xingmo was so confident about this matter, there was no longer any reason for him to turn down this precious opportunity.

"Let's begin then!" Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xingmo grasped his hands tightly together, and strength began flowing through his entire body.

In his view, even though Zhang Xuan's talent was not too bad, he was simply too arrogant. This would be a good opportunity for him to striked down the young man's conceit and have him understand that there was a world far larger than the one that he could see.

"Alright, I'll be making a move then..." Zhang Xuan warned in advance.

"Hmph." Sneering coldly, Zhao Xingmo paid no heed to Zhang Xuan's words and dashed forward furiously. However, before he could make a move, he suddenly saw a palm print falling straight for him.

In that instant, it felt as if the entire world was caving in on him.

Pu!

Zhao Xingmo felt as if his entire body had been frozen in place, rendering him unable to move at all. Before he could even begin to breathe, he was already struck squarely in the chest, causing his body to retreat swiftly into the distance. At the same time, a wild spurt of fresh blood colored the air crimson.

Boom boom boom boom!

Zhao Xingmo immediately drove his zhenqi, wanting to ward off the momentum from his retreat. However, in the next moment, his eyes narrowed. Countless palm prints abruptly appeared before his eyes.

The other party's follow up attack wasn't just a single palm strike but thousands of them!

Boom!

His back crashed heavily into the walls of the hall, causing a deep depression behind him.

Hu la!

Unable to withstand the impact anymore, he swiftly unsealed his cultivation, and only then did he barely manage to fend off the attack. Just as he was heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan's forlorn voice suddenly sounded ahead of him.

"I thought that he was really that formidable, but he was sent flying before I could even use a fifth of my strength... In the end, he was nothing more than a braggart..."

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Chapter 1252: You Said That I Am from the Zhang Clan?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Pu!

A suffocating sensation assaulted Zhao Xingmo's chest, and he spurted blood once more.

Even though his standing as a guide was nothing in the Sanctum of Sages, in his many years of invigilating the candidates, there had never been any genius who had been able to defeat him in the same cultivation realm.

But this time, not only had he been defeated, he was even being looked down upon.

The immense frustration that he felt left him on the verge of explosion.

"Hold it in, hold it in..." Zhao Xingmo took a few deep breaths to suppress that feeling of frustration in his chest before pushing himself out of the wall.

As indignant as Zhao Xingmo felt from his loss, it would only be more embarrassing if he vehemently denied it. He would at least be able to retain some of his dignity if he accepted it graciously.

At this point, he suddenly recalled the surnames of the duo, and a thought came to him.

Looking at the young man before him, he said, "You are indeed an impressive individual. In the same cultivation realm, even I am no match for you. Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao, are the both of you from the Zhang Clan, the Sage Clan?"

If they were both geniuses from the Zhang Clan, it would make sense why he was not a match for them when fighting in the same cultivation realm.

While the Sanctum of Sages had plenty of experts who could deal with such offspring of Sage Clans, a mere guide like him was not one of them.

"Jiuxiao is from the Sage Zhang Clan, but I am not..." Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I am an orphan, born in the remote Tianxuan Kingdom."

He had never really given this matter much thought before, but thinking about it once more, there was something quite suspicious about it.

Logically speaking, it should not have been anything much for him to be born in the remote Tianxuan Kingdom, but the fact that he was plagued with the Innate Fetal Poison was a huge anomaly in itself.

According to the Sage Yuan Clan, Tianxuan Kingdom was one of those ancient lands where descendants of Sage Clans could recover and awaken their bloodlines. For this reason, many Sage Clans had chosen to leave their offspring in such places, only taking them into the clan once their bloodline achieved a certain mark.

Could it be that... he was also a member of the Sage Zhang Clan, just that he was one of those children who had been left in an ancient land to awaken his bloodline?

If that was the case, it would explain why a humble nobody in Tianxuan Kingdom would be plagued with such a fearsome poison.

His current comprehension of poison had already reached the level of 7-star, but he still had no clue how the Innate Fetal Poison could be resolved. He had even attempted to use Wei Ruyan's Innate Poison Body to curb it at one point, but its effectiveness was limited.

From this, it was apparent that the Innate Poison Body was one of the most formidable poison, even when placed among grade-9 poisons!

In other words, the person who had planted the poison on him was at least a 9-star poison master... and possibly one of the strongest ones at that!

It was unthinkable for an expert of that caliber to travel to the small Tianxuan Kingdom just to deal with a nobody like him. Could it really be that the person whom he had possessed was also a member of the Sage Zhang Clan, just like Zhang Jiuxiao?

It's no wonder I always felt like pummeling Zhang Jiuxiao whenever I met him... this might be a resonance in our bloodline!

Zhang Xuan stroked his lower jaw in deep contemplation.

I really should find an opportunity to look into this matter.

Knowing that this was not the time to be thinking such miscellaneous thoughts, Zhang Xuan decided to put the matter aside for the moment.

"I thought that you were from the Sage Zhang Clan too." Zhao Xingmo looked at Zhang Xuan in intrigue before falling silent.

Since Zhang Xuan had already said that he was not from the Zhang Clan, there was no point pressing on. It would only make things awkward. Thus, Zhao Xingmo changed the topic and said, "Alright, since the both of you have cleared the primary selection, I'll bring you to the Qianchong Empire for the secondary selection. The other chosen candidates should already be gathering there, so we must make haste."

"Qianchong Empire?"

"Yes. We will be heading there right now. You have two hours to prepare, make whatever arrangements you need to and bid farewell to others. Once the two hours are up, we'll set off right away," Zhao Xingmo said.

The reason he had been in a rush earlier was because the semester for the Sanctum of Sages was about to start, so the secondary selection in the Qianchong Empire had to be conducted soon. However, the Qingyuan Empire happened to be located the furthest away from the Qianchong Empire, so there was a need for them to make haste.

"Two hours?" Not expecting that they would be in such a rush, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He pondered for a brief moment before turning to Zhao Xingmo with a grim expression. "Right, Zhao shi. There's a matter that I would like to consult you on, and this matter is very important to me. Thus, I hope that you can give a precise answer to me."

"As long as it's something I am aware of and the information isn't confidential, I'll answer your question," Zhao Xingmo replied.

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly and said, "I would like to ask if Luo Ruo... I mean the little princess of the Luo Clan is currently in the Sanctum of Sages."

Initially, Zhang Xuan had intended to ask using Luo Ruoxin's name, but after some thought, he realized that there was a good chance that Luo Ruoxin might not be her real name. After all, as the little princess of the Luo Clan, there were bound to be many who would want to claim her life or hold her hostage against the Luo Clan, so it would not have been surprising if she adopted a pseudonym with that in mind.

If Luo Ruoxin was not in the Sanctum of Sages, it would be meaningless for him to head there.

If that was the case, he would be better off heading straight to the Empire Alliance to raise his cultivation. After all, he already had the position of an honorary elder in that Master Teacher Pavilion, so it would be much more convenient for him to access precious cultivation resources there.

"The little princess of the Luo Clan?" Zhao Xingmo frowned upon hearing Zhang Xuan's question. "Why are you asking for her whereabouts?"

"This matter is very important to me. Zhao shi, I hope that you can answer my question." Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and bowed respectfully.

"Alright then!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan was serious about this matter, Zhao Xingmo briefly hesitated before shaking his head in resignation. "The little princess of the Luo Clan was indeed studying in the Sanctum of Sages, and with her outstanding talent, she managed to enter the Inner Sanctum. However... a while back, for some unknown reason, she suddenly disappeared, and no one has seen her since then. But when I was coming here, I heard rumors that the Luo Clan had managed to locate her, and they were intending on sending her back. Of course, I could not verify the authenticity of the rumors, so I can't say for sure if she is truly returning to the Sanctum of Sages."

"She really is from the Sanctum of Sages?" Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

It seemed like Mu shi's guess was indeed correct.

Since that was the case, he would have to head to the Sanctum of Sages. This was the only clue he had to find Luo Ruoxin at the moment, and even if Luo Ruoxin was not there, he might still be able to find some clues to her whereabouts.

If he could find Luo Ruoxin, he would be able to discuss with her how they should deal with her marriage with the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan on the third month next year.

"You are acquainted with the little princess of the Luo Clan?" Zhao Xingmo was taken aback. "According to what I know, the little princess has a cold personality..."

"I guess we can be considered to be acquainted with one another." Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

The other party would probably die of fright if he were to say that she was his girlfriend. Low profile, low profile!

Even though Zhang Xuan had attempted to conceal his emotions, Zhao Xingmo could still see traces of affection in the young man's eyes. He fell silent for a moment before advising, "There's an engagement between the Luo Clan and Zhang Clan. Given that you aren't from the Zhang Clan, I advise you not to disturb the little princess. Otherwise, I fear that you might find yourself in deep trouble.

"The little princess of the Luo Clan doesn't just boast a high cultivation, she's also known for her peerless beauty. There are none in the Sanctum of Sages that come close to matching her grace. For this reason, she has countless admirers among the younger generation. However, due to her ties with the Zhang Clan, all those who dare approach her have been viciously taught a lesson."

Zhao Xingmo's words were roundabout, but Zhang Xuan could still roughly understand the intentions behind them.

He had seen Luo Ruoxin's true appearance through his Eye of Insight, and it was no exaggeration to say that even Yu Fei-er, Luo Qiqi, Hu Yaoyao, and the others did not come close to comparing to her. Given so, it was inevitable that she would have countless admirers.

It seemed like the Zhang Clan was quite domineering, teaching all of those who harbored any thoughts toward her a lesson. Well, that worked to his favor too.

"Thank you for your advice." Still immersed in his relief from learning that Luo Ruoxin was likely in the Sanctum of Sages, Zhang Xuan did not pay much heed to Zhao Xingmo's advice.

Instead, he began to plot his next move. Firstly, he should find a way to obtain Zhang Jiuxiao's blood. If he could induce a resonance with the latter's blood, that would mean that he was a member of the Zhang Clan as well. If so, he could infiltrate into their ranks and secretly get rid of that unparalleled young prodigy that everyone had been talking so much about!

If he was not... well, that might work out even better. He could do as he please without having to consider the Zhang Clan's position. Anyone who dared stand between him and Luo Ruoxin would be crippled!

Of course, either way, he would have to possess sufficient strength first before he could do anything.

"Return here in two hours sharp. We'll be setting off together!" After saying all that should be said, Zhao Xingmo waved his hand, dismissing the two of them.

Thus, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao clasped their fists before taking their leave.

Zhang Xuan headed straight to the Combat Master Hall and took Sun Qiang with him. After which, he bade farewell to Hall Master Xing and the members of the Xuanxuan Faction.

Before he came to Qingyuan City, he had still had the accompaniment of Wang Ying and Liu Yang. But now, only he and Sun Qiang were left. After spending so much time with one another, the departure of his direct disciples had really left him with an empty feeling inside.

Following behind Zhang Xuan, Sun Qiang suddenly recalled a matter and said, "Young Master, there was a messenger from Hu Yaoyao earlier. She wished to relay the news that she has been recommended to cultivate at the Terpsichore Guild main headquarters due to her outstanding talent, and she will be leaving Qingyuan City in half a month's time."

"I see." Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was not for no reason that Hu Yaoyao had been called a bewitching devil. She had a sensual figure and disposition that seemed to draw others to her helplessly. It was as if the terpsichore occupation had been created just for her. In view of that, it was not too surprising that the Terpsichore Guild main headquarters had taken her away.

"Also, when Young Master was at the Master Teacher Pavilion, Chu gongzi 1also dropped by earlier to relay his gratitude to you. He's currently the regent of the Qingyuan Empire, and they are still deciding on the inauguration date. With the Master Teacher Pavilion and Combat Master Hall working in unison to push this through, there shouldn't be any problems with the inauguration," Sun Qiang said.

It was due to Zhang Xuan's recommendation that Pavilion Master Wu, Hall Master Xing, and the others nominated him to be the next emperor of the Qingyuan Empire. With two True Leaving Aperture realm experts backing him, the other rivaling factions would not dare to make any reckless moves.

"As for the members of the Xuanxuan Faction, it seems like they are planning to remain at the Combat Master Hall for the time being to raise their cultivation as fast as possible, so they won't be returning to the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy for the time being."

As the cultivation of the members of the Xuanxuan Faction was still too low, they would only become a burden when heading to a higher tier empire. Nevertheless, they sought to become a source of strength for Zhang Xuan, so they decided to remain in Qingyuan City for the time being and focus on their cultivation.

Zhang Xuan could roughly fathom their thoughts. Since they had already made their decision, he would not interfere in their choices. Nodding slightly, he turned to Sun Qiang and said, "Let's go."

Returning to the Master Teacher Pavilion once more, Zhang Xuan saw that Zhao Xingmo, Zhang Jiuxiao, and the two listening in students were already prepared to depart from Qingyuan City.

The aerial saint beast that Zhao shi had prepared was at Saint 6-dan pinnacle, and the small house it carried on its back was extremely spacious. Even if they took more people along, there would not be any problem at all.

After bidding Pavilion Master Wu farewell, Zhang Xuan leaped on the back of the aerial saint beast, and its massive wings began flapping powerfully. Before long, they were already well on their way toward the Qianchong Empire.

"The Qianchong Empire is the strongest country among the Eight Conferred Empires, and the head of its regional Master Teacher Pavilion is a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert. He's a real quasi 8-star master teacher, wielding strength far greater than Song shi!"

While the group was sitting around in the small house on the aerial saint beast, Zhang Jiuxiao began introducing the various aspects of Qianchong Empire to Zhang Xuan.

Naturally, in order to maximize his chances of entering the Sanctum of Sages, he had done his research on the Eight Conferred Empires before he chose the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion.

"Half-Grand Dominion realm?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

The gap between each cultivation stage became more and more significant the higher one's cultivation was. Similarly, there was also a huge disparity between a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivator and a Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivator.

It seemed like it was not without reason that the Qianchong Empire was the leading power of the Eight Conferred Empires. Under the lead of such a powerful pavilion master, it was inevitable that its national power would be strong as well.

"There will be a secondary selection in the Qianchong Empire, so I'll offer you some guidance on your cultivation over the next few days. Try to advance your cultivation as much as possible during this period of time, or else it might be difficult for you to clear the secondary selection," Zhang Xuan instructed sternly.

Even on a Grand Dominion realm aerial saint beast, the journey from the Qingyuan Empire to the Qianchong Empire would still take roughly six to seven days. This period of time should be enough for Zhang Jiuxiao to make several breakthroughs in his cultivation.

Otherwise, the slot that he had obtained with great difficulty would really go to waste.

"Un. Thank you, Zhang shi!" Zhang Jiuxiao quickly nodded.

With Zhang Xuan's eye of discernment and capability, if Zhang Jiuxiao could obtain his personal guidance, his cultivation would surely be able to advance by leaps and bounds over the next few days.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony." Zhang Xuan waved his hand calmly. At this point, he suddenly recalled the matter that had been on his mind all this while, and he turned to Zhang Jiuxiao and said, "Jiuxiao, give me a droplet of your blood essence. I want to examine it closely to see if there's any way I can raise the purity of your bloodline."

"A droplet of my blood essence? Sure!" Without any hesitation, Zhang Jiuxiao flicked his forefinger, and a droplet of blood shot straight into Zhang Xuan's palm.

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Chapter 1253: Qianchong Empire

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up upon seeing the blood essence.

He quickly wrapped it within a layer of his zhenqi before he turned to Zhang Jiuxiao and said, "I'll take some time to examine it. For the time being, you should cultivate using the method that I imparted to you earlier."

After which, he turned around and returned to his room.

With a grasp of his hand, he created an isolation barrier around him and leaped into the Myriad Anthive Nest.

It would be best for him to be in an environment with absolute silence while studying Zhang Jiuxiao's blood essence. It would also be much safer as well.

After finding a place to sit down, Zhang Xuan had the droplet of blood essence float in front of him. With a tap of his finger, a droplet of blood essence was squeezed out of his fingertip, and he pushed it toward Zhang Jiuxiao's blood essence.

After careful examination, Zhang Xuan could only shake his head helplessly.

There doesn't seem to be any resonance between the two droplets of blood essence. It seems like I'm not from the Sage Zhang Clan after all.

If the bloodline of the Zhang Clan was truly running through his veins, there would at least have been even the slightest reaction between his and Zhang Jiuxiao's blood essence, but even with his Eye of Insight, there was nothing of the sort. In other words, the body that he had transcended into had nothing to do with the Sage Zhang Clan.

It seemed like he had really been thinking too much into it! How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

But if I am not a member of the Zhang Clan, which freaking poison master was so bored as to travel all the way to Tianxuan Kingdom just to plant the Innate Fetal Poison into me?

That person had to be really sick in the mind! That person had better not let Zhang Xuan catch him!

In any case, whether he was from the Zhang Clan or not would not really affect his plans.

If he was from the Zhang Clan, he would just have to hold back a little on that young prodigy, but since it was already confirmed that he was not... Well, he could not be blamed for being merciless!

After confirming that he was not an offspring of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan began looking into whether he could refine unique bloodlines.

It seems like it is really difficult to refine a person's bloodline.

It did not take long before Zhang Xuan arrived at a conclusion—refining a person's bloodline was a feat so difficult that it was nigh impossible.

That was to be expected. If it was that easy to raise a person's bloodline, every offspring of the Sage Clans would have been an inner member.

Before leaving the Myriad Anthive Nest, Zhang Xuan suddenly recalled how much his cultivation had risen in recent days, so he confidently sought his clone for a battle.

As usual, he ended up being viciously pummeled into the ground, nearly losing his life.

Against others, there were none of the same cultivation realm who could possibly rival him. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he was still a long distance away from matching up to his clone.

Ahhh, so stifling!

After leaving the Myriad Anthive Nest, Zhang Xuan continued offering pointers toward Zhang Jiuxiao's cultivation.

As expected of a genius from the Zhang Clan. Despite the low purity of Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline, the talent that he possessed was truly spectacular. His ability to learn was almost like a sponge; not even the most talented member in the Xuanxuan Faction could come close to him!

In just six short days, it was as if he had undergone a metamorphosis. While his cultivation remained at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, his fighting prowess had risen to a level where even the two listening-in students were no longer necessarily a match for him.

Thinking about the guidance that Zhang Xuan had offered over the past six days, Zhao Xingmo was filled with nothing but shock. His pointers are really spot-on, especially on the details. Even I wouldn't have noticed those aspects if he hadn't pointed them out explicitly...

Zhang Jiuxiao had quite a handful of inconspicuous but nasty flaws that even he had failed to discern, but Zhang Xuan was able to uncover them keenly without the slightest error in his analysis. Such an eye of discernment was nothing short of fearsome!

Just with his eye of discernment and state of mind, it was no wonder he could successfully crash the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion! Zhao Xingmo had no doubt that even in the Sanctum of Sages, Zhang Xuan would be able to rise through the ranks and glow brighter than everyone else.

On the seventh day, a massive city came into sight.

"We have finally arrived at the Qianchong Empire!"

Standing by the window, Zhao Xingmo said, "Judging from the timing, the candidates chosen from the other empires should have arrived as well. Let's head straight to the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion."

On the journey there, Zhang Xuan had learned that Zhao Xingmo was responsible for the primary selection phase of the Eight Conferred Empires. He had been to the other empires, and the Qingyuan Empire was the final stop for him.

Those who had cleared the primary selections should have made their way over themselves, and judging from the current time, they should have all arrived. So, as soon as the candidates from the Qingyuan Empire arrived, they would be ready to start the secondary selection.

"May I know how many people have cleared the primary selection, and how many slots are there for the secondary selections?"

"The Qianchong Empire has three slots, and the other three stronger Conferred Empires have two slots each. The remaining four, including Qingyuan, only have a slot each. All in all, the Eight Conferred Empires should have thirteen slots in total. Other than that, there are also the Ten Tier-3 Sage Clans, and each of them have two slots. Thus, all in all, there should be 33 people, and only 20 will remain after the secondary selection," Zhao Xingmo said.

"That's still good." Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

20 out of 33, it would be fine as long as they were not in the bottom half of the candidates.

That should not be too difficult.

Seeing how Zhang Xuan's expression had relaxed after hearing the rules, Zhao Xingmo warned, "Don't let your guard down just because the proportion of candidates that are cleared for the secondary selection is high. Those who are able to obtain the candidacy to Sanctum of Sages are all top-notch geniuses in their regions, experts among experts. It won't be easy to rise above the rest of them."

No matter what, the Qingyuan Empire was the weakest among the Conferred Empires. Even as top-notch geniuses from the Qingyuan Empire, there could still be plenty of geniuses outside of the Qingyuan Empire who were stronger than them.

"I acknowledge that there's no Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage cultivators who could possibly be your match—after all, even I lost to you. However, the requirement to entering the Sanctum of Sages is that the candidates must be a master teacher below thirty years old... There are some formidable geniuses who have already reached Leaving Aperture realm. In other words, you won't just be facing Primordial Spirit realm experts!"

"Leaving Aperture realm?"

"That's right. One genius of the Qianchong Empire has already reached Leaving Aperture realm. Even though he hasn't undergone the lightning tribulation yet, his fighting prowess is still not one to be underestimated. There are also quite a few from the Tier-3 Sage Clans who have reached that level as well. If you let your guard down before them, you could be done in before you know it." Zhao Xingmo nodded.

He was only saying this much because he had really high expectations for the young man before him.

As powerful as the young man was, the problem was that he was not just faced with opponents of the same cultivation realm. Furthermore, the opponents would not be suppressing their cultivation to his level before fighting with him either...

Thus, it would be no easy feat to get into the top twenty among the 33 people.

"I see... Thank you for your warning. I'll just have to deal with whatever comes my way then," Zhang Xuan replied calmly.

Instead of leaving him on edge, Zhao Xingmo's words had left Zhang Xuan feeling slightly excited instead.

While his cultivation was only at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, his fighting prowess was already on par with Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage cultivators. Previously, out of fear that he would accidentally hurt Zhao Xingmo, he had only used a fifth of his full strength. If the other candidates were really as powerful as Zhao Xingmo had said they were, he should be able to have some fun in the secondary selection!

Seeing Zhang Xuan's expression, Zhao Xingmo knew that his warning had effectively fallen on deaf ears. Shaking his head, he decided to nag no more.

At this point, the aerial saint beast beneath them suddenly began diving down, heading toward the middle of the majestic city beneath them.

Not too long later, the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion came into sight.

They landed on the square just in front of the Master Teacher Pavilion, and barely a moment after they had landed, a few old men immediately stepped forward to welcome them.

"Zhao shi!"

The person leading the group was an elder who appeared to be in his sixties. There was no beard or moustache on his pale face, and his eyebrows were arched like crescents. Despite being dressed in a simple green robe, he carried an imposing disposition with him.

Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan discreetly assessed the elder, and he realized that the latter's cultivation had actually reached Half-Grand Dominion realm!

The other old men following behind him were not weak either. Just like Song Xuan, they were all Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle experts.

As expected of the number one Conferred Empire. Just this group of men could easily bring about a complete change in the leadership of the Qingyuan Empire by themselves.

Zhao Xingmo nodded impassively to the other party's warm greeting before introducing the duo standing behind him. "Pavilion Master Yue, these two young men are the candidates chosen from the Qingyuan Empire—Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao."

After which, Zhao Xingmo turned around and said, "This elder over here is the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, Yue Yiquan."

"Paying respects to Pavilion Master Yue!" Hearing that the elder before them was the head of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao swiftly clasped their fists and bowed respectfully.

"Zhao shi, this way please." Pavilion Master Yue shot the both of them a glance, but he did not bother responding to their greetings. He turned his attention back to Zhao Xingmo and began leading the way forward.

"If I remember correctly, Song Xuan seems to be his uncle. Most probably, the reason he was dispatched to the Qingyuan Empire was to have him accrue some contribution so that he could be promoted to the position of vice pavilion master, but..." Zhang Jiuxiao sent a telepathic message over to Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan swiftly understood what Zhang Jiuxiao was saying.

That explained why Pavilion Master Yue would even bypass the most basic of formalities with them. So, it was because the other party harbored enmity toward him.

As an envoy dispatched by the Empire Alliance Master Teacher, Song shi should have conducted a thorough investigation of the matter before passing judgement, even if he had to withstand immense pressure from the populace for that. Thus, his very act of sentencing Sun Qiang, Elder Xu, and the others to the death penalty rashly was a flawed judgement in itself. As such, there was no doubt that he had to be punished for his lapse in responsibility.

And with Song shi's punishment, not only would Song shi be no longer qualified to rise to the position of the vice pavilion master, even Pavilion Master Yue's reputation would take a blow as well, considering that he was the one who had chosen to send Song shi over. Given so, it was inevitable that Pavilion Master Yue would harbor some enmity toward Zhang Xuan.

"Let's go!" Zhang Xuan said.

There was nothing he could do about the other party's enmity toward him, and he couldn't be bothered with it either.

The Qianchong Empire was just a temporary stop before he headed to the Sanctum of Sages. He wouldn't be staying there for too long, so the other party's attitude toward him meant nothing at all.

At most, he would avoid encounters with Pavilion Master Yue as much as possible.

Perhaps because the Master Teacher Pavilion had been cleared in advance, there weren't too many people along the corridors, except for those master teachers who had specially come to welcome them.

Even the weakest of those master teachers were at 7-star pinnacle, and forming two rows by the side, there were at least several hundred of them.

They sure have a steady foundation, Zhang Xuan thought as he passed in between the two rows of master teachers.

These master teachers possessed a cultivation of Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle at the very minimum. Experts of this caliber were truly limited in the Qianchong Empire, but here, they were as numerous like the grass along the road. It was as if one would see them at every turn. Truly, as expected of the number one Conferred Empire.

"The reason behind the Qianchong Empire's overwhelming strength is due to their proximity to a spirit mine. They are rich in spirit stones, and they have the Master Teacher Pavilion's support as well. It was based on these two factors that they were able to grow so prosperous over the years!" Noticing Zhang Xuan's astonishment, Zhang Jiuxiao sent a telepathic message over to explain.

"Spirit mine?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Un." Zhang Jiuxiao nodded. "According to the rumors, there's a concentrated high-tier spirit stone mine in the Qianchong Empire. It's for this reason that they were able to attract countless experts to work for them, and this formed a virtuous cycle that furthered their development. As such, their national strength grew stronger and stronger."

Of the four necessary elements to cultivation—wealth, peers, method, and environment—wealth was indeed ranked at the very top.

With sufficient money, a person would be able to attract talents to work for him, and once there were sufficient experts, cultivating a new generation of experts wouldn't be too difficult either. Through this cycle, a country would be able to grow stronger and stronger.

If an empire was utterly poor, lacking in precious cultivation resources, which expert would be willing to waste their time there? Naturally, it would be impossible to established a high-tier Master Teacher Pavilion either.

"You said that... there is a concentrated high-tier spirit mine here?" Zhang Xuan's breathing hastened in agitation.

"That's right. Most of the concentrated high-tier spirit stones in circulation in the other empires all originate from here!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

"If I wish to earn concentrated high-tier spirit stones here, where should I go?" Zhang Xuan asked anxiously.

He happened to require as many concentrated high-tier spirit stones as possible to raise his cultivation. Since there was a spirit mine here, there should be plenty of concentrated high-tier spirit stone in circulation as well. If he could just lay his hands on some of them, he would be able to push his cultivation forward!

"I am not too sure about that either, but... according to rumors, there seem to be a black market in the Qianchong Empire, and concentrated high-tier spirit stones are often traded there in high quantities. If you really do require concentrated high-tier spirit stones, it should be worth checking that out."

After which, Zhang Jiuxiao pondered for a moment later before continuing. "However, this is second-hand information, so do take it with a pinch of salt."

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Chapter 1254: Scapegoating

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"I'll take a look at it later on." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Even though Zhang Jiuxiao's fighting prowess was subpar and his talent was not really worth a mention, he still had a redeemed trait—reliability. Since the other party was telling him this news, most likely, there should be some level of credibility to it.

Besides, regardless of whether the Qianchong Empire had spirit mines or not, as the number one Conferred Empire with many Leaving Aperture realm experts under its command, it was bound to have a rich supply of concentrated high-tier spirit stones. As long as he could find a channel to exchange or earn them, he should be able to raise his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle there.

With such thoughts in mind, the crowd arrived at a vast hall, and everyone swiftly took their seats. Pavilion Master Yue waved his hand with a hearty laugh and said, "Invite the outstanding talents who have cleared the primary selection in!"

A master teacher backed out of the room, and not too long later, a group of young men and women walked into the hall.

Dressed in master teacher robes, there were seven conspicuous stars weaved onto the emblems pinned on their chests.

Zhang Xuan quickly scanned through the arriving crowd.

Just as Zhao Xingmo had said, the cultivation of those who had cleared the primary selection was not too bad. The weakest ones were like him and Zhang Jiuxiao, Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, whereas the strongest ones were at Quasi Leaving Aperture realm.

To be able to advance their cultivation to this level before they even reached thirty, there were indeed plenty of geniuses in this world who possessed talent that did not pale too much in comparison to his.

"Zhao shi, the candidates have come here in a rush after clearing the primary selection, and I reckon they are weary after the long journey they have taken here. Thus, I specially prepared a banquet to welcome you, as well as to allow a day of rest for all the candidates. Will it be fine if we conduct the secondary selection tomorrow?" Pavilion Master Yue inquired with a smile.

Zhao Xingmo pondered for a moment before nodding. "It's fine."

Even though they were pushed for time, half a day's delay would not do much harm.

This would be a good opportunity for the young geniuses who had come for the secondary selection to let loose before facing the cruel challenges that lay ahead of them.

Upon receiving Zhao Xingmo's agreement, Pavilion Master Mo raised his hand and instructed, "Men, serve the wine and dishes!"

Following which, a group of apprentice master teachers walked out and served plates of delicacies before the crowd.

It seemed like Pavilion Master Yue had roughly estimated when Zhao Xingmo would be arriving and made preparations in advance.

As if to reflect their economic power as the number one Conferred Empire, the served dishes were the nourishing meat of saint beasts cooked along with various precious medicinal herbs. Judging from the cooking method, it seemed to have been prepared by a high ranked gourmet as well.

Not only was the meat fresh and succulent, the spirit infused within was also incredibly rich. Just a bite of it would leave one's zhenqi pulsating in excitement.

Such food was extremely beneficial to the cultivation of one's Primordial Spirit.

"This entire table should be worth at least several thousand high-tier spirit stones!" Zhang Jiuxiao remarked.

"So expensive?" Zhang Xuan was startled by the extravagance of the meal.

Back then, he had to go through so much trouble just to earn a thousand high-tier spirit stone. But now, just a single meal already cost way more than that. Income disparity sure was frightening!

"Just look at this Golden Tiger Beast Liver. On top of the Saint 1-dan Golden Tiger Beast, it's also complemented with four saint herbs, Riverbreath Grass, Pipa Stem, Desolate Flower, and Five-flavored Beef Leaf! These four have a maturity of roughly fifty years, and every single one of them is individually worth a hundred high-tier spirit stones. Taking all of these ingredients into account, and factoring in the exceptional skills of the gourmet that has prepared this dish, one could say that even a thousand high-tier spirit stone would be a low cost for this dish!" Zhang Jiuxiao analyzed.

Hearing Zhang Jiuxiao's analysis, Zhang Xuan took a look at the dish himself and realized that his analysis was spot-on. Thus, he could not help but ask, "You... have studied food before?"

Gourmet was a Lower Nine Paths occupation, and it was not even qualified to be considered as a supporting occupation. For this reason, there were nearly no master teachers who would learn it. Despite this, Zhang Jiuxiao knew a surprisingly great deal about food.

"Well, I do love eating good food, so I spent my free time studying it. The Zhang Clan has employed a gourmet to take care of their meals, and back then, whenever I was free, I would tag along and learn from him, so... I guess I do have some understanding of it," Zhang Jiuxiao explained.

To most master teachers, gourmet was viewed as a trivial field of study. However, if one could complement the ingredients well, the tonic broth a gourmet broiled could possibly harness medicinal effects on par with pills.

In fact, the reason Zhang Jiuxiao was able to advance his cultivation and capabilities so far despite being only twenty-seven this year and a mere member of the side family could be partly credited to his effective coordination of ingredients in his meals.

"Incredible," Zhang Xuan complimented.

Zhang Xuan did know a thing or two about gourmet as well, but that was mostly limited to appraising. He had not collected many books about that occupation, so he could not be said to be too proficient in it.

While the duo was talking to one another, Pavilion Master Yue suddenly laughed heartily in the center of the room. "How can delicacies go without fine wine?"

Flicking his wrist, he took out a gourd of wine.

"This is the Tianchen Brew specially brewed by Old Man Tianchen. I believe I need not explain how valuable it is to you. I happened to obtain a gourd of it a while back, and I stored it away for a whole three hundred years to allow it to mature beautifully. Since Zhao shi is here today, I think it would be a good time to take it out and savor it. Is there anyone here who wishes to give it a try?" Chuckling softly, Pavilion Master Yue uncorked the lid and gently poured out a cup.

The transparent wine in the cup emanated a strong fragrance that swiftly permeated the entire hall. Just a single whiff was sufficient to whet one's appetite for it.

"Fine wine!" Zhang Xuan nodded in approval.

The wine fragrance could be clearly smelled even from a distance away. From that, it could be seen that the purity and taste of the Tianchen Brew were bound to be far superior to the other wines he had drunk in the past.

Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes gleamed in agitation as his breathing hastened. "Old Man Tianchen is a famous Wine Sage in the Empire Alliance. The wine that he brews is able to intoxicate even Saint 7-dan experts! Tianchen Brew is known to be the finest wine he has ever made, and the quantity of it is severely limited, making it an extremely precious commodity. Countless people would willingly sell their fortunes just to acquire a single cup of it, only to leave in disappointment. And yet, Pavilion Master Yue is actually offering it to us?"

"Is this wine very famous?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan did not understand the value of the wine before him, Zhang Jiuxiao exclaimed in agitation. "Of course it is! It's a priceless commodity! Even ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones wouldn't be able to buy you a single cup of it!"

"Ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones... just to buy a cup of wine?" Zhang Xuan's lips twitched.

Even the entire Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall only had ten of such concentrated high-tier spirit stones in its inventory, and to spend this sum of money just to buy a single cup of this wine...

How insane must one be to do something like that?

"It's true! Even though concentrated high-tier spirit stones are rare, there are still channels through which one can obtain them. However, the Tianchen Brew of Old Man Tianchen is not something that one can buy with just money. It takes a great deal of luck as well! Without sufficient luck, one might not even get to see it," Zhang Jiuxiao explained in agitation.

Seeing how excited Zhang Jiuxiao had become before the Tianchen Brew, Zhang Xuan could only smile helplessly.

To be honest, he really did not desire such fine wine. On the contrary, he even thought that drinking was a waste of time. Thus, unless he was really bored, he would never drink.

But judging from Zhang Jiuxiao's response, it seemed that if he could really purchase a cup of Tianchen Brew with ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones, he would fork out that sum without any hesitation. Seeing this, Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head.

Was this wine so delicious as to make so many people willingly fork a huge fortune just for an opportunity to try it?

Seeing how Zhang Xuan had no interest in the Tianchen Brew at all, Zhang Jiuxiao sighed deeply and said, "I understand that Zhang shi might not think much of the Tianchen Brew because you are neither a drinker nor a gourmet. However, if you just look at their reactions, you should be able to roughly understand how valuable the Tianchen Brew is."

"Their reactions?"

Zhang Xuan raised his head, and only then did he notice the heated atmosphere in the hall. Everyone was staring at the cup of Tianchen Brew in Pavilion Master Yue's hand with reddened eyes, and it felt as if they would even rush forward to snatch it if not for the disparity in strength between them.

After a short moment of commotion, a young man spoke up. "Pavilion Master Yue, there are so many of us here but only a cup of fine wine. So, it wouldn't be too good to bestow it upon anyone here. Since that's the case, why don't we hold a competition, and the victor will be entitled to the cup of wine!"

"Yun shi is right. The fine wine brewed by Old Man Tianchen should only be awarded to those who are worthy of it. Otherwise, it would only be wasting it."

"Regardless of what competition it is, I shall be the one who drink that cup of wine!"

"Stop bragging. It's still not clear who will get the wine."

...

The words of the first young man swiftly received the approval of the crowd.

Considering how valuable the Tianchen Brew was, it was impossible for everyone to be given a cup of it. Since that was the case, the one who would be drinking the wine would have to display some kind of capability that others would have no choice but to submit to!

"Quiet down." Hearing the discussion among the crowd, Pavilion Master Yue took a sweeping gaze at the crowd and smiled. "All of your words are indeed true. There's only a cup of wine here, so naturally, it should only be awarded to the one who possesses the greatest capability. However, there's no need for a competition. I have already made up my mind on who here is the most deserving of this cup of wine. In my opinion, he's the strongest and most capable among all of you."

"Oh?"

"Strongest? Pavilion Master Yue, may we know whom the person you are referring to is?"

"To have Pavilion Master Yue offer such high praise for him, I sure am curious to see just who that person is!"

...

Pavilion Maser Yue's words caused the crowd to immediately begin scanning the faces in the hall in hopes to finding whom the mysterious person complimented by him was.

They were all the top geniuses and experts in their own regions, so how could they possibly permit others to claim the title of the strongest without putting up a fight for it?

"This person's reputation is not too striking, but throughout his journey here from an Unranked Kingdom, he has crashed two pavilions in total, and both of them were successful. Furthermore, he brought about a change in the dynasty of the Qingyuan Empire and had almost all the master teachers there acknowledge him as their teacher. It has not been long since his name emerged on the Master Teacher Continent, but his every deed is nothing short of impressive. I have nothing but respect for that person," Pavilion Master Yue said.

"Two successful pavilion crashes?"

"Brought about a change in the dynasty of the Qingyuan Empire?"

"Journey here from an Unranked Kingdom?"

Everyone was taken aback for a moment before hurriedly turning their gazes toward Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao.

These two were the last to arrive, so there was no doubt that they were the candidates from the Qingyuan Empire.

"Indeed. He's no other than Zhang Xuan!" Pavilion Master Yue declared as he gestured at Zhang Xuan grandly.

This fellow sure has a bunch of boring tricks up his sleeves... Zhang Xuan clicked his tongue in disdain.

Pavilion Master Yue first took out the fine wine to evoke everyone's agitation before announcing that he would gift the cup of wine to him.

On the surface, it might seem like a compliment, an attempt to raise his standing among the candidates. But in truth, Pavilion Master Yue was 'helping' him draw hostility from the rest of the candidates, compelling them to spurn him.

To make him the enemy of the crowd with just a cup of wine, that fellow sure had mastered politics.

"Zhang shi, you might be unaware of it, but Song Xuan is actually my wife's younger brother. His recklessness back in the Qingyuan Empire nearly caused a huge disaster, and we really owe you one for correcting him. Also, your flawless resolution of the crisis has prevented a potential uprising in the Qingyuan Empire and instilled confidence back into the Master Teacher Pavilion. This is something that I could have never done. Thus, allow me to propose a toast to you with this cup of wine!"

With a chuckle, Pavilion Master Yue tapped on the table, and the wine on the table immediately floated into the air.

On the other hand, after hearing Pavilion Master Yue's words, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes menacingly.

To first acknowledge his relationship with Song shi before expressing his respect toward Zhang Xuan... To onlookers, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with his words. However, that was basically invalidating any possible accusation that he was intentionally putting Zhang Xuan in a spot due to his conflict with Song shi.

To be able to make things difficult for Zhang Xuan while staying perfectly clean by the sidelines...

As expected of the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, he sure knew how to play games.

Really, there was nothing more frightening than a despicable master teacher!

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Chapter 1255: How Can Zhang shi Be That Weak?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

If Zhang Xuan rejected the cup of wine, it would make him appear weak, and he would be made a laughingstock as a result of that. However, if he accepted the cup of wine, there would surely be plenty of people who would stand up in opposition to it.

Just thinking about the matter was enough to leave him with a splitting headache.

As Zhang Xuan was contemplating on how he should resolve this crisis, Pavilion Master Yue suddenly smiled slightly. With a tap of his finger, the floating wine cup before him immediately flew toward Zhang Xuan.

It seemed like the other party had no intention of allowing him turn down his 'goodwill'.

"Zhang shi, this is just a token of my sincerity. I hope that you can accept it!"

Huala!

The wine cup arrived before Zhang Xuan.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to catch it, a powerful pressure hidden amid the cup suddenly crushed down on Zhang Xuan, threatening to tear his body apart.

In the face of the pressure, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

The movement of the wine cup was not too fast, making the gesture appear amiable on the surface. But in truth, Pavilion Master Yue had tampered with the wine cup so as to humiliate Zhang Xuan publicly.

If Zhang Xuan failed to catch the wine cup and allowed the fine wine within to spill, it would make it seem as if he had a complete lack of respect for Pavilion Master Yue, not even reciprocating the latter's goodwill. Once that happened, the crowd in the area, already displeased and indignant by how Pavilion Master Yue had chosen to bestow the wine upon Zhang Xuan, would surely make use of this opportunity to defame and put him down.

Through this, on top of getting back at Zhang Xuan for the affairs with Song shi, Pavilion Master Yue would also be able to portray himself as a magnanimous and gracious man, further winning the respect of others. Truly two birds with one stone! Formidable!

"I'll be graciously thanking Pavilion Master Yue for this cup of wine then!"

If it had been anyone else, this abrupt trick would surely have caught them off guard, causing them to embarrass themselves. However, Zhang Xuan was different. Through his Eye of Insight, he was able to sharply identify the flow of zhenqi around the cup.

Without any exaggerated movement, he lightly lifted his chopstick and tapped the wine cup ahead of him.

The movement of the chopstick was not too fast, but it carried the aura of an indomitable spear. In the blink of an eye, it struck the wine cup.

Po!

A hole was struck into the bundle of zhenqi shrouding the cup.

The zhenqi immediately dissipated into the surroundings like a deflated balloon. At the same time, without the support of the zhenqi, the wine cup began falling to the ground.

With a swift movement, the wine cup was caught in between the chopsticks.

"Hmm?"

The set of actions from Zhang Xuan flowed fluidly, as if he was simply calmly catching Pavilion Master Yue's wine with his chopsticks. To an outsider, there was nothing incongruous about Zhang Xuan's actions at all, but Pavilion Master Yue's face froze for an instant.

The energy he had shrouded around the wine cup was something that even Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivators would have been unable to withstand. Yet, the young man was actually able to neutralize his zhenqi so easily. From this, it could be seen that the other party's grasp over his strength had already reached an astonishing level.

Based on the intelligence he had received, Zhang Xuan's strength was mainly built upon a Saint intermediate-tier cauldron that he possessed.

There was nothing in the intelligence that he had received that said that Zhang Xuan possessed such powerful strength himself!

Naturally, Zhao Xingmo would not speak of his humiliating defeat against Zhang Xuan to another, and the others present in the room back then—Pavilion Master Wu, Yao shi, Zhang Jiuxiao, and the others—out of respect for the guide of the Sanctum of Sages, would never gossip about such a matter.

As a result, even with the superior intelligence network that Pavilion Master Yue commanded as the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, there was no way he could have been aware of the surge in Zhang Xuan's cultivation and his near invincible fighting prowess in his cultivation realm.

Most of the information he had was obtained from Song shi's account.

And Song shi, having suffered a huge setback in Zhang Xuan's hands, would naturally put him out to be as vile as possible, accusing the other party of using his artifact to launch a surprise assault on him. As for the rest, he was a little too ashamed to speak of it. As a result, there was a lapse in the information regarding Zhang Xuan.

Nevertheless, despite his shock, Pavilion Master Yue did not allow it to show on his face. Instead, he covered it with a chuckle. "Zhang shi, cheers!"

After which, he raised his wine cup and gulped the wine down in a single mouthful.

Zhang Xuan replied with a polite smile and raised his wine cup as well. However, before he could drink it, the young man known as Yun shi abruptly stood up and yelled, "Hold it for a moment!"

Everyone immediately turned their gazes over.

"Yun shi, what's wrong?" Pavilion Master Yue asked in bewilderment.

"Pavilion Master Yue, everyone has agreed earlier that the cup of wine should go to the one who is most qualified to drink it. I know that you have said earlier that Zhang shi is the strongest among us, but I can't help but feel a little indignant about that. Thus, if it isn't too much to ask, I would like to challenge him to a battle." Yun shi clasped his fist toward Pavilion Master Yue before directing a provocative gaze toward Zhang Xuan.

There was no one in this room who would willingly miss the opportunity to savor the Tianchen Brew from Old Man Tianchen. For this opportunity to go to an unknown figure from the Qingyuan Empire... Putting aside him, there was no one in this room who did not feel indignant about that!

"Indeed. I think that we should still hold a competition to decide the allocation of the wine!"

"We are all aware of the circumstances surrounding the Qingyuan Empire. If I'm not mistaken, Zhang shi over here is currently at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, the same cultivation realm as one of my students! I really don't think that he's qualified to enjoy this cup of wine from Pavilion Master Yue!"

"Zhang shi, surely you won't turn down our request to spar, will you? In any case, we will all be participating in the secondary selections tomorrow, so why don't you give us a show of your strength first?"

...

All the candidates spoke up one after another, and they did not neglect to send looks of hostility toward Zhang Xuan while they were at it.

It seems like I have really underestimated the prowess of this cup of wine...

Looking at how vehemently the crowd was speaking up against him, Zhang Xuan could not help but sigh.

Despite Zhang Jiuxiao's previous explanation, he had been hoping that the others would not go so far for a mere cup of wine, and he would have been spared this unnecessary trouble. However, it seemed like the allure of the wine was truly irresistible to them.

Pavilion Master Yue contemplated for a moment before nodding. "I have already bestowed the wine upon Zhang shi, so I'll leave him to decide its allocation. However, I don't wish to see any acrimony arising out of this matter, understood?"

He had already ignited the spark, and all that was left was to sit back and watch the show.

"We understand, Pavilion Master Yue." Hearing those words, Yun shi's eyes lit up. Those words could be taken as a silent consent to his proposal. Thus, with a cold sneer, Yun shi turned to Zhang Xuan and said, "Zhang shi, do you dare duel me? If I were to win, the wine shall be mine to savor!"

Swirling the wine in the cup, Zhang Xuan asked leisurely, "Oh? Then what if you lose?"

"Lose?" Yun shi's lips crept up in derision. "Don't worry, I won't lose."

"I don't think your words can dictate whether you will win or not. Even if I'm on the weaker side, I still do have a chance at victory. Earning nothing when I win, losing a cup of fine wine when I lose—don't you think that the bet you are proposing is too convenient?" Zhang Xuan pointed out to Yun shi nonchalantly.

Yun shi was silent for a moment before harrumphing coldly. "What do you propose then?"

The cup of wine was bestowed upon the young man by Pavilion Master Yue. From such a perspective, the bet was indeed a little unfair to the other party.

"Simple. Both you and I know the value of this Tianchen Brew—a cup of it is worth at least ten concentrated high-tier spirit stone. However, I'll give you a discount. As long as you take out five concentrated high-tier spirit stones, I'll have the duel with you. If I lose, you can take the wine away with you. Otherwise, the spirit stones will be mine to take!" Zhang Xuan said.

That Yue Yiquan had intentionally come up with this show to embarrass him, but who was to say that this was not an opportunity for him? With just a bit of manipulation, he could make use of this opportunity to scrape this bunch of geniuses clean!

It was unlikely that they would be able to take out ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones, but five... Considering their standing as the top-notch geniuses in their regions, they might have that many.

"Five concentrated high-tier spirit stones?" Upon hearing the bet, Yun shi frowned in hesitation.

He had not expected the bet to get so big.

"If you do not dare to stake the spirit stones, I'm afraid that this wine will be mine to savor..."

Unwilling to waste his breath, Zhang Xuan began raising the wine cup, seemingly ready to gulp it down in a single mouthful.

"Wait a moment!" someone bellowed at that moment, and another of the master teachers stood up. "Yun shi, if you don't have the guts to challenge him to a duel, I'll be taking your place. That wine shall be mine to take!"

After saying those words, the master teacher flicked his wrist, and a jade container appeared before everyone's eyes. He pried it open lightly, revealing five radiant spirit stones within.

"Here are five concentrated high-tier spirit stones. Feel free to check if you want to!" The master teacher flicked his hand, and the spirit stones flew toward Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan caught those spirit stones and examined them closely. A moment later, he nodded. "These are indeed concentrated high-tier spirit stones."

Before this huge crowd, the master teacher was not worried that Zhang Xuan would steal those spirit stones. He calmly walked into the center of the hall and said, "Good! The preliminary selection was a test of fighting prowess, so why don't we compete on that as well? Do you dare to accept my challenge?"

The hall was rather spacious. While 33 outstanding talents were seated around the room, there was still substantial empty ground in the center to carry out duels and the sort.

"You want to have a duel with me?" Zhang Xuan unconfidently looked at the master teacher before him, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked, "May I know what your cultivation is at the moment?"

Seeing the fearful look on Zhang Xuan's face, the master teacher could not help but sneer coldly. "I am at Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle... If you really are that afraid, I can suppress my cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage for the duel!"

To already be losing out in terms of aura prior to the battle... Even before conducting the duel, it was apparent who the winner would be.

"That would be for the best!" Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan placed the cup down before getting to his feet. He slowly walked over to the empty space in the middle of the hall.

The master teacher introduced himself as Zhang Xuan walked over. "I am Liu Chongxin from Beiye Empire!"

The next moment, Liu Chongxin's eyebrows shot up, and he began suppressing his cultivation. In the blink of an eye, his cultivation had fallen to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, just like Zhang Xuan.

"Qingyuan Empire, Zhang Xuan!" Zhang Xuan nodded hesitantly before clasping his fist. "Please have mercy on me later on."

"Hehe, I will." Seeing how the other party had suddenly turned so cowardly after challenging him arrogantly a moment ago, a contemptuous smirk emerged on Liu Chongxin's lips. With a flick of his hand, his palm began turning red. "Let's begin!"

After saying those words, he began dashing toward Zhang Xuan with imposing momentum.

"Liu shi's movements may seem reckless on the surface, but these actions are actually carefully calculated. From the very first move, he is already using his Metalcore Palm!"

"Those who have cleared Zhao shi's selection had to withstand three moves from those two listening-in students from the Sanctum of Sages. Given so, how could he be at all ordinary? Liu shi's reckless exterior is just a performance to provoke his opponent into making a careless move. In truth, he's in perfect control of the situation!"

...

The cultivators who were familiar with Liu Chongxin began discussing discreetly.

Those who were able to surpass countless other master teachers and clear the preliminary selections were all extraordinary geniuses. Even though Zhang Xuan might have appeared weak on the surface, Liu Chongxin still knew better than to underestimate his opponent.

Huala!

As soon as the palm fell, the surrounding air immediately began to redden, as if a coal that had lit up under intense heat.

The Metalcore Palm was the ultimate technique of the Beiye Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. A Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, the might it harnessed was comparable to even the Grand Constellation Finger.

"Interesting!" Zhang Xuan seemed to have gotten into the fight as well. He raised his palm as well to meet the other party's assault.

The palm art he was using was also a Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Cloud Crane Palm!

Despite its grand sounding name, the palm was centered around flexibility. Clearly, this was a sign that Zhang Xuan was unwilling to face Liu Chongxin's Metalcore Palm directly, intending to use other means to bypass it.

"Do you think that I'll allow you to deflect my palm that easily? Dream on!" Sneering coldly, Liu Chongxin intensified the pressure from his palm.

All of a sudden, it was if the surrounding space had collapsed toward Zhang Xuan, leaving only a single path for the Cloud Crane Palm to travel through, effectively preventing the Cloud Crane Palm from exploiting its flexibility to maneuver around the Metalcore Palm.

He was trying to force a direct confrontation between them through his superior might!

Peng!

As soon as the two palms collided with one another, Zhang Xuan's face immediately paled, and he retreated several steps backward. At the same time, his arm bent slightly as well under the impact. Fearing that his opponent would notice his weakness, he hurriedly hid it beneath the sleeves of his robe.

"And here I was still wondering how formidable you were. With just this bit of strength, you were still dreaming of drinking the Tianchen Brew?" Seeing that his assault was effective, Liu Chongxin burst into a heart laughter.

"This..." On the other hand, Zhang Jiuxiao stared blankly at the unexpected sight before him.

Slowly, realization dawned upon him, and sympathy seeped into his eyes. "Zhang shi... can't possibly be that weak. I guess it's time to start praying for Liu shi over there..."

Every time Zhang Xuan behaved like that, someone would be in for a round of misfortune. He had undergone that many times himself, so he could be considered a veteran.

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Chapter 1256: My Weapon Is A Little Heavy!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Zhang Jiuxiao wasn't the only one who thought that. Zhao Xingmo and the other two listening in students were also speechless by the sight before them as well.

They had experienced with their own bodies how pervertedly powerful that fellow was. There was probably not a person in the world who could win against him in a battle of equal cultivation realm. Liu Chongxin might be talented, but compared to that abnormal fellow, he was still lacking far too much

Yet, despite the overwhelming disparity between the both of them, Zhang Xuan was pummeled to the point where his body was trembling non-stop, unable to retaliate at all... Even if they were beaten to death at this very instant, they still wouldn't believe the sight they were witnessing at this moment was true.

"It's a pity that Liu Chongxin beat me to it... If only I knew he was that weak, I would have gone up myself!"

"How could I miss this precious opportunity to savor the Tianchen Brew just like that..."

In contrast to Zhang Jiuxiao and Zhao Xingmo's reactions, the other young geniuses revealed regretful looks on their faces upon seeing this sight.

Previously, Pavilion Master Yue had said that Zhang Xuan had successfully crashed two Master Teacher Pavilions, and in his view, he was the strongest of them all... These words had instilled some fear and hesitation into them. After all, five concentrated high-tier spirit stone was no small sum at all...

They were still thinking that Zhang Xuan might really be an expert amongst experts, but who could have thought that he would actually be so weak!

Huala!

At the center of the hall, Liu Chongxin roared furiously and launched yet another charge toward Zhang Xuan.

In the blink of an eye, it felt as if eight hands had sprouted from his body, inducing a furious gale in the surroundings.

Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Eight-armed Ape Form!

Powerful and swift, this battle technique swept across the hall like a raging storm, making it incredibly difficult to guard against.

From the looks of it, it seemed like Liu Chongxin had 'seen through' Zhang Xuan's true strength, and he intended to end it swiftly so as to not waste any time.

"You..." On the other hand, seeing Liu Chongxin abruptly exerting such a powerful might, Zhang Xuan's face paled in fright. He subconsciously huddled his body together.

Since he was unable to dodge the move, he would just have to forcefully attempt to endure it with his back.

This was one of the moves which a cultivator would not use unless they were really in a helpless and desperate position as it would only likely put them deeper into a spot.

"Such a person... is actually being called a genius?" Pavilion Master Yue sneered coldly.

Song shi had sent word over saying that he had suffered a major setback in the hands of someone named Zhang Xuan, such that his manhood was even crippled. Pavilion Master Yue had still been wondering what kind of amazing expert Zhang Xuan would be, and he was intending to put the young man down into his place here. Who would have thought that... the young man would actually be so weak!

It seemed like there was no need for him to make any moves. Just Liu Chongxin would be enough to give the young man a beating of his life.

Shaking his head, Pavilion Master Yue picked up a slice of fish, and he was just about to savor it when the huddled Zhang Xuan, seemingly in a state of complete panic, suddenly slipped and fell forward.

"AHHHHH!"

This forward fall had pushed him right toward Liu Chongxin—a completely suicidal move!

But... for some reason, despite how suicidal Zhang Xuan's move appeared to be, Liu Chongxin's face warped in horror upon seeing that sight. He immediately attempted to retreat, but it was already too late. With astounding momentum, Zhang Xuan's head crashed heavily onto his chest, and Liu Chongxin's body stiffened on the spot. A mouthful of fresh blood spewed all over the air.

In the next moment, Liu Chongxin fell heavily onto the ground, knocked out.

"Ah..."

As if not daring to believe that he would actually be able to knock out Liu Chongxin just by a mere slip, Zhang Xuan stood up and stared at the knocked out young man in a daze, muttering dreamily beneath his breath, "I... won?"

"This..."

While Zhang Xuan was in a state of confusion, the surrounding crowd had already widened their eyes in astonishment.

"Liu Chongxin's Eight-armed Ape Form wields incomparable might, making those who stand before it fearful to face it straight on. I would have never thought that it was all an act to conceal a mingmen at his chest! Zhang shi's panicked fall happened to avoid the Eight-armed Ape Form's assault and exploit the flaw... Just what kind of ridiculous luck is that?"

"His luck might be not bad, but that won't be enough to make him deserving of the Tianchen Brew! If he wishes to savor that wine, he would do well to show some strength!"

...

Soon, the crowd recovered from their state of shock, and disdain and contempt slipped back into their eyes.

They hadn't expected the young man to win through a lucky maneuver like that, but that was all there was to it. Mere luck.

"I have won! These concentrated high-tier spirit stones are mine then!" Finally recovering from his dazed state, Zhang Xuan exclaimed in excitement as he kept the spirit stones on the table into his storage ring. Then, he lifted the cup of wine once more and declared proudly, "Fellow master teachers, I believe that all of you should have witnessed my superior strength. So, I won't stand on ceremony before you all anymore and savor this cup of wine!"

"Bore witness to his superior strength?"

"How can there be such a shameless person in the world?"

"It's as if the person who had shrieked earlier wasn't him at all! It was clearly a lucky victory, so where did he find the courage to talk big before us?"

"I can't stand it anymore! I'll have to have a showdown with him!"

Not a surprise, Zhang Xuan's words swiftly piqued a furious uproar from the crowd. All of their faces flushed crimson from rage and indignant, reminiscent of volcanoes on the verge of eruption.

Pah! The earlier Yun shi smacked his table furiously and stood up once more.

"Liu Chongxin might have lost, but I haven't lost yet. Here is five concentrated high-tier spirit stones. They will be yours if I were to lose, but if I win, that Tianchen Brew will be mine to take!" With a powerful leap, Yun shi landed in the middle of the room before staring down on Zhang Xuan imposingly.

Had he known that the fellow was so weak, he would have surely dashed forward earlier. He wouldn't have waited till now.

"You still want to compete with me?" Zhang Xuan shook his head vehemently as a visible hint of fear surfaced in his eyes. "I don't think that would be appropriate. I just had a battle, and I have exerted myself greatly..."

"Exerted yourself greatly?" Hearing the nonsense the young man before him was speaking, Yun shi spat through gritted teeth.

If anyone has exerted himself in the earlier battle, it is clearly Liu Chongxin! You barely used any of your zhenqi in that earlier battle, knocking him with a headbutt by sheer chance. How can you say that you have exerted yourself greatly like that?

"That's right. I don't think I am in any state to face you in a duel, so... why don't we just forget about it!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand as he lifted the Tianchen Brew once more and brought it over to his lips.

"Wait a moment! Why don't we do this instead? I'll give you some time to rest, and... here is ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones! If I lose, they will for your taking. Otherwise, you will have to give the Tianchen Brew to me!"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was intending to back out, Yun shi quickly flicked his wrist, and two jade containers appeared in his hands. With a flick, they landed on the table not too far away. While doing so, Yun shi didn't forget his taunting, "Why? Are you scared now? Surely the man that Pavilion Master Yue is full of compliments for wouldn't be a coward, right?"

"This..." Zhang Xuan lowered his head in hesitation.

It was hard to tell whether it was the spirit stones or the words that had left him conflicted, but after a moment of silence, he took in a deep breath, as if making a grave decision, and raised his head resolutely once more.

"Very well, I shall have a fight with you. However, I have a condition. You must suppress your cultivation to my level as well!"

"There's no problem with that. However, unlike Liu shi, I'll be using a weapon." Hearing Zhang Xuan's consent, a smile crept up on Yun shi's lips.

He flicked his wrist, and a meteor hammer 1 appeared in his hands.

Saint intermediate-tier weapon, Gilded Violet Meteor Hammer!

"You want to use a weapon?" Zhang Xuan frowned in distress for a moment before asking once more. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Yun shi replied.

"Very well then." Zhang Xuan walked to the middle of the hall and assessed Yun shi once more. "Is that meteor hammer the weapon you are going to use?"

"That's right!" Yun shi replied proudly.

It was out of sheer coincidence that he obtained this weapon, but rarely were there anyone who was a match for him when he had this meteor hammer in his hands. While it was clear that the young man before him had only defeated Liu Chongxin out of sheer luck, considering that he had placed ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones on the line, he didn't dare to take any risk. Thus, he decided to go all out.

With this weapon in his hands, he would be able to subdue even Quasi Leaving Aperture realm experts easily, let alone a mere Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage cultivator!

"I also have a weapon, but... just a warning beforehand, it's a little heavy. Please do pardon me if I fail to control its strength in the midst of battle." With a conflicted look on his face, Zhang Xuan told Liu Chongxin.

"Your weapon is a little heavy? You are pitting the weight of your weapon against mine? Hahahahaha! Rest assured, use whatever weapon you want! It won't be fun if your weapon isn't heavy enough!" Hearing those words, Yun shi burst into hearty laughter.

Is there something wrong with this fellow's head?

I am using a meteor hammer! You want to compete with me on the heaviness of our weapons?

Regardless of whether he was faced against a sword, a saber, or a spear, a hammer from me would never fail to force any opponent into defense!

Yet, to compete with me in terms of heaviness...

In the many fights I have been through, I have never seen a single weapon that is even heavier than mine!

"Since that's the case, let's begin then..." With an apprehensive look, Zhang Xuan reluctantly nodded.

"Show your weapon and allow me to have a look!" Yun shi laughed heartily as he raised his meteor hammer in a battle position.

Despite the lack of wind, the chain in between the two hammers rattled loudly, as if provoking the young man who dared stand before it.

"But I have already shown you my weapon..."

Contrary to his expectations, the young man before him simply shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly before the imposing presence of his meteor hammers, uttering some incomprehensible words.

Yun shi couldn't help but be taken aback.

The young man's hands were completely empty, and there was not a single thing on him that came close to resembling a weapon. Yet, he was saying that he had already shown him his weapon?

"Your head!"

In his moment of bewilderment, a master teacher by the side abruptly shouted in alarm.

"My head?" Perplexed, Yun shi raised his head, and his eyes immediately narrowed in astonishment.

Unbeknownst to him, a massive cauldron was already floating right above him at some point. Upon meeting gazes with Yun shi, 'hu!', the massive cauldron began descending on him with astounding momentum.

"The hell!" Exclaiming in horror, Yun shi tried to leap to the side to avoid the falling cauldron, only to realize that the sheer might of the cauldron had already caused the surrounding space to collapse inward.

Padah!

With a deafening explosion, a huge hole was punctured into the ground. All Yun shi saw was a dark shadow covering the entire world before being crushed into the ground. His two legs were exposed at the end of the cauldron, and its uncontrollable convulsing suggested that Yun shi had already been incapacitated.

"I told you that my weapon is really heavy!" Shaking his head helplessly, Zhang Xuan headed to the table and carefully kept the ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones there. Then, with a wave of his hand, he kept the Golden Origin Cauldron back to his storage ring, revealing a '大'-shaped Yun shi in the middle.

With a perfectly nonchalant voice, Zhang Xuan informed the other party, "You have lost."

Pu!

This further blow caused Yun shi to spurt a mouthful of blood.

"T-this... This is cheating!"

"He's from Qingyuan Empire, so how could he have such a formidable cauldron?"

"That cauldron must at least be at Leaving Aperture realm..."

"To win on sheer luck the first round and rely solely on his cauldron for the second, can that fellow get any more shameless than that?"

...

There was a brief moment of silence before a heated commotion broke out amidst the crowd.

Given the current circumstances, it was implied that a duel between the both of them should be a clash in their fighting prowess. Even if weapons were used, they should only play a supporting role... Yet, that fellow actually sent a Leaving Aperture realm artifact over to thrash his opponent!

That was way too unconventional!

However... Yun shi was the one who proposed fighting using weapons, and prior to the duel, Zhang Xuan had also told him that his weapon would be a little heavy...

Considering that Yun shi had been warned beforehand but still heartily agreed to it, Zhang Xuan couldn't exactly be said to be at a fault over here either!

Just that, while it was not clearly stated, it was obvious to everyone here that it was a duel to pit their fighting prowess against one another, not their artifacts...

"Two consecutive rounds of victory should be enough to prove my strength to all of you. If none of you have any objections, I'll assume that all of you agree that I am deserving of the title of the strongest amongst all of you. Naturally, I won't hold back on this cup of wine too!" After keeping Yun shi's spirit stones safely into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan announced smugly as he picked up the wine cup and swirled it. In an instant, the wine's fragrance diffused into the surroundings.

"Prove your strength to all of us?" Seeing how gleeful Zhang Xuan was, the faces of the remaining candidates reddened in indignation.

It is mere luck the first time round, and a complete reliance on your artifact the second time...

How can you call yourself the strongest amongst us all like that...

The title of the strongest should be forged with one's strength, not through relying on external tools!

"Zhang shi, I still have doubts about your strength. Do you dare to have a duel with me?"

Another master teacher stood up and walked to the center of the hall. Just the aura that he emanated left the surrounding air feeling as if it had turned viscous.

A Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert!

It seemed like the stronger experts amongst the group couldn't watch on anymore, and they had decided to make a move themselves.

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Chapter 1257: Sick From Spinning

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Zhang shi, that person is the Third Young Master of Sage Xue Clan, Xue Ning!" Upon catching a closer glimpse of the person who had just stepped forward, Zhang Jiuxiao hurriedly sent a telepathic message over to Zhang Xuan.

"Xue Clan?"

"Un. Even though they are a Tier-3 Sage Clan, their prowess is still one that shouldn't be underestimated. In terms of influence and power, they are on equal footing with Qianchong Empire!" Zhang Jiuxiao continued.

Even the weakest of the Sage Clans would have a long heritage behind them, as well as a set of cultivation techniques suited for their bloodlines. Ordinary empires wouldn't come close to comparing to them.

Even though this Third Young Master of the Xue Clan was only at Half-Leaving Aperture realm, his true fighting prowess could very well be on par with an average True Leaving Aperture realm expert!

"Thanks for your reminder." Zhang Xuan replied Zhang Jiuxiao telepathically before lifting his gaze to look at Xue Ning. "You are interested in drinking the Tianchen Brew too?"

"At this point, it isn't just for the Tianchen Brew anymore." Xue Ning harrumphed proudly.

It might just be a cup of wine, but due to Pavilion Master Yue's proclamation of bestowing it upon the strongest of them all, the nature of this matter had changed altogether. It was now a matter of their dignity and honor as well!

It would be one thing if Zhang Xuan was truly outstanding, but the two victories he had achieved were either by chance or through unacceptable means. Not to mention, that fellow's cultivation was only at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage only...

If even that fellow was qualified to drink this cup of wine, which was to be bestowed to the 'strongest', what would this mean of the rest of them?

"What do you want then?" Zhang Xuan asked warily.

"The same as before. I'll take out ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones to have a duel with you over the Tianchen Brew." Xue Ning said.

"This..." Zhang Xuan paused for a brief moment. "I have just undergone two battles, and my zhenqi is nearly depleted at this point... Why don't we do this instead? If you are willing to take out fifteen concentrated high-tier spirit stones, I'll accept your duel!"

"Your zhenqi is nearly depleted?" Xue Ning's eyelids twitched.

All you have done earlier was to toss a cauldron out to crush your opponent... Please explain to me how you have managed to deplete your zhenqi doing that!

"Fine! I'll take out fifteen concentrated high-tier spirit stones then!" Xue Ning could tell that the other party had a way with his words, and arguing with him would be pointless. Thus, he waved his hands majestically and accepted the deal.

Judging from the strength and reaction speed which Zhang Xuan had displayed earlier on, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to achieve victory.

Besides, there were close business ties between the Xue Clan and Qianchong Empire, so fifteen concentrated high-tier spirit stones were still a sum they could afford to lose.

"Very well!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Will you be using any weapons?"

"I won't be using any weapons, so you shouldn't use your cauldron either. Let's have a fair duel using our own strength!" Xue Ning quickly replied.

As confident as he was in his strength, he could tell that he stood no chance against the young man's cauldron at all. If they were going to compete with one another, the first thing he should do was to stop the other party from using his cauldron.

"This..." Hearing that they were not to use any weapon, Zhang Xuan seemed to have become a little apprehensive.

"Those who wish to enter the Sanctum of Sages should possess individual fighting prowess worthy of doing so. Relying on external tools is just a temporary measure; it might help you right now, but it won't help you for life. Why? Are you afraid of having to fight a battle yourself?" Noting Zhang Xuan's hesitance, Xue Ning mocked coldly.

"If that's the case, I advise you to put down the Tianchen Brew and step down. Someone as cowardly as you isn't worthy of drinking it!"

"Very well then. I guess it would only be fair for me to not use a weapon if you aren't using one..." Seemingly cornered by Xue Ning's words, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth forcefully in indignance before finally relenting.

"Let's start then!" Xue Ning flicked his wrist and placed three jade containers filled with concentrated high-tier spirit stones on a table.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan also casually placed the cup of wine back on the table before walking back to the center of the hall.

"Hmph!" Without the slightest interest in wasting any more time on words, Xue Ning immediately stepped off from the spot, and his figure suddenly turned illusory as he dashed toward Zhang Xuan.

Despite having suppressed his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, his speed was still as fast as lightning, making it highly difficult for one to accurate discern his figure.

With tremendous speed, Xue Ning's five fingers swiftly appeared before Zhang Xuan.

"At the very least, he's considerably stronger than that Liu Chongxin and Yun shi!" Zhang Xuan thought as he took a step back before meeting the other party's strike with a finger.

Grand Constellation Finger!

Upon catching sight of Zhang Xuan's move, Xue Ning forcefully changed his move. From a powerful palm strike, his fingers suddenly began moving adeptly as if he was playing a zither.

Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Coy Pipa Finger Strokes!

Pipa! Pipa!

A series of resounding taps echoed as Xue Ning's adroit five fingers clashed together with the Grand Constellation Finger, inducing a series of sonic booms. Under the relentless assault of Xue Ning's fingers, Zhang Xuan's face paled, and he was forced to retreat again and again.

"Heh!" Xue Ning smirked upon seeing that his attack was effective.

He knew that this was a perfect opportunity to continue his assault, so he swiftly moved his fingers to draw out long strings of zhenqi to seal the area, preventing Zhang Xuan from getting away.

On the other hand, seeing how formidable Xue Ning was, a hint of fear seemed to appear in Zhang Xuan's eyes. Flustered, he moved his hands and legs simultaneously at an extremely swift speed, forming a protective barrier around him.

Even though this set of action seemed to have been done in a state of panic, it did manage to help him effectively fend off Xue Ning's continued assault.

"Oh? It seems like he isn't totally useless after all..." Seeing that his attack had been warded off, Xue Ning's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

In the first round, it appeared that the other party had obtained victory by sheer luck. In the second round, the other party had relied completely on his artifact, not moving a single finger in the battle at all... As a result, in Xue Ning's eyes, Zhang Xuan was nothing more than a fake, a person who had earned his reputation through trickery and luck. However, this momentary encounter had made him realize that the other party's weakness could very well be feigned.

In any case, one thing was for sure. The other party was definitely not as weak as he appeared to be.

Nevertheless... an opponent who could only defend himself was still nowhere on par with him!

Clenching his fingers into a fist, he gathered his full strength and launched a decisive blow toward Zhang Xuan.

Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Contention of a Hundred Vessels!

In terms of sheer might, this battle technique was above even that of Liu Chongxin's Eight-armed Ape Form.

Wasn't the other party's defense as resilient as a tortoise's shell?

Fine then, he would just have to forcefully break it apart!

Pah pah pah pah pah!

Overwhelming might paired with incomparably swift movements, in the blink of an eye, Xue Ning had already released more than a hundred punches. However, despite the immense might of his assault, he found that the young man's defense was even more formidable. Even after so many strikes, he found that he still was nowhere close to breaking apart the young man's tortoise shell!

"That fellow sure is scheming!"

"Despite being considerably strong himself, he intentionally feigned weakness in order to get us to challenge him and earn our spirit stones!"

"However, no matter how tough his defense is, it won't be sufficient to bring him victory. He might have withstood the barrage of punches from Third Young Master Xue, but he's bound to take significant damage in the midst of doing so..."

...

At this point, it had become apparent to the others in the room that Zhang Xuan wasn't as easy as they had initially thought him out to be too.

As elites amongst the master teachers, they might have been tricked the first two times Zhang Xuan feigned weakness, but if they still couldn't tell this much by the third time, they would really be unworthy of their titles as geniuses.

But while they realized that Zhang Xuan wasn't as weak as they had initially thought, they didn't think that he would be too strong either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed himself to force into a state where he could only sustain his defense, unable to counterattack at all.

As the old adage preached, 'a sustained defense is bound to lead to defeat'. At this rate, it was just a matter of time before Zhang Xuan caved in.

"Third Young Master Xue's zhenqi capacity is really no joke. For him, a hundred punches is nothing but a warm up... Let's see how long that lad can keep up his defenses for!"

"I had a battle with Third Young Master Xue once, and the weight of his punches will only grow stronger throughout the course of the battle. While that lad over there isn't too bad himself, it is nigh impossible for him to win against Third Young Master Xue!"

Amidst the crowd, two of the young geniuses remarked.

At Quasi Leaving Aperture realm, these two young geniuses were the few stronger ones amidst the crowd, so naturally, their words held more weight and credibility.

Xue Ning's strength might be nothing compared to them, but amidst the 33 candidates participating in the secondary selection, he could definitely be considered as one of the stronger ones.

Given his strength, it was hard to believe that a Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage nobody from Qingyuan Empire would be able to defeat him.

The battle proceeded on for some time, and another Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivator remarked, "Xue Ning's punches are growing faster and faster!"

On the field, Xue Ning was utilizing a particularly bizarre movement technique which made his movements seemed reminiscent of an intangible specter. At one moment, he would be at Zhang Xuan's left, and in the next moment, he would suddenly appear at the right. While flitting around Zhang Xuan, his punches never stopped, causing a rampaging shockwave to diffuse into the surroundings and raise a powerful gale.

Xue Ning's movements were so fast that just looking at it was giddying.

"He's actually still able to defend against that?"

This offense continued for quite a while, but despite seeming as if a weak candle flame in the midst of a raging storm, about to be extinguished at any moment, Zhang Xuan still managed to withstand every wave of attack each time, not exposing the slightest opening for Xue Ning's punches to slip through.

"Even if he's able to defend against that, he's bound to reach his limits very soon!" Frowning, one of the Quasi Leaving Aperture realm young genius who spoke up earlier remarked once more.

Even as a Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, under Xue Ning's rampaging barrage of attacks, he could only afford to maintain a defensive position for some time before his defense collapsed. The typical strategy against such relentless attacks was to bide one's time until an ideal opportunity emerged to slip an attack in and turn the tables around. Yet, Zhang Xuan had already maintained his defensive position for a very long time now, and even more shockingly, he actually managed to perfectly ward off every single attack... Was he really a tortoise?!

But even if Zhang Xuan specialized in defense, this wasn't a feasible plan in the long run.

Xue Ning's punches didn't just consist of mere brute strength—they were also infused with a hidden might 1 . As the hidden might began accumulating, it would slowly wear down Zhang Xuan's body from the inside. Even someone of his cultivation wouldn't be able to withstand something like that, let alone Zhang Xuan!

"Zhang shi, I concede that I have really underestimated you. I haven't thought that you would be able to survive so long under my offense. However, it's about time to put an end to this farce!"

Contrary to what the two Quasi Leaving Aperture realm young geniuses had thought, Xue Ning's attacks were completely ineffective against Zhang Xuan, and he had realized this fact as well.

His failure to bring down the other party despite his sustained assault had caused him to start feeling a little panicked, so he decided to use his ultimate move.

With a furious roar, the strength in his body began surging swiftly.

Xue Ning had intended to reserve this move as his trump card in the secondary selections, but at this point, he couldn't care that much anymore.

Hong long!

As his aura surged, Xue Ning's movements grew faster as well. Vaguely, seven to eight silhouettes of him seemed to appear all around Zhang Xuan. Following which, a thin golden line forged of zhenqi was pulled in a circle before tightening around the tortoise-shelled Zhang Xuan, slowly creeping its way into the shell an inch at a time.

"This is... the Xue Clan's Golden Silk Thread!" The face of one of the Quasi Leaving Aperture realm young genius warped in astonishment. "He actually managed to grasp this technique?"

"Golden Silk Thread?" the second Quasi Leaving Aperture realm young genius asked in confusion.

"That's right! The Xue Clan's Golden Silk Thread is similar a guillotine created by capitalizing on the superior speed of their movement techniques. If utilized well, it would be able to even sever a Saint intermediate-tier artifact into two!" The first young genius tightened his fists in agitation.

"This battle technique is really powerful. If Zhang shi persists on his defense, he could very well find the Golden Silk Thread wrapped tightly around him. Once that happens, even if he doesn't die, he could very well find himself crippled for life!"

"It's that formidable?" The second young genius gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he anxiously turned his gaze back to the battle. One look, and he suddenly froze in disbelief. "W-what... is Zhang shi trying to do?"

"Hm?" Turning his gaze over as well, the first young genius also froze on the spot as well.

In this moment, the young man trapped in the middle of the Golden Silk Thread suddenly staggered on the spot, as if intoxicated on alcohol. He did a series of extremely bizarre actions, a little reminiscent of an avant-garde dance, and a little reminiscent of a physical expression of his panic and helplessness as well.

Hu la!

As those movements were being conducted, Xue Ning's movements suddenly grew faster and faster, to the point which it seemed as if he was going to lose control of himself.

And... he really did.

From the sheer centripetal force 2 of his circular movement around Zhang Xuan, he ended up flinging himself headfirst into a pillar of the hall. Following which, his face suddenly flushed green, and he bent over and vomited...

After vomiting, his legs suddenly twitched, and putong!

He fainted.

"This..."

Not expecting the imposing Xue Ning to suddenly vomit and pass out, the second young genius stared at the sight with bulging eyes as he muttered in disbelief, "Could it be that he ended up moving in circles too fast and too much that he ended up getting... nauseated?"

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Chapter 1258: Please Guide Me Along

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

It was true that an ordinary human would find themselves dizzy after spinning around too much, resulting in nausea and vomiting.

And Xue Ning did spin quite a few times in order to execute his Golden Silk Thread, and quite quickly at that. Could it have been that he had been unable to withstand the resulting sensation, just like ordinary humans?

"Of course not!" the first Quasi Leaving Aperture realm young genius exclaimed. "If I'm not mistaken, Zhang shi should have utilized a terpsichorean art, and in his moment of carelessness, Third Young Master Xue fell for it."

In the first place, it was already ridiculous to think that someone whose cultivation had reached Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle would actually be vulnerable to giddiness from spinning too much. Even if not for that, Xue Ning surely would have undergone plenty of intensive training to cope with whatever side effects the battle technique would bring him. Otherwise, if he started vomiting before his attack could land, that would literally be suicide!

"Terpsichorean art? Speaking of which, the movements he carried out earlier were indeed a little peculiar. But Zhang shi isn't dressed in any elegant clothes, and there were no exaggerated movements. Were those awkward movements really enough to put Third Young Master Xue into a trance?" The second young genius was still a little skeptical at that notion.

Xue Ning might not have been the strongest in their group, but he was definitely ranked in the upper half. His willpower and state of mind should have been flawless, so before a man who was neither dressed in beautiful clothes nor carrying out elegant and pleasing moves... why would he fall into a trance?

Didn't terpsichores bewitch others through their beauty and grace?

Or did this mean that Xue Ning... was interested in men?

"True terpsichores are able to draw others in with even the simplest of gestures. In normal circumstances, it would indeed be difficult to faze Third Young Master Xue using such means. However, Third Young Master Xue's failure to break through the tortoise-like defense after an extended period of time left him deeply anxious, resulting in an opening in his state of mind. It was by exploiting this opening that Zhang shi managed to get him in a single move!" the first young genius explained.

Even though the two of them were Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivators, he was more well-versed in the topic of terpsichores compared to the other.

"To wear down Third Young Master Xue's strength and patience through putting up an impeccable defense, biding his time for the perfect timing to down him in a single move. It is no wonder Pavilion Master Yue said that Zhang shi is the strongest among us. There's indeed more to him than meets the eye!" The second young genius turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan, who was delightfully stowing the concentrated high-tier spirit stones into his storage ring, and his face turned grim.

Just like the others, he had thought that the young man had only won against Liu Chongxin and Yun shi through sheer luck. However, after seeing this sight, it suddenly dawned on him—how could a person who had cleared Zhao Xingmo's preliminary selection possibly be ordinary?

"He really piques my interest. Brother Sun, let me challenge him first. You can have him if I fail," the second young genius said.

As drawn to the Tianchen Brew as they were, they were not so desperate as to have to drink it at all cost. However, the various peculiarities that Zhang Xuan had shown had left them rather intrigued. In this moment, he was like an enigma that they desired to look into.

"Our fighting prowess is roughly equal. If you can't defeat him, there's no point in me going up there and embarrassing myself." The first young genius shook his head. Nevertheless, he still offered some pointers. "During the battle with him, remember to propose a fight without weapons. Also, make sure to firm your state of mind. Don't grant him any openings to use his terpsichorean arts!"

"Un!" The second young genius nodded.

Following which, he stood up and clasped his fist. "Zhang shi, I am Ma Minghai from the Qianchong Empire. Please guide me along!"

Zhang Xuan was still feeling deeply thankful to Pavilion Master Yue for granting him this precious opportunity to earn so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones when he suddenly heard a voice. Turning to the young man who had just stood up, he asked, "You want to challenge me, too?"

"That's right!" Ma Minghai smiled. "Will you accept my challenge?"

"I won't," Zhang Xuan replied as he sat back down on his seat.

"..." Ma Minghai nearly fell to the ground after hearing those words.

That is not how the script was supposed to go!

Even if you don't want to accept my challenge, do you have to be so smug about it?

A little choked up within, Ma Minghai gritted his teeth and offered, "I'm willing to offer fifteen concentrated spirit stones as my stake for the battle!"

"I have exerted myself too much earlier. I'm too exhausted to fight anymore."

"Twenty! I can't offer you any more th.." Ma Minghai clenched his fists tightly. However, before he could finish his words, the young man had suddenly materialized back in the middle of the hall. He flung his sleeves grandly, assuming the disposition of an unworldly expert.

"You should have said so earlier! I have already recovered from my exertion, so let's start now!"

"..." Ma Minghai was so stifled that he nearly failed to catch his breath.

Shameless people, he had seen plenty of them in his life, but the young man before him was really in a whole different class!

Just to up the stakes, he would use the same blatant lie again and again... Incorrigible!

At that moment, Ma Minghai suddenly heard a voice in his ears. "Don't be affected by him. He's intentionally provoking you to affect your state of mind!"

It was from the earlier 'Brother Sun'.

"Un." A glint flashed across Ma Minghai's eyes, and he nodded in agreement.

If not for Brother Sun's reminder, he might have lost sight of himself there. It seemed like the clash between them had already begun, even before the battle itself.

Taking a deep breath, Ma Minghai calmed his state of mind back to its unperturbed state before flicking his wrist to take out twenty concentrated high-tier spirit stones. With one quick movement, the jade containers storing the spirit stones flew straight toward Zhang Xuan's table. After which, he leaped to the center of the hall and raised his hand politely.

"I'll be in your care."

"I'll be in your care, too." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Boom!

Without wasting any time on words, Ma Minghai swiftly suppressed his cultivation to Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, and with a resounding burst of zhenqi flowing through his meridians, he dashed forward.

Unlike the previous few opponents whom Zhang Xuan had faced, Ma Minghai's movements were simple and concise. There was no elegance or complexity in his moves, only ferocity and brutish violence. Yet, it was such an offense that was extraordinarily difficult to cope with. A single lapse in attention could very well result in severe injuries.

"Not bad!" Zhang Xuan complimented.

As expected of a genius from the Qianchong Empire, this Ma Minghai was not a person to be underestimated.

In the previous few battles, Zhang Xuan had not used his full strength at all. Nevertheless, it seemed like his opponent had still noticed that something was amiss, so he had given up all attempts at testing him out, using his strongest moves from the start so as to gain control of the flow of the battle.

Under his relentless suppression, it would leave very few gaps for Zhang Xuan to attempt anything.

Nevertheless, in face of the ferocious offense, Zhang Xuan calmly drove his zhenqi and flicked his palm. In an instant, it felt as if a river had appeared between the two of them.

Zhang Xuan had not used Spatial Seal, utilizing just his zhenqi.

Even though it was less than a tenth of his true strength, the palm strike still harnessed strength that no ordinary Primordial Spirit realm cultivator would have been able to withstand.

"This..." The awoken Liu Chongxin saw the sight before him, and he gulped fearfully.

Previously, he had thought that Zhang Xuan had only defeated him by sheer luck, and he had been filled with indignation at his defeat. But after seeing this, he realized that if the young man were to get serious on him, just this move would be more than enough to defeat him!

"Good move!" Exclaiming in excitement, Ma Minghai focused his Sword Intent into his forefinger and sliced it downward.

Si la!

A burst of sword qi surged forward, and the river forged of zhenqi was instantaneously sliced in two.

"What formidable Sword Intent!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.

He had faced quite a few experts himself, but he had never encountered anyone with such pure Sword Intent! That was nearly on par with a fifth of his!

Really, experts from the Qianchong Empire were indeed extraordinary.

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan grabbed the sword qi in between his forefinger and middle finger, and with a flick, he sent it back at Ma Minghai.

"What the... He actually managed to catch such a powerful burst of sword qi?" Brother Sun widened his eyes in incredulity.

Granted that Ma Minghai's sword qi was already considerably worn down from slicing the river of zhenqi, its might and speed were still not at a level where it could be caught. Impeccable timing, superior strength, and a profound grasp of swordsmanship—all of these had to be met before a feat like this could become remotely possible!

Brother Sun knew that there was no way he could achieve a feat like that.

Could it be that Zhang Xuan was actually a wolf cloaked in sheep skin? Appearing weak and tame before them, an unparalleled expert was actually hidden beneath that exterior!

"Incredible! Why don't you try catching this one too?"

Despite having his sword qi caught, Ma Minghai did not show the slightest apprehension or fear. Instead, his eyes glowed in excitement, as if a new world had appeared before him.

With a bellow, a powerful surge of Sword Intent burst forth from Ma Minghai. It swiftly morphed into countless swords around him, filling the area so densely that a large area was shrouded by an ominous shadow.

Forged from sword qi, these swords could be considered mere masses of energy, but if they were to land, they would easily cut through one's flesh just like sharp blades, inflicting grievous injuries upon their victim.

"That's Sea of a Thousand Blades!"

"To be able to form so many swords with just his Sword Intent, Ma shi is really a frightening person!"

"I can't even imagine standing against all of those swords simultaneously..."

...

The faces of the young geniuses in the hall swiftly turned grim.

Due to the presence of the Sword Lagoon in the Qianchong Empire, most of their experts had a profound mastery of swordsmanship.

The Sword Lagoon had many swordsmanship heritages, and the Sea of a Thousand Blades was one of the strongest sword arts there. It was impossible for any cultivator to defend themselves from the simultaneous assault of so many blades!

Just like the rest of the crowd, Zhang Xuan was also a little startled by the emergence of countless swords around Ma Minghai.

To be able to form so many surges of sword qi around him in the blink of an eye, Ma Minghai was indubitably a powerful adversary. While the other party was still a long distance away from matching up to him, against Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, Liu Yang... Fine, at least Sun Qiang would not have been a match for him in a battle at the same cultivation realm!

Standing before the imposing array of swords, a slight smile crept onto Zhang Xuan's lips. Instead of attempting any evasive maneuvers, he opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.

Huala!

The countless swords immediately converged together into Zhang Xuan's mouth.

Geji! Geji!

Before anyone could process what was going on, the imposing array of swords was swallowed into Zhang Xuan's stomach.

"This..."

The faces of the surrounding crowd paled.

While others would be desperately trying to escape from the onslaught of sword qi, that fellow actually opened his mouth and swallowed it.

However, that was not the end of the shock yet.

"Here, I'll return them to you!"

The countless surges of sword qi that Zhang Xuan had swallowed earlier were melded into a short sword inside his abdomen, and with a resounding roar, the short sword burst forth toward Ma Minghai.

Along the trajectory of its movement, the short sword swiftly grew longer, reaching a length of a zhang 1 before it stopped growing. Even before reaching its target, the incomparably sharp aura that it emanated already left a sharp pain in the eyes of onlookers.

"Ahhh..." Not expecting such a move from Zhang Xuan, Ma Minghai's face paled.

Understanding the deep peril that he was in, he unhesitatingly released the seal of his cultivation, and his aura quickly rose.

Peng!

Nevertheless, he was still forced to retreat a dozen steps to ward off the momentum from Zhang Xuan's assault.

Only with the full might of his Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivation did he barely manage to withstand that attack, and even so, he still felt an aching pain gushing through his body. At the same time, the lingering shockwave from the collision had caused his robe to be shredded, leaving behind a tattered rag that barely covered his body.

"You are indeed very powerful..."

Taking a deep breath, Ma Minghai was just about to suppress his cultivation once more to release his most powerful move when he suddenly heard a voice sounding from above.

"Enough. You aren't a match for Zhang shi."

Turning around, Ma Minghai saw Pavilion Master Yue gesturing for him to back down with a wave of his hand.

"Yes!" As indignant as Ma Minghai felt, he knew that Pavilion Master Yue was right. Just the previous release of the seal on his cultivation was already enough to signify his defeat.

"I believe that Zhang shi should have proved his superior strength to everyone here, so let's end the duels right here." Pavilion Master Yue waved his hand.

At that moment, he was feeling stifled inside.

He had intended to use the hands of others to teach that brat a lesson, but not only did his plan fail tragically, it even became an opportunity for that brat to establish his dominance.

"End the duels right here? Are you really thinking that you will be able to get away scot-free after attempting to bully me? How could there be something that convenient in the world?" Zhang Xuan raised his eyelids to glance at Pavilion Master Yue, and his voice grew louder as he spoke.

"I, Qingyuan Empire's Zhang Xuan, request to challenge the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, Yue Yiquan. Please guide me along!"

One zhang = ~3.33m

Chapter 1259: Give Him Plenty Of It

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"He's challenging Pavilion Master Yue to a duel?"

"But Pavilion Master Yue is a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert!"

Everyone froze, unable to believe what they had just heard.

Yue Yiquan was not only the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, he was also a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert. To challenge him to a duel... had Zhang Xuan gone mad, or was he really that arrogant?

"You are challenging me?" Caught off guard by those words, Pavilion Master Yue was visibly startled for a moment before his eyes gradually narrowed into thin slits.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan replied with a cold smirk. "Surely you wouldn't shy away from a challenge from a junior, would you?"

From the very start, that fellow had been trying to make things difficult for him at every turn, and this had left Zhang Xuan deeply displeased.

The reason why he feigned weakness at the very start was to draw others to challenge him so that he could earn his fair share of concentrated high-tier spirit stones. Now that his strength was finally exposed, there should be no one so foolish to challenge him anymore.

Since that was the case, it was about time for him to settle some personal grudges.

You wanted to play politics with me?

Alright then. Let's see if you have the strength to back up your actions!

"Audacious!" An elder standing behind Pavilion Master Yue stood up and roared. "Zhang Xuan, mind your own standing! You are a mere 7-star master teacher from a Tier-1 Empire whereas Pavilion Master Yue is a quasi 8-star master teacher. Do you think that you are qualified to challenge him?"

"You are questioning my qualifications?" Zhang Xuan scoffed coldly as he flicked his wrist, and a token floated in the air. "Tell me, am I still unqualified now?"

"That token! You are... an honorary elder of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion?"

"H-how can that be?"

The revelation of the token left everyone in the room horrified, unable to believe what they were seeing.

They understood very well just how powerful the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion was. Even the most normal of managers there would be a top-notch expert at the very least, wielding unquestionable authority in his grasp. As for an honorary elder... that was a position so high that they couldn't even begin to fathom it!

Not only was the crowd astounded by this, Pavilion Master Yue's body had stiffened in horror as well.

Very clearly, Song shi hadn't informed him of this!

If he had known this in advance, even if one were to inflate his guts tenfold, he still wouldn't dare to provoke an elder from the Empire Alliance!

"Y-y-yes, you are qualified!" The face of the elder who had spoken earlier turned ghastly pale, and he fearfully replied with quivering lips.

With his eye of discernment, he could tell that the token was real. In other words, despite the young man's lacking cultivation and low master teacher rank, he was indeed a bona fide elder of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion.

A figure whom they could only look up to, not daring to offend in the slightest.

"Good!" Retracting his emblem, Zhang Xuan looked at Pavilion Master Yue coldly and said, "Pavilion Master Yue, are you going to turn down my challenge? You used a cup of Tianchen Brew to turn everyone against me, all just to exact vengeance for your wife's brother. Really, watching you play out your own act is truly cringeworthy. We are all master teachers here, do you think that your little ploys would really go unnoticed? Are you going to coward out after you have provoked me, an elder of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion?"

"This..."

"Exact vengeance? Does anyone know what's going on?"

"I arrived earlier, so I heard some news. It appears that there are some problems in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, so Pavilion Master Yue sent his wife's brother to deal with the matter. However, the latter failed to resolve the issue properly, abusing his authority even, so he ended up being crippled, and he's currently awaiting punishment from the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion as well..."

"There's such a matter? That explains why there's something weird about Pavilion Master Yue's behavior today..."

Hearing up to this point, there was no one else in the room who didn't know what was going on. They turned to look at Pavilion Master Yue once more, but this time, the nature of their gazes was very different.

They had thought that Pavilion Master Yue was an impartial and magnanimous person, and his personal charisma had also won them over for a while. However, from the looks of it now, it seemed like he was nothing more than a hypocrite...

To manipulate them to deal with Zhang Xuan, doing in his enemy without soiling his hand, Pavilion Master Yue sure knew how to play politics.

"Since it's a request from Elder Zhang, there's no reason for me to turn you down!" Noticing the hostile looks from the surroundings, Pavilion Master Yue clenched his fists tightly.

At this point, he knew that he couldn't back out of this matter anymore. Those in this room wouldn't allow him to retreat with his hands clean.

Huala!

Pavilion Master Yue got to his feet and walked forward before stopping at the center of the hall. With a soft chuckle, he said, "Elder Zhang, you are an honorary elder of the Empire Alliance, a person of extraordinary standing. It's an honor to have a duel with you, as well as a great learning experience. Considering that you are my senior, surely I don't have to suppress my cultivation, right?"

"Don't have to suppress his cultivation?"

"Pavilion Master Yue means to... fight against Zhang shi with his Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivation?"

"But Zhang shi is only at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage! Even if he were to use his cauldron as well, it's questionable whether he would be able to rival a Leaving Aperture realm expert or not, let alone a Half-Grand Dominion realm! Isn't Pavilion Master Yue clearly taking advantage of him?"

"This is really too much. I was still doubting the authenticity of Zhang shi's words earlier, but from the looks of it now, it's clear that Pavilion Master Yue is indeed intentionally trying to trip him over!"

...

A huge commotion broke out amidst the crowd.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan also narrowed his eyes menacingly.

Indeed, those who were advanced in age tended to be more cunning.

In his years of experience as the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, it seemed like Pavilion Master Yue had become rather adept at playing within the rules.

He first intentionally addressed Zhang Xuan as Elder Zhang so as to lower his standing, making Zhang Xuan appear as if he was in a superior position...

If it was a senior who had proposed the duel, the junior accepting the duel wouldn't have to lower his cultivation. Such was the convention in the Master Teacher Pavilion, especially considering that there were nearly no circumstances where a senior master teacher would be weaker than a junior master teacher.

And this was exactly the convention which Pavilion Master Yue was building his argument upon. Such conventions had already become something similar to unspoken rules, so from an 'official' stance, Pavilion Master Yue would be safe as long as he were to insist on it. Despite the condemnation from the crowd, there was really nothing Zhang Xuan could do to force Pavilion Master Yue to lower his cultivation.

So, in just a single move, Zhang Xuan had been cornered instead.

It seemed like Pavilion Master Yue had also realized that he wouldn't be a match for Zhang Xuan even with his cultivation suppressed, that was why he disregarded his reputation to propose something like this.

"Sure. You don't have to suppress your cultivation." Zhang Xuan nodded slightly.

You want to thrash me with your full power?

Sure, let's see if you have enough teeth for me to knock out!

From the point where I started my journey here from Tianxuan Kingdom, those who had attempted to do me in had all either suffered tragic fates or ended up becoming my students!

"I'll be thanking Elder Zhang for your kind guidance then!" Pavilion Master Yue chuckled politely, but the sharp glint that flickered across his eyes showed a very different story.

As he stretched his body slightly, a domineering aura burst forth from his body, reminiscent of a massive dragon soaring into the clouds.

At Half-Grand Dominion realm, Pavilion Master Yue's cultivation had already surpassed that of the other Vicious. With just a grasp of his hand, the surrounding space suddenly seemed to freeze on the spot, preventing anyone from making a move.

Hu la!

After driving his aura to its strongest, Pavilion Master Yue flicked his wrist and whipped out a sword.

He drove his zhenqi into the sword, and a resounding metallic call echoed from it. With just one look, it was apparent that the sword was of superior tier, Saint intermediate-tier at the very minimum.

A weapon of such caliber, paired with Pavilion Master Yue's cultivation and profound grasp of swordsmanship... There was no doubt that he was one of the strongest enemies that Zhang Xuan had encountered so far!

"Pavilion Master Yue has even taken out his sword?"

"He's clearly trying to quell Zhang shi!"

"Well, given that Pavilion Master Yue was exposed and challenged in public, it's a given that he would want to vie his dignity back!"

"It seems like Zhang shi is in a really dangerous position then..."

The crowd frowned upon seeing this sight.

Pavilion Master Yue was already a difficult adversary even without a sword, and now that he was equipped with one... it seemed unlikely for anyone beneath Grand Dominion realm to be able to match him.

"Since you took our your weapon, can I take that to mean that you wish to have a clash of weapons with me?" Zhang Xuan asked calmly.

Pavilion Master Yue nodded, "My specialty happens to be swordsmanship, so naturally, I hope to receive Elder Zhang's pointers in that aspect."

"Since you have wielded a weapon, I won't hold back either then." Zhang Xuan stated nonchalantly.

"Elder Zhang, feel free." Pavilion Master Yue replied with an impeccably polite smile.

He had seen Zhang Xuan's cauldron, and with his eye of discernment, he had gauged its fighting prowess to be roughly on par with Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage cultivators. Naturally, to a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert like him, that cauldron wouldn't pose any threat at all.

"Very well then." Zhang Xuan nodded slowly.

Then, he flicked his wrist.

Huala!

More than a hundred puppets suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall.

These were the puppets forged he had obtained from Vicious back at the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows.

As these puppets were forged from the hands of celestial designers, they didn't carry the aura of Otherworldly Demons. As such, there was no problem with Zhang Xuan using them in public.

"These are my weapons." Zhang Xuan replied calmly. "You guys, Pavilion Master Yue over there seeks your guidance. Make sure to give him plenty of it!"

"Yes!"

These puppets had all submitted to Zhang Xuan, so upon hearing his order, they immediately roared furiously before charging at Pavilion Master Yue.

While their cultivations were only at Leaving Aperture realm intermediate stage to advanced stage, lower than the Half-Grand Dominion realm Pavilion Master Yue, the issue lay in that there were more than a hundred of them! Watching as the hundred puppets charge toward him, Pavilion Master Yue suddenly felt as if someone had opened the gates of hell and let the demons loose on him.

"You..." Pavilion Master Yue could have never dreamed that Zhang Xuan would have so many powerful puppets in his possession, and his face immediately warped in horror.

He immediately flicked his sword to fend off the first incoming puppet, but in the next moment, two fists were already on their way to striking his back.

Before he could even turn around, more punches and kicks were already on their way to him from all different direction. To make things worse, they were all accurately aimed for his blind spots. It was as if those puppets knew the openings in his swordsmanship in advance, and they were exploiting them intentionally.

"It's a collaborative formation from the Combat Master Hall... and it seems like someone is guiding them too!" Pavilion Master Yue's body stiffened at the realization.

If these puppets were to attack randomly, with his Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivation, even though it was still likely to end in his loss, at least his defeat wouldn't have been too tragic. However, that was clearly not the situation now. Somehow, it seemed like Zhang Xuan knew where all of his openings were, and he was getting the puppets to attack him while cooperative with one another impeccably through using one of the most profound collaborative formation of the Combat Master Hall...

Things were really dangerous for him then!

And as expected, after trading a few blows, the puppets still remained completely unhurt whereas he was already covered with wounds.

Peng peng peng peng!

As the battle went on, the number of blows that Pavilion Master Yue received increased swiftly. From time to time, there would even be a kick landing squarely on his face. By ten minutes, his eyes were already swollen to the point where he had to squint to barely see what was before him.

As powerful as he was, there was no way he could withstand the simultaneous assault of more than a hundred Leaving Aperture realm combat master level fighting prowess puppets!

"If only I knew this would happen, I would have never proposed using weapons..." In this moment, Pavilion Master Yue really wanted to cry.

It was just a moment ago which he deeply believed that as long as he didn't suppress his cultivation, he would be able to destroy Zhang Xuan easily... Who in the world was to know that that fellow would have so many puppets in his possession!

Puppets were indeed considered to be weapons as well, so from that perspective, what Zhang Xuan did couldn't be considered to be against the rules...

But what that had left him even more frustrated was how leisurely he had told the young man to 'feel free' previously!

The young man sure had taken his words at face value!

"This..."

On the other hand, the rest of the crowd gulped down a mouthful of saliva as they watched the sight before them fearfully.

It was really fortunate that they didn't propose to have a duel using weapons after the precedence with the cauldron, or else even if all of them were to go at him simultaneously, their forces would still be utterly devastated!

"Zhao shi, please! Save Pavilion Master Yue!" Seeing how pitiful Pavilion Master Yue was being pummeled, the elder who had spoken earlier quickly turned to Zhao Xingmo and pleaded desperately.

Zhao Xingmo shot a nonchalant glance at Pavilion Master Yue as he casually picked up a piece of fatty meat and placed it into his mouth. After chewing and swallowing the piece of meat slowly, he calmly replied, "Pavilion Master Yue has agreed to the duel, and he was the one to set the rules too. I don't think that there's anything I can do to help him."

After witnessing everything with my own eyes, why should I bother helping someone like Yue Yiquan?

If a student from the Sanctum of Sages couldn't even stand up for himself after being bullied, he would be better of living a humble life as an ordinary master teacher!

Besides...

That fellow didn't even hesitate to beat me up either! Why should I sacrifice myself to save you?

"Pavilion Master Yue..." Seeing that Zhao Xingmo was reluctant to make a move, the elder could only panic helplessly by the side.

By this moment, Pavilion Master Yue was already lying feebly on the ground. His face was filled with footprints, and blood spouted out from his mouth as his body convulsed uncontrollably...

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Chapter 1260: Gambling with Your Life

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

After ten minutes of pummeling, it had already come to a point where it seemed like Pavilion Master Yue would lose his life if the puppets continued hitting him. Thus, Zhang Xuan could only reluctantly order his puppets to stop.

After stowing his puppets away, Zhang Xuan placed his finger on Pavilion Master Yue's renzhong 1 to wake him. Then, looking at the latter earnestly, he asked, "Pavilion Master Yue, you have used a weapon in the battle, so I used mine as well. It was a fair duel, so you should have no disagreements with the conclusion, right?"

"A fair duel?" Blood spouted from Pavilion Master Yue's mouth once more.

To send more than a hundred puppets to pummel the individual me, can that still be considered as a fair duel?

"If Pavilion Master Yue has any objections with the conclusion, I don't mind having a match with you right now without using any weapons," Zhang Xuan replied. "I fought four battle earlier without any rest whereas you have only fought one. Such will be advantageous to you, but considering that you are my junior, I'll make an exception just this once."

Pu!

Pavilion Master Yue spouted blood once more.

You weren't even injured in the four matches you fought whereas I am clearly on the verge of death, unable to move at all... How the heck am I supposed to battle with you?

"Pavilion Master Yue, can I take your silence as consent? Since that's the case, I guess I'll just have to reluctantly accompany you for a duel then!"

Seeing how the other party was focused on spouting blood, neglecting to answer his question, Zhang Xuan began walking over to Pavilion Master Yue with clenched fists, ready to sink it into the latter's flesh at any moment.

"I admit defeat! I admit defeat!" Pavilion Master Yue exclaimed.

At this point, there was nothing else he could do. He was clearly unfit for battle in his current state, so if the duel continued, he could very well lose his life.

For a Half-Grand Dominion expert like him to be forced to admit defeat to a mere Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage lad... The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt.

It's all that bastard Song Xuan's fault! Pavilion Master Yue thought with gritted teeth.

Had Song Xuan not misreported the information, he would not have been pummeled so badly. It felt as if Song Xuan wanted to pull him down with him!

"It's good that you have admitted defeat." Placing his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan straightened his body. "As the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, instead of thinking about how you can bring greater prosperity to mankind, you waste your time obsessing over your personal interest and making paltry gains.

"If I wasn't strong enough, not only would I have humiliated myself here, I might even have been severely injured as well. I'll report this to the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, and I'll leave them to judge this matter."

Pavilion Master Yue had exploited his position in order to settle his personal grudges. In the first place, the punishment that Song Xuan had received was justified, and yet, due to his personal ties, Pavilion Master Yue still attempted to exact vengeance on him. Just the lack of magnanimity he had displayed this far was already enough to show that he was not worthy of being the head of a Master Teacher Pavilion.

"I..." Pavilion Master Yue's face paled.

Zhang Xuan was an honorary elder of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion. These words were more than enough to end his career as the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion.

"Alright, feel free to continue. I'm going to rest now."

After everything that had happened, Zhang Xuan knew that it would only be uncomfortable for everyone if he remained in the hall. Thus, he turned around and left.

The moment he walked out of the door, two apprentice master teachers immediately rushed up to lead him to his accommodation.

Regardless of whether Zhang Xuan had a conflict with Pavilion Master Yue or not, he was still a guest of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. Even if only due to formalities, they would still have to prepare a proper accommodation for them.

Zhang Jiuxiao, Sun Qiang, and the others quickly followed along as well.

Their accommodation was a residence. Zhang Xuan took one of the rooms and closed the door before entering the Myriad Anthive Nest.

While there were some unpleasant events that had happened at the banquet earlier, he did earn fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones, so it was not too bad. With this many spirit stones, he could attempt to break the bottleneck of Primordial Spirit realm and reach Half-Leaving Aperture realm.

Once he reached that cultivation realm, he would be able to deal with Pavilion Master Yue even without his puppets.

Sitting on the ground, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out all the concentrated high-tier spirit stones that he had obtained earlier.

After making some preparations, he began absorbing the pure spiritual energy through his acupoints and converted it into Heaven's Path zhenqi.

Hong long!

Some time later, he successfully achieved a breakthrough—Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage!

Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!

Soon after, just as Zhang Xuan had reinforced his cultivation and was attempting a breakthrough to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, he found that the fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones had been completely expended, reduced to mere dust.

Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head. The effectiveness of concentrated high-tier spirit stones is falling along with the advancement in my cultivation.

Back when he achieved a breakthrough to Primordial Spirit realm, he had already noticed that the effectiveness of concentrated high-tier spirit stones was starting to dip. Nevertheless, he had thought that fifty of them should at least suffice for him to reach Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle. However, in the end, it was only enough for him to raise his cultivation by one stage.

It seemed like he would have to find some way to acquire higher tier spirit stones if he wished to achieve breakthroughs swiftly!

I should go out and take a look around!

Seeing that there was no way he could cultivate on, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply as he left the Myriad Anthive Nest and walked out of his room.

"Young Master..." Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, Sun Qiang and Zhang Jiuxiao immediately walked over and greeted him.

"Jiuxiao, are you familiar with Qianchong City? I need someone to take me around. I want to check if there's any place where I can exchange for or earn concentrated high-tier spirit stones," Zhang Xuan said.

"I came to Qianchong City three years ago, so I am quite familiar with the city. Is Zhang shi in urgent need of spirit stones?" Zhang Jiuxiao asked, slightly perplexed by Zhang Xuan's question.

Did the other party not just earn fifty pieces at the banquet?

Was it insufficient for his use?

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded, not explaining anything much.

If he told the other party that he needed more spirit stones because he had already expended those that he had earned during the banquet, there was a chance that the other party might have been shocked to death. In any case, it was a risk not worth taking.

"How many do you need?" Zhang Jiuxiao asked.

"As many as possible." Zhang Xuan roughly estimated. "It would be best if there's around three hundred or so!"

Based on his current consumption of spirit stones, in order to reach Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, he would require at least a hundred more. Furthermore, his soul cultivation was only at Saint 2-dan, and to raise it to Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle as well would require roughly another two hundred.

"Three hundred?" Zhang Jiuxiao's lips twitched. "You need so many of them? It won't be easy to find that many even in Qianchong City..."

While Qianchong City did have a spirit mine that produced concentrated high-tier spirit stone, it was far from becoming a common commodity in the city. Only the strongest of powers in Qianchong City would have the connections and wealth to obtain that many concentrated high-tier spirit stones.

Zhang Jiuxiao pondered for a moment. "Currently, I only know of three places that will have that many concentrated high-tier spirit stones. First, the Master Teacher Pavilion, which is here. Second, the Qianchong royal family. Third, the black market that I told you about earlier!"

"How could I have forgotten the Master Teacher Pavilion!" Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before he slapped his forehead.

Indeed! Considering how even those individual master teachers were able to take out ten to twenty of them easily, it should not have been too difficult for the Master Teacher Pavilion to take out three hundred of them.

"Hmm... Should I go look for Pavilion Master Yue and have him take out those spirit stones?" Zhang Xuan stroked his chin as he pondered. A moment later, he shook his head. "Better not. I have just beaten him up, and it would be bad for my reputation if I continued pummeling him."

If he extorted spirit stones out of Pavilion Master Yue right after pummeling him to a state of half-death, it would have seemed as if he was taking advantage of the weak, and it would have reflected badly on him.

No matter what, he still had his image and standing to uphold. If he extorted spirit stones from Pavilion Master Yue like that, he would have been no different from a street thug!

"The Master Teacher Pavilion is out for the moment then. As for the Qianchong royal family... I don't have any ties with them, so that's probably unfeasible, too."

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan said, "Where is the black market you spoke of? If I don't have anything to exchange for concentrated high-tier spirit stones, is there any way I can earn some there?"

"The black market is just outside of Qianchong City," Zhang Jiuxiao replied. "The fastest way you can earn concentrated high-tier spirit stone if you have nothing to trade for them would probably be... gambling!"

"Gambling?"

"Un, gambling with your life." Zhang Jiuxiao nodded. "The black market has something known as the Ring of Death. A victory in the Ring of Death will earn one a high-tier spirit stone, two consecutive victories two high-tier spirit stones, three consecutive victories three high-tier spirit stone, so on and so forth. But of course, that is only spare change—the big money lies in what comes later on. By winning ten consecutive matches, one will have earned the title of 'Conqueror of Ten', and that grants one the opportunity to clash with the other Conquerors of Ten. There will be many people putting their bets on those matches, and if one plays it right, it's possible to strike a windfall!

"But to be honest, those who were able to become Conquerors of Ten are all nigh invincible existences in their own class. There's no doubt that great wealth lies there, but the slightest misstep could spell one's death. Every year, countless experts are brutally killed in the ring!"

"I see." Zhang Xuan nodded as his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He was confident that he would not lose to anyone in the same cultivation realm, so if he became a Conqueror of Ten and clashed with the others, wouldn't he be able to learn lots of money swiftly?

Seeing through Zhang Xuan's thoughts, Zhang Jiuxiao advised, "Zhang shi, you are indeed extremely powerful in your power class, but... I think it would still be best for you to steer clear of the Ring of Death."

Intrigued, Zhang Xuan asked, "Why?"

Zhang Jiuxiao should have been fully aware of his strength, and yet, to still ask him to steer clear of the Ring of Death... could it mean that he had encountered cultivators who were even stronger than him in the Ring of Death?

"Other than the usage of excessively powerful artifacts, the Ring of Death has basically no rules whatsoever. Usage of poison, hidden weapons, trickery... Such means are all fair game. Putting everything aside, it's unlikely for even the powerful combat masters to last till the tenth round!"

At this point, a bitter smile crept on Zhang Jiuxiao's face before he said, "I also visited the Ring of Death out of curiosity back then, but in the fifth match, I was defeated."

In view of their standing, there were many means that a master teacher wouldn't be able to use in a battle. On the other hand, the fighters in the Ring of Death were those who underwent life-and-death battles every single day. They had no qualms resorting to whatever means they could think of, as long as it would aid them in slaying the opponent before them.

"You were defeated by the fifth match?"

"That's right. The ten victories required to become the Conqueror of Ten must not only be consecutive but continuous as well. In other words, you have to remain on the stage and fight ten opponents without any rest in between. While the opponent chosen for each match is selected by random, they typically grow stronger and stronger.

"Furthermore, each of them have different specialties—some are adept in physical assault, some are more skilled in soul arts, and some are masters of mystical arts, making it extremely difficult to guard against them. The reason I was defeated is due to exhaustion piling up, and the fellow in the fifth match took advantage of that well," Zhang Jiuxiao explained.

"Take me over to take a look," Zhang Xuan said.

To be plunged into a life-and-death battle one after another was indubitably a great challenge on one's mind and body.

But to Zhang Xuan, it was really nothing at all.

"Does Zhang shi really want to go?" Seeing how the other party was still insisting on it after all he had said, Zhang Jiuxiao shook his head and sighed. "If you find yourself in danger, it would be best for you to admit defeat quickly."

"Don't worry!" Zhang Xuan said confidently.

If he could earn spirit stones just by fighting matches one after another, just as Zhang Jiuxiao said, he should be able to easily earn enough to shut down the entire black market!

Just the thought of it left his heart trembling in excitement!

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Chapter 1261: Trading for Spirit Stones

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The underground market was located beneath a manor in the suburbs of Qianchong City. Before heading over, Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao had changed into leisurely clothes, assuming the roles of young scions heading out to play.

"It's said that the person who founded the black market in Qianchong City is an ill-fated scholar. The injustice he has faced from the bureaucratic system has made him harden his heart to the world, and he decided to forsake academics for martial arts. In order to vent the frustrations within him, he created the black market.

"In there, there's nothing that one cannot buy or do as long as one has sufficient money. Of course... the prices there are exorbitant as well. In fact, it could be said to be the greatest money sink in the Qianchong Empire!"

While advancing forward, Zhang Jiuxiao briefly introduced the black market to Zhang Xuan.

"Considering the scale of the black market, isn't it weird that the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion and the royal family have left them to their own devices?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Since even an outsider like Zhang Jiuxiao knew about this place, there was no doubt that the royal family and the regional Master Teacher Pavilion were aware of its existence as well. Thus, shouldn't they have moved to strike down the black market instead of allowing it to develop freely, especially considering that they were gambling with the lives of others?

"The Master Teacher Pavilion and royal family do keep a lookout for the black market just in case it gets out of hand, but otherwise, they usually leave it be for stability considerations."

"Stability considerations?" Zhang Xuan asked in incomprehension.

Even though they had not arrived at the black market yet, based on what Zhang Jiuxiao had said so far, it seemed like the black market was effectively a lawless area, devoid of any security or rules. How could an existence like that in Qianchong City possibly contribute to its stability?

"The larger a city is, the more cultivators it has. There's always a lack of cultivation resources, so it's inevitable that cultivators will clash with one another to vie for them. As this is a fundamental problem, there's no way that the royal family or the Master Teacher Pavilion can stop them altogether," Zhang Jiuxiao explained.

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.

In this world where strength reigned supreme, there was no doubt that raising one's cultivation realm was extremely important. However, given that the resources in the world were limited, there was bound to be conflict and strife over them.

No matter how powerful the Master Teacher Pavilion was, it could not possibly prevent such matters altogether. If it implemented forceful measures to put a halt to such conflicts, it might face serious backlash from the stifled cultivators.

"An underground black market might be unseemly, but it's a possible channel where cultivators can acquire what they need as long as they have enough money. And to earn sufficient money, they have to cultivate harder and battle. With such a channel, there is a lesser need for cultivators to engage in dishonorable actions such as stealing to obtain what they need. While there are quite a few casualties from the Ring of Death, there's no doubt that the security of Qianchong City as a whole has improved," Zhang Jiuxiao said.

Where there was light, there were bound to be shadows as well.

There were misfits even within the Master Teacher Pavilion, let alone the other cultivators. Without an avenue to vent their darker desires or acquire their resources, there was no knowing what extreme actions cultivators might resort to within the city.

As the saying went, ' A lake too clear will sustain no fish; a man too severe will find no companion. 1 '

The existence of a black market was unlawful and should have been frowned on, but if it could reduce crime rates in the city, there would be a meaning to its existence as well.

Take his previous life for example, there was a certain occupation that was banned in several countries. But despite the authorities knowing where the people of that occupation operated, they still allowed its existence. It was not that they could not shut it down, but the occupation served its own role in society. It satisfied the needs of others, and through doing so, it reduced crime rates in that aspect.

If they really eradicated it altogether, that would potentially pose a challenge to the security of the society.

Such was the same for the Qianchong Empire's black market as well.

It was unlawful on the surface, but its existence could prevent societal problems from arising in the city. In view of that, the royal family eventually chose to look the other way when it came to their operations.

As for the Master Teacher Pavilion, as long as there was no grievous injustice being dealt and the matter would not harm mankind in general, it usually would not interfere. After all, its manpower was limited.

Thinking back, it was likely that Hongyuan City, Qingyuan City, and the other capitals should also have had such a place. It was just that Zhang Xuan had been too preoccupied with other matters, and he had never stayed too long in each city either.

Just as Zhang Xuan was in the midst of his thoughts, Zhang Jiuxiao said, "Alright, we have arrived!"

Raising his head, Zhang Xuan saw a massive manor right before him.

Before they could walk into the manor, two middle-aged men stood in their path and demanded, "Token!"

Surprisingly, they were both Primordial Spirit realm experts, and they emanated a powerful killing aura. With just a look, it was clear that they were veterans who had killed many enemies in battle.

Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and passed an object over.

A middle-aged man took the object and examined it closely before passing two black cloths over, gesturing for them to cover their eyes.

Following Zhang Jiuxiao's lead, Zhang Xuan wrapped the black cloth around his eyes, and he realized that not only did it hinder his sight, even his Spiritual Perception was impeded, preventing him from clearly perceiving his surroundings.

Under the lead of the two middle-aged men, they walked for roughly ten minutes before the cloth around their eyes was finally loosened.

A massive mall came into sight. There was a huge crowd milling about, and they extended all the way to the horizon. Even though they were underground, the brilliant glow of the Night Illumination Pearls had the entire area brightly lit as if it was day.

"This..." Blinking in wonder, Zhang Xuan began scanning his surroundings.

He had been to plenty of trading halls, markets, and malls, and even though the scale of the mall before him was not too big, the items that were on display were truly astounding.

Walking past the various vendors, Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed in astonishment. "Is that the Black Goldcrystal Ore? It's actually on sale here?"

The Black Goldcrystal Ore was a treasure that Wu Yangzi had left behind in his heritage. It was known to be extremely rare, such that it could not even be found anywhere in Qingyuan City. Yet, in this black market, it was actually placed on public display!

Despite seeing all of this with his own eyes, Zhang Xuan still found it difficult to accept.

Noticing Zhang Xuan's expression, Zhang Jiuxiao chuckled softly. "Even though the Black Goldcrystal Ore is rare, it isn't completely unobtainable. It isn't that surprising for it to be on sale here."

He had also been like that the first time he entered the black market, hardly daring to believe the treasures that were being sold so casually around him. However, after seeing more of it, he had gradually grown used to it.

"Cultivation technique manuals, Saint intermediate-tier artifacts, intelligence... As expected of a black market, they really have everything here!" Zhang Xuan remarked in awe as they walked along the street.

It was really as if everything was on sale there, regardless of whether the item was lawful or unlawful.

Upon seeing a store that sold cultivation technique manuals, Zhang Xuan stopped and asked, "Are there are Half-Leaving Aperture realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivation techniques here?"

"We do. Depending of the tier of the cultivation technique manual, we will charge different prices!" the elder watching the store replied lazily.

The black market also had its own guards to maintain security. As such, the vendors did not fear that their good would be snatched.

"Oh? How much do they cost?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Gesturing to the board beside him, the elder replied nonchalantly, "Take a look at it yourself."

Saint intermediate-tier cultivation techniques and battle techniques cost roughly ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones at the minimum. Naturally, those of lower tiers were slightly cheaper.

The price of a single book was still acceptable for Zhang Xuan, but if he had to buy the thousands of books required for him to successfully compile a Heaven's Path Divine Art, that would really be a huge expenditure.

"How many Half-Leaving Aperture realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivation technique manuals do you have?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I have a total of 327 for Half-Leaving Aperture realm and 52 for Leaving Aperture realm. They are all on the shelves there. They have been sealed, so don't bother using your Spiritual Perception to scan them. If there's a book you are interested in, fork out the money and I'll copy down a new one for you. Don't worry, the cultivation techniques we have here are all complete and detailed. We even have the Crouching Dragon Art, which the Qianchong royal family practices, and the Supersonic Severing Swordsmanship that Pavilion Master Yue practices. The prices are very fair as well," the elder said with a proud wave of his hand.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan looked at the bookshelves before him. There were quite a few books on them, but they had been sealed with some kind of special formation, making it impossible to view their content through Spiritual Perception.

However... When had Zhang Xuan needed to rely on Spiritual Perception to read a book?

Sweeping across them with his eyes, he muttered in his mind, Flaws!

Huala!

The shelves of books immediately materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

These books were indeed high quality, but it was a pity that they were lacking in quantity, so he was still unable to compile a complete Heaven's Path Divine Art.

There's really the royal family's Crouching Dragon Art and Pavilion Master Yue's swordsmanship... Isn't this black market a little too powerful? Zhang Xuan exclaimed internally after swiftly browsing through the books in the Library of Heaven's Path.

On his journey here from Tianxuan Kingdom, the cultivation techniques practiced by the royal families had all been confidential secrets. Outsiders would never be allowed to even come close to them, let alone lay their hands on them. Yet, for them to actually appear in a black market like this, placed on public display for sale... this was really frightening in another way.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was scanning through the books, the elder asked casually, "Which one do you wish to buy? I'll have it copied for you."

"There's no need for it..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Since he had already collected those books into the Library of Heaven's Path, there was no need for him to waste precious concentrated high-tier spirit stones on them, not to mention that he did not have the money to afford any at the moment anyway.

On the other hand, seeing that Zhang Xuan would not be buying anything, the elder turned his head away coldly, not wanting to waste any effort on him anymore.

There were plenty of people who would ask him for the prices of his cultivation technique manuals just to put on a show despite not having the money to afford them. He was already used to it.

After leaving the book vendor, Zhang Xuan continued proceeding ahead. There were really all kinds of valuable treasures on sales, and even grade-7 pinnacle pills could be found here and there.

Zhang Jiuxiao pointed to the area ahead of him and said, "Zhang shi, the shop up ahead is the place where one can trade items for concentrated high-tier spirit stones. If you have some spare high-tier spirit stones or other miscellaneous artifacts, you can have them exchanged for concentrated high-tier spirit stones. However, the prices will be pushed down, so you might not get a good exchange rate."

Turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan saw a store with a long and narrow reception. There were two attendants on wait there, and there were hardly any customers to be seen.

Walking up, Zhang Xuan took a look at the exchange rate listed on the wall, and his mouth began twitching uncontrollably.

It sure was a huge scam.

Under normal circumstances, the exchange rate for high-tier spirit stones to concentrated high-tier spirit stones was 1,000:1. However, the store actually tripled it, turning it into 3,000:1.

In other words, he had to exchange three thousand high-tier spirit stones for a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone!

Most cultivators would pretty much have to bankrupt themselves just to trade for a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone here.

At the same time, the average price for Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle Saint intermediate-tier artifacts would be around ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones, but over here, it was only worth three. Even Leaving Aperture realm Saint intermediate-tier artifacts were only worth six.

Well, Ding Ding is still rather valuable, worth about roughly thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones... Zhang Xuan stroked his chin as he swiftly calculated the price of the Golden Origin Cauldron.

Even though plundering the Ten Great Kings and Qingtian Emperor and the sales of the Cloudmist Flower had earned him a fair sum, all in all, that only added up to roughly sixty thousand high-tier spirit stones. In order to raise his soul cultivation, he had expended quite a number of them, so he only had roughly forty thousand of them left at the moment.

In other words, he could only trade for ten concentrated high-tier spirit stones in this store!

That did not even come close to the value of his Ding Ding!

Zhang Xuan pondered hard for a moment before eventually shaking his head.Forget it, that fellow has been rather loyal to me, so I can't really sell it.

Sighing deeply, Zhang Xuan walked up to the attendant.

"I want to trade for concentrated high-tier spirit stones."

"How many do you need?" the attendant asked nonchalantly.

"How many can I trade all of this for?"

Hong long!

With a loud boom, a huge bunch of high-tier spirit stones, weapons, medicinal herbs, ores, and the like fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust in the area.

"So many items?"

The attendant rose to his feet in astonishment.

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Chapter 1262: Annal of Bedstead Disquisition

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

This attendant was extremely young, appearing to be only in his early thirties. His cultivation was only at Half-Saint as well. He did not think much when Zhang Xuan first approached him, but upon seeing the countless items on the ground, his eyes widened in agitation.

Due to the exorbitant prices in the black market, unless in cases of emergency, rarely would there be anyone who was willing to exchange for concentrated high-tier spirit stones there. As a result, he had rarely received any customers. Thus, it was completely inconceivable for him to see Zhang Xuan pulling out so many items at once.

It took a moment before the attendant shook himself out of his daze, and he anxiously turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, "Gongzi, do you want to trade in all of these for concentrated high-tier spirit stones?"

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had taken most of these items from the Qingtian Lineage and the Qingyuan royal family. In the past, they could still have been considered valuable resources to him, but after his cultivation reached Primordial Spirit realm, they were no longer useful to him.

Rather than taking up space, he was better off trading them for something that could be used to raise his cultivation further.

"A-alright! I'll have the appraiser come over right now..." Knowing that an invaluable customer was standing before him, the attendant dared not show the slightest disrespect to Zhang Xuan. He quickly rushed into the store, and before long, he returned with an elder behind him.

After swiftly assessing the items, the elder turned to Zhang Xuan and said, "All in all, your items can be traded for 113 concentrated high-tier spirit stones. Here's the receipt, please take a look..."

However, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, "There's no need for that. Bring me the spirit stones."

He had tabulated the total cost earlier as well, and his calculations were roughly in line with the final price the elder had mentioned.

The elder nodded. "Very well. Bring me the spirit stones!"

The attendant quickly rushed back into the store before returning with a storage ring in hand.

Taking the storage ring, Zhang Xuan quickly took a look inside. 113 concentrated high-tier spirit stones, no more no less.

"Zhang gongzi, by trading a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stone at our store, you have already automatically become an esteemed guest of our market. It happens that we have an auction tonight that is only opened to esteemed guests, so I would like to extend an invitation over to you as well." Smiling, the elder passed over a token that represented Zhang Xuan's identity as an esteemed guest of the market.

To trade in so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones at once, Zhang Xuan could already be considered a huge customer of the black market, qualifying him to become an esteemed guest.

"Auction?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "For the time being, I'm not really interested in attending any auctions."

What he was lacking the most at the moment was spirit stones. Everything aside from that was not of much use.

"Gongzi, please don't reject my offer so quickly. Perhaps, you might change your mind after hearing my introduction of the auction tonight!" the elder replied with a confident smile.

"Oh?"

"In the auction tonight, there will be two Leaving Aperture realm Saint intermediate-tier artifacts and a quasi grade-8 pill that can fully restore the strength of a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator within three seconds, making it a miracle pill for clearing one's Leaving Aperture Ordeal!" the elder said proudly.

The Leaving Aperture Ordeal was a battle against the power of the heavens. Just the slightest weakness in the midst of the ordeal could spell the utter annihilation of one's body and soul.

In view of the risks, many cultivators would spend huge sums of money to purchase quasi grade-8 pills that would allow them to swiftly regain their strength. This would ensure that their strength would not be depleted in the midst of facing the lightning tribulation, thus enhancing their chances of clearing it.

Of course, such pills were extremely expensive as well. The average cultivator would never be able to afford their exorbitant prices.

"It's fine..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

After cultivating the Saint Ascension Decipher, Zhang Xuan's zhenqi capacity could be said to be nearly boundless compared to ordinary cultivators. As such, the effects of those quasi grade-8 pills on him were truly insignificant. As for Saint-tier artifacts, he already had the Golden Origin Cauldron and his army of puppets. Why should he waste his money on purchasing others?

With a light chuckle, the elder said, "If gongzi is uninterested in those, there's one thing that you might be interested in."

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Annal of Bedstead Disquisition!" the elder said.

"Annal of Bedstead Disquisition?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"When Sage Luo passed by this area, the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion back then, Pavilion Master Yan, specially visited him to pay respects to him.

"Seeing that Sage Luo was resting, he stood perfectly still on the spot for three days straight, resulting in a huge heap of snow covering his entire body. In view of his sincerity, Sage Luo began lecturing Pavilion Master Yan while seated on his bedstead.

"According to historical records, the sight then was truly phenomenal. Countless celestial flowers descended from the sky, and golden lotuses bloomed from the ground. Origin Energy surged into the surroundings, and even the heavens seemed to rattle from his teachings.

"Pavilion Master Yan recorded the teachings that Sage Luo imparted to him back then in a book and passed it down to the later generations, and that book is known as the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition!" the elder explained.

"Sage Luo?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Un. The old ancestor of Sage Luo Clan, Luo Tianyun!" the elder replied with a nod. "According to the rumors, there are some secrets concerning the Luo Clan's cultivation technique hidden within the annal, and if one studies it diligently, it will advance one's understanding of space significantly.

"However, the annal went missing at some point in time, and for many years, no one was able to find it. It was only recently that someone coincidentally discovered it, and passing through many hands, it eventually found its way into our market."

Hearing the explanation, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

In truth, he had no interest in the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition. However, hearing that it had some ties with the Luo Clan, he could not help but feel a little moved.

If he could uncover the secrets of the Luo Clan's cultivation technique through the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, this might very well add to his bargaining power against the Luo Clan when he sought Luo Ruoxin in the future.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before asking, "May I know roughly how much the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition is likely to be sold at?"

If he could get a rough estimate of the price of the artifact, he would at least have a rough target as to how much concentrated high-tier spirit stones he would have to earn.

Even though he had just exchanged for more than a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones, there was no doubt that this sum would be far from sufficient for him to buy something as valuable as the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition.

"While the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition was not written by Sage Luo himself, it does contain the essence of his teachings. Even if only a tenth of the original conception is harnessed in the text, there's no doubt that it's an unparalleled treasure to Primordial Spirit realm and Leaving Aperture realm cultivators. As such, even I can't say for sure how much it'll be sold for.

"However, the starting bid is five hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones, so I reckon the auctioning price will be a thousand at the very minimum. Gongzi, if you wish to purchase the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, you should quickly gather your concentrated high-tier spirit stones," the elder advised.

Due to Zhang Xuan's earlier action of whipping out countless valuables, the elder was already convinced that the young man was a wealthy scion. If that was the case, it would not have been too difficult for him to fork out a few hundred or even a few thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Help me reserve a seat. I'll make some preparations first. I'll rush back later when the auction starts."

Seeing that there was some time until night fell, Zhang Xuan decided to head to the Ring of Death first to see if he could rake in a thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones.

"Alright." The elder nodded as he began making preparations.

"Alright, let's go!" After dealing with the matter at hand, Zhang Xuan beckoned Zhang Jiuxiao over and had the latter take him over to the dueling ring.

The dueling ring was located at the very center of the black market. The personnel of the Ring of Death first checked their cultivation and handed them a token that represented their tier before letting them in.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan's cultivation had already reached Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, Zhang Jiuxiao was rendered speechless.

The rate at which this fellow's cultivation rose honestly left him feeling deeply crazed within.

The first time that they met, he was only at Spiritual Perception realm. Yet, in just a few days, he had become a Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage cultivator, just like him. And two hours ago, when he was fighting against the other young geniuses during the banquet, he was certain the other party's cultivation had still been at intermediate stage too, but within this short period of time, Zhang Xuan had actually managed to make a breakthrough.

All along, he had prided himself as a genius, but seeing the rate at which the other party was growing, Zhang Jiuxiao suddenly realized that he was just an ordinary mortal after all.

They were not even on the same level of existence.

Seeing the traumatized look on Zhang Jiuxiao's face, Zhang Xuan explained, "I managed to reinforce my cultivation sufficiently, so I was able to achieve a breakthrough just a moment ago..."

"You managed to reinforce your cultivation sufficiently..." Those words only furthered Zhang Jiuxiao's trauma.

Others take at least months to fully reinforce their cultivation at Primordial Spirit realm, but this fellow took a day or two.

Really, there was no comparing with him.

Forget it. There's bound to be a disparity between the both of us. After all, he's a Celestial Master Teacher, Zhang Jiuxiao consoled himself.

If Zhang Xuan could not achieve the extraordinary, how could he receive the acknowledgement of the heavens?

While Zhang Jiuxiao was still deep in thought, a middle-aged manager of the Ring of Death walked over and asked, "Which of the two of you is going into the ring later?"

"I'll be going on the ring," Zhang Xuan replied.

"I'll first fill you in on the rules and requirements on the ring. In order to join the ring, you must first pay two concentrated high-tier spirit stones as a participation fee. During the match, the weapons, hidden weapons, and similar equipment that you are intending to use must be supplied by us. You must not use your own personal items. This is to ensure fairness on the ring," the middle-aged manager explained.

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded.

The rules were also roughly as he guessed as much. Otherwise, if a participant were to bring an extraordinarily powerful weapon on the ring, they would be able to easily dominate the entire ring. There would be minimal suspense and entertainment for the audience, and the purpose of the Ring of Death would also be rendered meaningless.

"Also, after you win five rounds, we will start opening bets for your matches. As there are stakes involved, unless you are incapacitated or crippled, any attempts to surrender will be considered invalid by the Ring of Death. This is extremely important, so do prepare yourself for it," the middle-aged manager said.

"Incapacitated or crippled?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

Zhang Jiuxiao had not told him about this previously.

"Yes. Every victory and loss will have great implications once we open bets. If a challenger who is capable of achieving victory intentionally admits defeat, it would be a crushing blow to the credibility of our Ring of Death. For this reason, we strike down very hard on challengers who lose on purpose," the middle-aged manager explained.

"I understand." Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had some reservations regarding that rule, but he knew that it was necessary for the functioning of the Ring of Death. It was precisely the excitement from the suspense of the matches that had cultivators betting their wealth frenziedly. If it was found that the results in the Ring of Death were manipulated, the ring would swiftly become boring and meaningless to others.

As a result, the earnings of the Ring of Death would dip as well.

"That's all I have for you. If you still wish to continue, I'll have you registered right now. Otherwise, the both of you can proceed on to the spectator stand," the middle-aged manager said.

"I want to participate in the Ring of Death," Zhang Xuan replied calmly as he took out two concentrated high-tier spirit stones to pay the registration fee. After which, he passed his entire storage ring to Zhang Jiuxiao.

"I'll need you to bet for me later on. Just go all in on my victory each time around."

"Very well!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

The reason Zhang Xuan had gone there was to win spirit stones, and it went without saying the fastest way to win more spirit stones was to gamble their wealth!

Soon, Zhang Jiuxiao was led to the spectator stand whereas Zhang Xuan was taken to the backstage to prepare.

Boom!

While passing by the spectator stand, Zhang Xuan took a look into the ring and saw that there were two people battling inside. Their furious clash of zhenqi induced a deafening reverberation in the air, and watching the adrenaline-filled sight, the crowd screamed in excitement.

"Tear him apart! Tear him apart!"

Such exclamations could be heard among the crowd.

Looking into one of the rings through the door, Zhang Xuan saw a middle-aged man dressed in metal armor letting loose a raging roar as he raised his opponent into the air.

The middle-aged man had a towering physique, standing at two meters tall. In comparison, the opponent he was holding appeared to be a helpless, small chick instead.

Si la!

With a fiery bellow, the middle-aged man forcefully tore his opponent in half, and fresh blood poured all over him, dyeing him crimson.

This sight left Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shooting up as he clenched his fists tightly.

He had undergone many battles, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a brutal and meaningless murder, as if a human's life was nothing more than a toy.

When he strolled through the area earlier and browsed through the array of items they had on sale, he had felt that the black market did not seem any different from other mall. However, after seeing this sight, he realized that all he had seen before was just the very surface of the black market. It was not without a reason that the black market was labeled as a lawless zone. In here, a human's life had no intrinsic value at all.

Without superior strength in the Ring of Death, one was bound to be ripped into shreds in the ring.

It was no wonder Zhang Jiuxiao retreated after five rounds. Even for a master teacher, such callousness was hard to swallow.

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Chapter 1263: Hong Yang

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"How is it? It's still not too late for you to back out!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan's face had changed, the middle-aged manager scoffed.

In his time at the Ring of Death, he had met plenty of young scions who put on airs and bragged about their strength. However, when they finally witnessed the brutality on the Ring of Death firsthand, their bodies would freeze in fear.

"There's no need for that." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

What he was shocked at was how lightly a human had taken the life of another, not the bloodshed that had occurred.

In terms of fearsomeness, they wouldn't even come close to competing with the bloodthirsty Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!

Harnessing a killing intent that would leave any ordinary cultivator scrambling away in fear, these Otherworldly Demons would unhesitatingly feast on the blood and flesh of any man! But from the first time he encountered them, Zhang Xuan was already able to take them into committing suicide, so how could a battle between two humans possibly frighten him?

"Not bad, you do have some guts. Go in!" The middle-aged manager was surprised by how swiftly Zhang Xuan had managed to calm himself down, and a hint of approval emerged in his eyes.

Heading down the stairs, Zhang Xuan soon arrived in a room. There were all kinds of weapons in the room, and they were all of Saint low-tier. Perhaps to allow any cultivator to wield them easily, none of them contained any spirit.

"You can freely pick any weapon you would like to use in the ring later. There are no limits how many you can take, so feel free to take anything you want. However, should any of these weapons be spoiled in battle, you are to compensate us accordingly. Also, at the end of your duels, you have to put the weapons you have taken back in its place prior to leaving." the middle-aged manager said while gesturing to the weapons.

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded. He swiftly scanned the surroundings before making his way over to a saber rack.

There were more than a hundred sabers in here, be it short sabers, long sabers, nine-ringed sabers, single-handed saber, ghost-head saber... The variety of weapons that were available here was truly astounding.

Zhang Xuan lightly brushed through the weapons with his finger before casually picking one that seemed to be slightly heavier. He flicked it a few times, seemingly testing out its handiness, before shaking his head and putting it back down. He repeated the same process for a few other weapons before eventually sighing deeply.

"Forget it, I won't use any weapons!" Zhang Xuan told the middle-aged manager.

"You aren't going to use any weapons?" the middle-aged manager was taken aback.

After witnessing the brutality in the ring, most of those who had registered to fight in the ring would be eager to take as many weapons as they could with them. After all, it might just happen to play a crucial role in helping them out of a critical situation. On the other hand, this fellow actually chose not to take anything with him at all... Was he really that confident in his skills?

"If one's strength is lacking, no weapon can save him." Zhang Xuan replied impassively.

"Alright then." Deciding not to say anything more, the middle-aged manager pushed another door open and walked in. Zhang Xuan swiftly followed suit, and within the room, he saw dozens of cultivators sitting cross-legged on the ground, conditioning themselves in preparation for the battle to come.

Every single one of them carried the stench of blood on them. Clearly, they carried numerous human lives on them.

"Wait here for the time being. We'll call you when it's your turn!" the middle-aged manager instructed before leaving the area.

Left to be, Zhang Xuan began scanning his surroundings.

He noted that while the dozens of cultivators in the room appeared to be cultivating, they had retained a sliver of their awareness out to observe their surroundings constantly, guarding warily against one another. If anyone were to dare approach them carelessly, they might abruptly burst forward to launch a preemptive strike out of self-defense.

A moment after Zhang Xuan found a place to sit, an indifferent voice sounded beside him, "A newcomer to the ring?"

Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw that the person speaking to him was a young man who appeared to be in his early thirties 1 . There was a crimson saber cut on his face, and blood was still trickling out of it. It was likely to have been inflicted on him not too long ago, such that he hadn't had the time to recover from it yet.

Considering how cold the cultivators in this room were, Zhang Xuan was rather surprised that someone would take the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.

"You can tell?"

"Those who have experienced the ring would have eyes reminiscent of ravenous wolves, ferocious and vicious. There is no way one can survive the savagery that happens up there otherwise. In comparison, you are nothing more than a little tame sheep. How can I not be able to tell?" the scar-faced young man scoffed.

Strength did play a deterministic role in the Ring of Death, but 'viciousness' was also another crucial factor as well!

Not just vicious to one's opponent, but vicious to oneself as well.

Those who were willing to sacrifice their own bodies to launch a decisive blow would stand a far better chance at subduing their opponent as compared to those who expected to walk out of the ring completely unharmed. The young man before him had an air of innocence around him, reminiscent to that of a scion who had never weathered through the harshness of the world before.

"Little tame sheep?" Zhang Xuan was visibly a little amused by the scar-faced young man's metaphor.

So far, he had been treated like a God of Destruction no matter where he went, leaving behind demolished buildings and traumatized minds in his wake. Yet, in the young man's eyes, he was just a little tame sheep?

Perhaps he was really a little too good-tempered.

"Of course! Those who have never stepped onto the ring and undergone the initiation ritual of bloodshed are nothing more than tame sheep! Let me tell you, I have already won six consecutive victories so far! It's just a pity that the seventh opponent is too strong, and I depleted too much of my zhenqi. Otherwise, there's a good chance that I could have very well become a Conqueror of Ten by now!" the scar-faced young man declared proudly.

"Incredible." Zhang Xuan offered an earnest compliment.

Even a genius like Zhang Jiuxiao didn't even get to the six matches. The fact that the young man could win six consecutive matches already bore testimony to his strength and state of mind.

Jiya!

While they were chatting, the door ahead suddenly opened. A powerful killing intent poured into the room, exerting immense pressure on the cultivators within.

"It's him?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

A figure had appeared by the door, and it was no other than the metal-armored middle-aged man who had ripped a person to two on the ring earlier.

This middle-aged man had a towering stature, similar to a metal tower. The thick metal armor that he wore was completely dyed in crimson, and fresh blood was still trickling down the edges of his armor. Such an appearance made him reminiscent of a savage Asura on the battlefield, wedging fear deep into the hearts of others.

"That's the strongest existence in the black market at the moment, Hong Yang!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan didn't recognize the person by the doorway, the scar-faced young man sent a telepathic message over to him to introduce him. "He's also known as the Conqueror of Hundred!"

"Conqueror of Hundred?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback. "He has won a hundred matches consecutively?"

"It's not that. Rather, he has won ten Conquerors of Ten consecutively! The fellows who challenged him had all been ripped into two, as dead as they could get!" the scar-faced young man replied as a hint of fear flickered across his eyes.

He was full of admiration for the strength Hong Yang wielded before him, but the brutal means that the latter used had left him deeply fearful as well.

And very apparently, such a feeling resonated not just within him but the others in the room as well.

Hong Yang slowly walked over to the corner and glared down coldly at the two young men cultivating there, bellowing, "Scram!"

Without any hesitation, those two young men hurriedly got up and scrambled away.

Huala!

Even when seated, Hong Yang's figure still conspicuously towered over the others. He took out a pill and swallowed it, and his aura began to billow.

On the other hand, the crowd heaved a sigh of relief with uncanny harmony. Those who were in proximity to Hong Yang slowly shifted backward, creating a huge vacuum around him.

"Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage..." Through the aura Hong Yang was emanating, Zhang Xuan was able to clearly perceive his cultivation.

Just like him, Hong Yang was a Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator.

However, the killing intent that he emanated was truly overwhelming. Even a cultivator of the same realm would experience great mental pressure facing him, even prior to the battle itself.

Activating the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan was just about to take a clearer view to the strength of the young man before him when Hong Yang suddenly raised his gaze and looked over.

"What powerful instincts..." Zhang Xuan was slightly startled.

As expected of an existence who had consecutively defeated ten Conquerors of Ten, his awareness of his surroundings was truly fearsome.

It was just an inconspicuous glance, but the other party still sensed the nature of his gaze clearly and even ascertained the direction where it was coming from accurately. With such powerful instincts, it would be nigh impossible to spring a surprise assault on him.

"It seems like life-and-death situations do help to temper a person greatly. Even though Hong Yang's cultivation is at Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, it seems like he would be a match for even a Half-Leaving Aperture realm master teacher... In fact, if he was locked together with a combat master of equal cultivation realm, it was very likely that he would be the one to survive at the very end!" Zhang Xuan noted.

How powerful one was didn't rely solely on one's strength. How one reacted in face of pressure and danger was of utmost importance as well.

Even though a cow possessed strength far superior to a wolf, if the both of them were to be placed in the same room, the cow was likely to be the one to fall at the very end.

And Hong Yang was this very wolf. Or perhaps, it might be more accurate to call him a ravenous tiger instead. Anyone who dared to come close to him would be ripped apart by his sharp fangs.

"Newcomer, scram to the side. Don't you know this is my seat?" While Zhang Xuan was busy assessing Hong Yang, a cold voice suddenly sounded above him.

Raising his gaze, he saw that one of the two young men chased away by Hong Yang earlier standing before him.

"Is your name inscribed anywhere here?" Zhang Xuan replied nonchalantly, not intending to make a move at all.

To scramble fearfully in face of Hong Yang yet stomp right up to him just because he appeared to be a newcomer... A typical bully, huh?

"Oh? The newcomers seem to be getting quite cocky nowadays, huh?"

"Qian Xu, it seems like you don't have much of a presence anymore!"

Seeing how Zhang Xuan refused to move, retorting back even, the cultivating crowd slowly opened their eyes to watch the commotion before them in interest.

"You say that my name isn't inscribed here? Hehe, since you wish it so, why don't I have it inscribed for you right now!"

The young man named Qian Xu didn't expect that a newcomer to dare affront him like that, and his eyes narrowed menacingly. A dagger abruptly appeared in his palm, and he swiftly swiped it right toward Zhang Xuan's forehead.

His movements were fast and devoid of any hesitation. It was as if the person he was attacking wasn't a human but a mere tree branch.

If that dagger were to be plunged into Zhang Xuan's head, there was no doubt that it would cause instantaneous death.

"You want to claim my life over a trivial matter like this?" Zhang Xuan scoffed coldly.

It was one thing if there was an irreconcilable grudge between both of them, but to attempt to take his life just because he wouldn't give up his seat... It seemed like the young man really thought nothing about a human's life!

Even in this world, where strength reigned mighty, such actions were truly abhorrent.

Displeased, Zhang Xuan raised his finger and fend off the other party's dagger.

Ding!

His finger struck the blade of the dagger, and with a metallic ring, the Saint low-tier artifact abruptly broke into two.

"Oh? It seems like our young newcomer over here has the strength to back up his words! No wonder you dare speak so conceitedly before me!" Seeing that his weapon was broken with a single flick, Qian Xu slightly startled for a moment. However, in the next moment, he licked his lips as an excited gleam flickered across his eyes.

He had thought that the other party was just an amateur whom he could crush easily, but it seemed like it wasn't as easy as it seemed. Nevertheless, as a veteran of the Ring of Death, Qian Xu still had confidence in his capabilities.

Tzzzzzzzzzz!

Several more daggers abruptly emerged in Qian Xu's hand, and with a swift flick of his wrist, they came flying toward Zhang Xuan from the top, middle, and bottom.

The top dagger was aimed for the right eye, the middle dagger was aimed for the heart, and the bottom dagger was aimed at Zhang Xuan's thigh.

Abrupt and swift, it would be difficult for even a genius like Zhang Jiuxiao to fend against such an attack in the nick of a moment.

"You have quite a hand, don't you?" Zhang Xuan remarked impassively.

As expected of one who had been through multiple life-and-death battles, his killing skills had indeed been refined to an exceptional level. The trajectory of the daggers was aimed in a manner such that avoiding one of them would result in the other two plunging right into one's body.

However...

Such an attack was of limited effectiveness against Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan swept his hand in a half arc before him, and all of a sudden, the three daggers were already caught between his fingers. Despite the intense trembling of the daggers, they weren't able to struggle free from his grasp.

"Newcomer, you have successfully piqued my interest!" Seeing that his second attack was resolved by the other party so easily, killing intent surfaced in the depths of Qian Xu's eyes. Just as he was about to make his next move, a voice suddenly sounded in the room.

"Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, Zhang Xuan! You will be faced against an opponent of the same cultivation realm, Meng Fuxing!"

"It's my turn." Paying no heed to Qian Xu, Zhang Xuan stood up and began making his way over to the ring.

"You think that I will allow you to walk out just like that after provoking me? Just how easy do you take me to be?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was leaving, Qian Xu flicked his wrist once more, and amidst a freezing burst of air, two daggers shot forth for the back of Zhang Xuan's heart.

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Chapter 1264: In the Ring (1)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"It's Qian Xu's Three Arts of Assassination!"

"There should at least a hundred people who die from those three moves of his every year..."

"That can't be helped. His daggers are fast and vicious, making them extremely hard to guard against. Opponents of the same cultivation realm barely stand a chance against him!"

"That newcomer is a goner!"

...

The crowd remarked calmly as they watched the two daggers whizzing for Zhang Xuan.

While it was true that Qian Xu's strength was nothing compared to the Conqueror of Hundred, Hong Yang, he was still a famous figure in the underground black market.

He was renowned for the seemingly endless daggers he had on him, as well as his vicious Three Arts of Assassination. With just his superior mastery over those two things, he had been able to claim countless lives over the years.

Yet, that arrogant newcomer dared to provoke him head-on, inciting Qian Xu to use his strongest moves. With this, the guillotine had already been raised upon that newcomer's head.

With such thoughts in mind, the eyes of the crowd swiftly turned to the newcomer. Even as the two daggers were swiftly approaching him, the newcomer did not turn around at all, as if he was unaware of the threat right behind him.

Watching the sight, the scar-faced young man immediately spoke up anxiously, wanting to remind the newcomer. However, before he could say a word, the vision before him suddenly blurred.

He could not say for sure what exactly happened—it might have just been a figment of his imagination—but it seemed like the newcomer's foot had shot up to strike the daggers.

Wu!

In the next instant, the daggers abruptly turned around and flew back at a speed much faster from before.

Pu he!

"What?" Astonished, before Qian Xu could even react, the daggers had already plunged into his wrists.

Hu!

The sheer momentum of the daggers sent Qian Xu flying all the way back until his wrists were firmly pinned onto the wall by the daggers, forming a cross. Qian Xu struggled with all his might, but he found that the daggers were simply too firmly lodged into the wall, such that he could not free himself.

"What in the world..."

"With just a slight kick, not only did he neutralize Qian Xu's daggers, he even returned it to Qian Xu and pinned him against the wall? Just how powerful can that newcomer be?"

"That newcomer is really no ordinary figure? Will the black market find itself another Conqueror of Ten soon?"

"It's still too early to say, but with just that hand, that newcomer should have no trouble winning seven to eight matches!"

...

Watching as Qian Xu howled in agony on the wall, the crowd felt their hair standing on end.

Although that brief encounter was not sufficient for them to analyze how powerful the newcomer was, the fact that he was able to subdue Qian Xu so easily was more than enough to say that he was not an opponent to be underestimated.

Perhaps, he could very well be crowned the next Conqueror of Ten.

"Interesting."

By the corner, Hong Yang took a glance at the departing back of the newcomer before closing his eyes once more.

The counterattack that the newcomer had launched earlier might have seemed impressive, but to him, it was truly nothing at all.

Even if he could not subdue Qian Xu with a single punch, all he would have to do was smash another one in.

...

The ring was not too big, and its perimeter had been secured by a unique formation, forming something similar to a cage. Once a challenger entered the ring, he would not be able to escape until the end of the battle.

"Sign this Life-and-Death Contract first."

Before Zhang Xuan could step into the ring, a member of the Ring of Death's staff standing in front of the ring passed a parchment over to him.

Zhang Xuan lowered his head to swiftly browse through the contract before sealing it with a droplet of his blood. Following which, as if some kind of seal around him had been released, he heard thunderous cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Raising his head, he saw that the spectator stand was fully filled with roughly five to six hundred people. There were people from all walks of life, be it male or female, old or young. Every single one of them had eyes that were crimson from the irrepressible excitement within them.

It seems like the thrill of watching a life-and-death battle really does appeal to many. Above that, from spectating this kind of duel, they can also gain some insights into battle as well, Zhang Xuan thought.

In life-and-death battles, cultivators would be pushed to their very limits, forcing them to show their strongest hands for survival. Such intense battles could be beneficial in providing inspiration to other cultivators as to how they could further refine their fighting prowess.

Perhaps, this might even have been the biggest reason the black market was able to grow to such a massive scale.

By the time Zhang Xuan stepped onto the stage, a young man was already standing on the opposite side with his hands wrapped around his chest. Nonchalance and loftiness could be seen in his eyes, as if this battle was nothing more than a show for him.

The young man seemed to be the opponent for this round, Meng Fuxing.

"Alright, let's not waste our time dawdling over here and end it quickly." Taking a rough calculation of the current time, Zhang Xuan noted that he did not have much time before the auction started. Unwilling to waste even a second, he stretched his back lazily before clasping his fist. "Pardon me."

Hu!

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xuan's figure suddenly materialized right before the young man, and his arm darted forward to strike the latter.

The strength behind this move was not too strong, but the young man felt as if a massive net was closing in on him, preventing him from escaping at all.

Not expecting Zhang Xuan to make a move against him so abruptly, the young man widened his eyes in shock. "You... I am not..."

He immediately attempted to sidestep to dodge the attack, but to his horror, he found himself unable to move properly, as if he was standing in marshland.

Pah!

Zhang Xuan's palm connected with the young man's face, and a crisp echo resounded throughout the ring. Before the young man could speak, he had already collapsed on the ground, knocked out.

He had thought it through prior to entering the ring. Since he could not intentionally let him opponent off, he would just have to knock the other party out.

A knock out could also be considered incapacitated, so naturally, the match would have to be judged as his victory.

After knocking out the young man, Zhang Xuan waited for a long moment, but no one declared the results of the duel. Perplexed, he placed his hands behind his back and asked, "I should have won for the first match, right?"

Still silence.

Confused, Zhang Xuan took a look at his surroundings. To his bewilderment, the crowd from before had fallen completely silent, and their excited expressions had been replaced with flabbergasted ones instead.

Zhang Jiuxiao was also amid the crowd, and his palm was slapped onto his face. He kept trying to shout something, but due to the various impeding formations between them, Zhang Xuan was unable to hear a word at all.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that the crowd was reacting in a manner contrary to what he had expected, Zhang Xuan was bewildered. Just as he was about to speak, the formation to the ring suddenly opened up, and another young man walked in. Upon seeing the fainted person on the ground, he widened his eyes in astonishment.

"Are you my second opponent?"

In order to become the Conqueror of Ten, one had to defeat ten opponents consecutively. In Zhang Xuan's view, the young man who had just entered was likely his second opponent.

"I am Meng Fuxing!"

"You are Meng Fuxing? Then, this guy is..." Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

If the young man before him was the opponent he was supposed to fight against, who was the person he had just knocked out?

"The referee!" Meng Fuxing's lips twitched.

"There's actually a referee for the ring?" Zhang Xuan's eyelids twitched.

"Have you ever seen an official duel without a referee?" Meng Fuxing retorted.

"..." Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

What the heck!

Typically speaking, referees should be standing beneath the ring and not in it. As a result, when Zhang Xuan saw the other 'Meng Fuxing' standing on the stage—the fact that the other party had a fierce-looking face did little to help as well—he had thought that the other party was his opponent!

To knock out the referee before even meeting his opponent, this was really...

Finally understanding what Zhang Jiuxiao was screaming outside, Zhang Xuan sheepishly asked, "Will I be... disqualified?"

He had thought that he was being smart by claiming the first move, but his 'smart move' only ended up knocking out the referee. It would really be terrible if his right to fight in the Ring of Death was revoked as a result of this!

Recovering from his initial astonishment, Meng Fuxing replied indifferently, "Unlikely. There aren't any rules here. Let's not waste time and begin."

In the first place, the black market was intended to be a lawless land. In other rings, knocking out the referee would have been a huge penalty, but in the Ring of Death, it was not that big a deal.

Hula!

Meng Fuxing charged straight toward Zhang Xuan.

While he was in the midst of his movements, his hands were already moving swiftly, creating afterimages reminiscent of a blooming lotus.

Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, Thousand Buddha Lotus Hands!

There was no doubt that Meng Fuxing possessed noteworthy strength. Even if he was still slightly lacking compared to the previous Qian Xu, there were few cultivators of the same cultivation realm who would be a match for him. As soon as he made his move, he had already made sure to seal the surrounding space with his zhenqi, forcing Zhang Xuan to meet him head-on.

"Not too bad," Zhang Xuan remarked as he raised his palm to meet the other party's assault.

Huala!

It was the exact same move he had used against the referee earlier. It carried an imposing momentum that seemed as if it would not rest until it smacked every last drop of brainy remains out of one's ears.

This strike was not a battle technique or any profound move, just the simplest slap.

But for some reason, it seemed like harness some mysterious might that left those facing it feeling as if they would be unable to avoid it.

Pah!

The two palms collided, and Meng Fuxing's face swiftly flushed pale. He retreated several steps back before his legs caved in, causing him to fall to the ground. The next moment, his eyes suddenly rolled up. He had fainted.

"Strong!"

"What move is that?"

"I reckon that's some kind of palm art. But still, to be able to knock Meng Fuxing out in a single strike, that fellow there should at least be able to achieve five consecutive victories!"

"That's not necessarily so. The stronger a move is, the more it depletes one's zhenqi. The ring isn't just about absolute fighting prowess but endurance as well. If he tires himself too much in the earlier rounds, he will risk running out of juice quickly."

...

Such discussions broke out in the spectator stand.

Even though Zhang Xuan had been a little reckless, knocking out the referee as soon as he got onto the stage, there was no denying that he did possess true strength.

However, in the Ring of Death, strength was not enough for one to get far. Stamina was of the utmost importance as well.

Many challengers would step into the Ring of Death to acquire the title of Conqueror of Ten each year, but those who had succeeded were truly numbered.

"I am Tan Shiyou. Are you my opponent?"

After knocking out Meng Fuxing, it did not take long before another young man came onto the stage.

This young man going by the name of Tan Shiyou was slightly stronger than Meng Fuxing, but he was still far from a match for Zhang Xuan. A single blow to the face, and he was floored as well.

The same went for the next three opponents as well. A hint of exhaustion was starting to show through Zhang Xuan's posture. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, and his hands were beginning to tremble non-stop as well.

Right after he defeated the fifth person, Zhang Xuan heard a loud voice. "You have just cleared the fifth round. Do you want to carry on?"

A casual challenger would usually stop at the fifth match as the matches beyond would have stakes involved. As an inevitable result of that, the later matches would be much more demanding than before, and until one side was crippled or incapacitated, the match would not stop.

"I'll continue," Zhang Xuan replied.

His main goal at the Ring of Death was to obtain as many concentrated high-tier spirit stones as possible, but what he had earned so far could only be considered peanuts. Naturally, how could he back down, especially since the true money lay ahead of him!

"Very well. Your opponent for your sixth match is Kui Qing. Just like you, he also has five victories under his belt as of the moment," the voice informed Zhang Xuan.

As the first five matches did not involve any wagers, the pairings would be mainly between newcomers. It was from the sixth match on that the true veterans started appearing.

The pairings would be made in a manner that placed opponents with an equal number of consecutive victories against one another—those with six victories would be faced against those with six victories, those with seven victories would be faced against those with seven victories, and so on.

As a result of this system, Zhang Xuan's next opponent was someone who had achieved five consecutive victories as well.

Hu!

A young man slowly walked up the ring under Zhang Xuan's gaze.

Different from the previous opponents he had faced, this young man exuded a faint killing aura, signifying that he was a dangerous figure.

"I have watched your matches. So far, you have subdued all your opponents with a single strike. Not too bad at all," Kui Qing said with a hair-raising smile as his sharp eyes assessed Zhang Xuan from head to toe keenly. "However, that strike of yours should consume quite of bit of your zhenqi, right? I sure would like to see how many more times you can use it!"

Hula!

With a flick of his wrist, a spear appeared in Kui Qing's hands, and without any warning whatsoever, he drove it swiftly toward Zhang Xuan.

That cunning old rat! He actually launched an assault on me while he was talking...

It took only an instant before the spear was already right before Zhang Xuan.

"You want to play spearmanship with me?" A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes as he looked unblinkingly at the spear whizzing toward him.

"You should know that I'm the true ancestor of spearmanship!"

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Chapter 1265: On the Ring (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Right after saying those words, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger forward leisurely.

Zhang Xuan's finger was positioned straight in the face of the furious pierce of Kui Qing's spear, and it seemed as if the spear would pierce right through his finger at any moment. Yet, for some reason, before the spear could even reach the finger, it suddenly lowered its trajectory slightly, as if Kui Qing was intentionally going easy on Zhang Xuan.

Hula!

With a simple downward grasp, Zhang Xuan grabbed Kui Qing's spear and flicked it slightly.

A powerful might shot right through the spear and struck Kui Qing.

Deng deng deng deng!

Kui Qing's face reddened, and he was forced to retreat several steps in a fluster.

"You were able to see through my move?" The disbelief in Kui Qing's eyes couldn't be concealed.

There was no way Kui QIng would have gone easy on Zhang Xuan in the midst of a duel. What had happened earlier was that the change in the trajectory of his pierce earlier was actually an intended change in his battle technique to catch his opponent off guard, but somehow, Zhang Xuan seemed to have anticipated it in advance and positioned his finger right there, creating the illusion as if it was his finger that had caused the change in trajectory.

"I told you, I am the ancestor of spearmanship. You are still much too inexperienced to be shaking your spear before me!"

Zhang Xuan dashed forward once more and raised his palm to strike Kui Qing's face.

Huala!

A powerful might burst forth.

Alarmed, Kui Qing retreated in a panic.

He thought that five consecutive matches should have exhausted most of Zhang Xuan's zhenqi, preventing him from using that move anymore. He thought that with his spear in hand, he should be able to achieve victory easily. But he never thought that the other party would be able to see through his spearmanship so easily and utilize that move against him once more.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to escape from the slap, he immediately attempted to raise his spear to counterattack, but it was already too late. A palm struck his face, and the spear in his hand flew away.

Padah!

Kui Qing crashed onto the ground and blacked out.

"Seventh match, Zhang Xuan VS Guan Yongfeng!"

Following which, a familiar face walked onto the ring. It was no other than the scar-faced young man who had treated him as a tame sheep earlier.

"And I thought you were a tame sheep. It turns out that you are a wolf instead..." the scar-faced young man, Guan Yongfeng, said with a shake of his head.

When Zhang Xuan first entered the room, he had an innocent and dazed look on his face, reminiscent of a naive newcomer. Such people usually end up suffering a great deal on the ring. Yet, who could have thought that he would be so strong that even Qian Xu wouldn't be a match for him!

"I know that you are strong, but there's no way I'll be going down without a fight. Come!"

Hula!

Drawing a saber, Guan Yongfeng drove his zhenqi furiously and slashed down on Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan had a rather good impression of Guan Yongfeng, so he didn't go too hard on the latter. After two blows, he knocked the latter out with a light blow.

On the other hand, on the spectator stand, Zhang Jiuxiao had also been diligently staking the concentrated high-tier spirit stones which Zhang Xuan had handed him previously into the matches.

As Zhang Xuan was a newcomer, despite his outstanding results in the earlier matches, the crowd still wasn't too confident in Zhang Xuan's strength. Thus, in the sixth match, most of the crowd had placed their stakes on Kui Qing. On the other hand, Zhang Jiuxiao successfully doubled the initial 111 concentrated high-tier spirit stones he had into 222.

After the match with Kui Qing, the crowd gained a clearer glimpse into Zhang Xuan's strength, so the payout wasn't that high anymore. Nevertheless, by staking everything into Zhang Xuan once more, Zhang Jiuxiao managed to increase their total asset to 300 concentrated high-tier spirit stones.

"It really is lucrative!" Zhang Jiuxiao exclaimed as he looked at the huge pile of spirit stones before him.

Despite being an offspring of the Zhang Clan, he was only from a side family, so his allowance every month was rather meagre. Concentrated high-tier spirit stones were extremely beneficial to his cultivation as well, but even when using all of his means, he could only earn one to two of them each month. Yet, in just a short twenty minutes, he had actually just earned nearly two hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones! This sure was frightening!

"Let's do it!" Knowing Zhang Xuan's intention, Zhang Jiuxiao didn't hesitate to stake all 300 concentrated high-tier spirit stones on Zhang Xuan's victory once more.

The opponent for the eighth match was a young man in his thirties. He had a pair of arms that were innately thick as if tree trunks. On the other hand, fighting seven consecutive battles seemed to have exhausted Zhang Xuan greatly, and he looked as if he was about to be sapped dry. In view of that, the payout for Zhang Xuan's victory increased this time around.

After trading thirty blows or so, Zhang Xuan achieved a narrow victory.

And the spirit stones in Zhang Jiuxiao's hand leaped from 300 to 720 in an instant!

Zhang Xuan had been able to subdue his opponents in a single strike in the previous matches, but in the eighth match, he actually took more than thirty blows. To the crowd on the spectator sign, this was a visible sign that the newcomer was swiftly approaching his limit!

"He really knows how to act..." Shaking his head with a smile on his lips, Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes glowed in excitement.

In order to draw more people to bet against his victory so as to raise his payout, it was necessary for Zhang Xuan to feign weakness. Otherwise, if he were to crush all of his opponents in a single move, there would be no suspense at all. Knowing that they would surely lose the bet, who would be willing to bet against him?

It was true that those who gambled in the Ring of Death were mostly scions from notable clans with powerful finances, but that didn't mean that they were fools who would squander their money away blindly. They were all biding their time to place the decisive bet which would maximize their profits.

So naturally, Zhang Xuan would have to provide those scions an impetus to make their move. By giving out clear hints that he was getting weaker with every match, those scions would surely be tempted to go all in.

After all, who would be willing to stake their bets on a newcomer who appeared to be already wobbling on his feet? Obviously, the stakes would start gravitating to his opponent!

The opponent for the ninth match was a middle-aged man.

The previous time the middle-aged man had challenged the Ring of Death, he had won eight consecutive before failing on the ninth.

But the reason why he lost wasn't due to his lack of strength. According to the rumors, it seemed like he had drunk too much the day before, resulting in him being unable to exert his strength properly... As a result, in his matches in the Ring of Death the next day, his entire body was swaying weakly, and it seemed as if he would collapse at any moment...

The fact that he could still achieve eight victories under such a condition was a clear sign of his strength.

It seemed like he had learned his lesson this time around and kept himself in check. His body was overflowing with energy, and from the very first move, it seemed like he already had the entire battle in his grasp. This had induced a wave of cheerings from the spectator stand.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan appeared to be weak on his feet, and it seemed like he was only hanging on his sheer willpower at the moment.

With such a clear contrast between the two opponents, Zhang Xuan's payout nearly broke through the roof.

However, despite the powerful assaults the middle-aged man sent at Zhang Xuan over and over again, the latter kept bouncing back as if an indestructible cockroach. The latter obviously looked as if he would collapse on the ground with the slightest breeze, and yet, that final bit of energy he had left in him seemed to nondepletable, allowing him to withstand the relentless waves of attack.

Just like that, the battle stretched on to over a hundred moves.

At some point in time, the incredibly exhausted Zhang Xuan somehow managed to bump into the back of the middle-aged man's head and knocked the latter out, thus achieving a somewhat miraculous and unbelievable victory.

At with this, the number of concentrated high-tier spirit stones Zhang Jiuxiao had increased to an astounding 1800!

"To be able to achieve victory like that, that newcomer sure is lucky. If he could just win another match, we would find ourselves with a new Conqueror of Ten!"

"That's true, but it seems like the newcomer has expended himself too much the previous round. In his current state, there's no way he can win the tenth!"

"I thought that way in the eighth round too, but he still managed to grit the teeth and win the ninth round through his sheer willpower. I think that lad has some kind of unfathomable power laying dormant in him. As unlikely as it may be, I actually think that newcomer will really be crowned as the next Conqueror of Ten!"

"You think so too? Alright, I'll bet on his victory then..."

...

Very soon, the tenth match began. Despite Zhang Xuan's appearance of weakness, the incredible endurance he had displayed in the previous match still won the hearts of some, and quite of a portion of the crowd actually chose to bet on him against the odds. As a result, the payout dipped significantly.

Zhang Jiuxiao placed all 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones in, as usual, but it only increased to 2200 this time around.

On the field, however... Naturally, Zhang Xuan had a 'tougher' fight than ever. He traded more than three hundred blows with his opponent, maintaining the same 'I look like I'm going to fall but I just won't fall' appearance throughout the match...

In the end, the way which he managed to achieve victory nearly had the eyeballs of the crowd bulging out of their eyes. The tenth opponent actually moved too fast in the midst of his assault and crashed into the formation barrier, knocking himself out...

To come this far, one had to brave through nine life-and-death matches, and those who managed to do so were all indubitably outstanding warriors.

Yet, for an expert of such caliber to actually knock himself out... Zhang Jiuxiao really couldn't bear himself to look on any longer...

Brother, can you be any faker than that?

Do you take the audience to be fools?

However, it was already the tenth match, and the results for the fight to become the Conqueror of Ten was already out.

"Congratulations to Zhang Xuan for becoming our new Conqueror of Ten! You have a choice to continue your battle now or take a brief rest first. Either way, it won't impede you from fighting for the title of the Conqueror of Hundred. I suggest that you take a rest first so that you can face your opponent in your peak condition..." the voice sounded.

Upon successfully becoming a Conqueror of Ten, one would be allowed to take a rest first before continuing one's battle for higher grounds.

Considering how tired the young man already was—he looked as if he could very well faint at any moment—it would be best for him to take a rest first before continuing on his battle.

"I'll continue on..." Despite hearing the voice's advice, Zhang Xuan raised his eyes wearily and shook his head slowly.

Rest? You must be joking! I am not even close to being done yet!

Since I have already made the journey here, how could I leave without making a big killing?

In any case, everything was a fair game in the black market, so he didn't feel particularly guilty about this.

"Are you certain you want to continue? I don't think that you are in any condition to fight another match..." the voice continued.

Every single Conqueror of Ten was a money tree for the Ring of Death. It would be a huge waste for the Ring of Death if the young man were to die on the ring right after his conferment as a Conqueror of Ten.

"I think that... I can still... persevere on a little!" Zhang Xuan said weakly.

"Alright then... In order to become a Conqueror of Hundred, you must defeat ten Conquerors of Ten successively. Your first opponent will be..."

Before the voice could finish speaking, a nonchalant voice suddenly boomed across the entire ring.

"I'll fight with him. As long as he can defeat me, he can become the new Conqueror of Hundred!"

Following which, the clanging of metal sounded clearly in everyone's eyes. Following which, the crowd saw a towering figure slowly walking over to the ring.

"It's Hong Yang..."

"Hong Yang is going to fight the newcomer personally, and he even promised the latter the position of Conqueror of Hundred?"

"All along, it has always been others challenging Hong Yang, so why would he suddenly challenge this newcomer? As the strongest existence in the Ring of Death, there's no one who could possibly defeat him... If that newcomer were to really fight against Hong Yang, he would surely be crushed!"

"Of course, that goes without saying! But as long as that newcomer doesn't have something wrong with his head, he should know better than to accept the duel!"

...

When the crowd saw the figure walking over to the ring, there was a brief moment of silence before a huge uproar broke out.

The person who had spoken was no other than the man who could leave Qian Xu shivering in fear with just a single word, the Conqueror of Hundred, Hong Yang!

At this moment, the fatigue of battle that was plaguing Hong Yang previously had already vanished without a trace. Instead, his eyes were dyed crimson, as if he had already eyed a new prey.

"How is it? Will you accept my challenge?" Hong Yang gazed at Zhang Xuan coldly.

"This..." Zhang Xuan hesitated.

"You aren't too bad at acting, but I have faced and destroyed countless experts in my time. That act of yours isn't going to fool me! To still have the strength to be holding back even after defeating ten opponents... Boy, you have caught my attention!" Hong Yang spoke impassively.

"..." Zhang Xuan's face turned green, and a whole string of vulgarities nearly spilled from his mouth.

He was still thinking that he could earn a hefty sum from Zhang Jiuxiao's bets during the battles with the Conquerors of Ten, but this fellow actually exposed him publicly!

"Acting? That fellow was acting?"

"Is that so? It doesn't really seem like an act to be though..."

"Think about it! He was already on the verge of collapsing by the end of the seventh match, but he still managed to survive till the ten. Don't you think that's very suspicious?"

"That bastard! I staked all my money on his loss!"

...

Hearing Hong Yang's words, the crowd was so angry that they nearly morphed into demons on the spot. This was especially those who were fooled by Zhang Xuan's act earlier and betted on his loss.

"Even if you wish to find a reason to challenge me, surely you need not frame me like that? After battling ten people, there's no cultivator who can avoid becoming severely weakened!"

With a voice devoid of strength, the pale-faced Zhang Xuan raised his head and exclaimed, "Putting everything aside, do you think that you can defeat ten people and still have the strength to put on an act?"

"I can!" Hong Yang replied impassively.

"..." Zhang Xuan.

Chapter 1266: My Heart Really Can't Take It Anymore!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

The faces of those who were previously defeated by Zhang Xuan turned red.

While their strength couldn't be compared with Conquerors of Ten, they were still figures who had braved through many battles, and their fighting prowess were superior to ordinary cultivators... Yet, the other party was still able to defeat them consecutively and yet still have the energy to put on an act... Where were they supposed to put their pride and dignity now?

But thinking about it, there were indeed such people in this world. For one, Hong Yang definitely had the strength to defeat all ten of them twice each without getting exhausted at all.

Could the person whom they had fought with earlier possess such strength as well?

Everyone turned their gazes over to Zhang Xuan, wanting to see if what Hong Yang had said was true. But what they found themselves faced with were a pair of hollow eyes, a weakly trembling body, and a face which suggested that the young man was going to lose consciousness at any moment soon.

"I don't have such strength..." Zhang Xuan shook his head weakly. "I can hardly remain standing at the moment, how am I to fight with you?"

He was currently in the Ring of Death of the black market, where schemes and deception were a huge taboo. If he were to admit that he had been putting on an act previously, he could very well bring great trouble upon himself.

"You don't have a say in this matter. I, Hong Yang, will fight anyone I want. No one can sway my decision!" Hong Yang declared with compelling authority as he took a step forward.

Boom!

A powerful surge of zhenqi suddenly permeated the entire ring, exerting immense pressure on Zhang Xuan. It carried a threatening intent behind it, as if saying that regardless Zhang Xuan liked it or not, this was a battle he wouldn't be able to escape from.

"You're too much!" Zhang Xuan stiffened his neck in indignation.

"I'm too much?" Hong Yang mocked before shaking his head. "Make your move. I suggest that you go all out, or else there's no way you will be stepping out of this ring alive!"

After which, Hong Yang raised his hand, and a bundle of zhenqi began gathering furiously above his palm.

"Given how bent Hong Yang is on fighting against that newcomer, a battle should be inevitable. Who do you think will win?"

"Do you even need to ask? It's obvious it's Hong Yang! I shall stake everything on him!"

"I'm also going to stake on Hong Yang as well. His battle style is exceptionally brutal, and he would even rip a life person into shreds callously... Even if that newcomer was putting on an act before, he still won't be able to avoid the fate of being torn in two!"

"More like torn in four!"

"Well, no matter how many pieces he is torn into, there's no doubt that the newcomer dead meat..."

...

Upon hearing Hong Yang's words, the faces of the spectators flushed crimson in excitement.

"Time to place my bet..." Amidst the crowd, Zhang Jiuxiao also had his fists clenched tightly in agitation as well.

In the earlier few rounds, the highest payout had only been a little more than 1:2, but owing to Hong Yang's fearsome reputation, the payout should be able to rise to whole new heights this round.

Zhang Jiuxiao walked over to the betting table, and as he had expected, the payout for Zhang Xuan's victory had already increased beyond 1:10!

In other words, nearly every single person here had betted on Hong Yang's victory! No one thought that Zhang Xuan would be able to emerge victorious in the duel!

"We have really struck it rich this time!" With hands trembling uncontrollably in excitement and delight, Zhang Jiuxiao passed a storage ring over. "I'll bet 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones on Zhang Xuan's victory!"

"You are going to bet on Zhang Xuan?" the staff in charge of managing the bets asked in disbelief. Shaking his head, he quickly processed Zhang Jiuxiao's bet.

If no one were to bet on Zhang Xuan, how would their black market earn money?

Without a doubt, that fellow was bound to lose his 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones...

While the spectators were excitedly making their bets, on the ring, Hong Yang looked at the young man before him and said, "Make your move!"

"Why don't we just forget it? I won't be a match for you anyway..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Like I said, you don't have a say in this matter!" Seeing that the young man was still rejecting him, Hong Yang couldn't be bothered to waste his words anymore.

Hula!

With a cold sneer, Hong Yang charged forward with astounding momentum. In just an instant, he was already right before Zhang Xuan.

His stature was truly towering. Standing next to him, Zhang Xuan appeared to be nothing more than a child.

Without any hesitation, Hong Yang smashed his fist down toward Zhang Xuan, and a ferocious gale whipped up in the surroundings. A slight rumbling sound reminiscent of thunder could be heard in the air, hinting at the immense might that was packed behind that punch. From the looks of it, if that punch were to land, there was no doubt that Zhang Xuan would be reduced into meat paste.

On the other hand, seeing how Hong Yang didn't even hesitate before making his move, Zhang Xuan felt deeply exasperated.

As expected of one who had undergone multiple life-and-death battles, Hong Yang's instincts were truly keen.

Zhang Xuan was confident in his disguise, and the fact that the crowd was only slightly doubtful of his strength even after he had won round after round bore testimony to how lifelike his disguise was. Yet, Hong Yang was still able to see right through him, remaining firmly convinced that he was putting on a disguise no matter how he protested.

Without a doubt, Hong Yang was a formidable figure.

"Forget it..."

Feeling the immense might crushing down on him, Zhang Xuan knew that there was no avoiding this battle anymore. Sighing deeply, he took a step to the side.

Huala!

It was just a small step, but it allowed Zhang Xuan to narrowly avoid the other party's downward punch.

"Hmph!"

Hong Yang redirected the lingering strength behind his smashing punch into a sideward hook, adamantly tracing Zhang Xuan's figure with his offense.

"What a swift transformation!" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

Had it been any other opponent, his Infinitesimal Maneuver method of dodging would have surely caused the other party's attack to fall empty. Yet, Hong Yang's reflexes and flexibility were so powerful that he could actually change his movements at a whim fluidly, as if he had planned it right from the start! Even Hall Master Xing might not be capable of pulling off something like that!

"He can almost catch up with a third of me... Incredible!" Surprised, Zhang Xuan did a rough mental calculation.

It was already extremely formidable for a challenger of an underground ring to be able to match a third of his reflexes and speed.

Knowing that it would be hard for him to avoid Hong Yang's sideward hook, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply and pushed his chest inward, making himself as thin as the width of a fist.

This was a unique battle technique that was used to avoid close-quarter attacks.

Even an ordinary human would be able to push their chest in significantly by exhaling deeply, let alone a cultivator.

By withdrawing his zhenqi into his dantian and using the surrounding air to compress his chest, it was possible for a cultivator to reduce his size significantly.

In a battle between experts, even the smallest difference in the distance could cause a vast difference in the outcome. Through using this move, Zhang Xuan successfully dodged Hong Yang's sideward hook.

However, Hong Yang's offense didn't stop just there. He immediately changed his punch into a palm to strike down on Zhang Xuan.

In the first place, his hand was already extremely close to Zhang Xuan's chest. If Zhang Xuan were to be struck by that palm strike, his heart could very well be pierced through, resulting in instantaneous death.

Just as everyone thought that there was no way Zhang Xuan could possibly dodge this move, perhaps it was out of resignation or exhaustion, Zhang Xuan's caved in chest abruptly bounced back up.

As if an inflated ball, it coincidentally collided with Hong Yang's approaching palm and successfully deflected it aside.

Following which, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and raised his hand, preparing to strike Hong Yang's face.

It was the same move he had used to subdue his previous opponents!

"Hm?" Not expecting that Zhang Xuan would be able to launch a counterattack despite his relentless assault, Hong Yang's eyes narrowed his eyes in surprise.

Even though his earlier assault may appear to be simple on the exterior, it was actually his famed Triple Chain Assault. This was the technique he had used to down countless tough opponents, and even Conquerors of Ten hadn't been able to survive the second strike of his Triple Chain Assault.

Yet, not only did the young man successfully dodge all three maneuvers, he even managed to launch a counterattack! Just like what he had guessed before, the young man was indeed no ordinary opponent.

In this moment, Hong Yang couldn't help but feel deeply excited within.

He swiftly raised his other hand, wanting to fend off the young man's slap. But contrary to his expectations, the young man right before him shot him a peculiar smile instead.

All of a sudden, Hong Yang felt a bout of dizziness assaulting his head, and his body staggered backward weakly.

"Crap, it's a terpsichorean art..." Hong Yang's widened his eyes in astonishment.

That other party's smile was actually one of the famed techniques of terpsichores—Hundred Flowers Bloom!

It was said that the person who had created this technique was an incredible beauty amongst the terpsichores more than ten thousand years ago. Just a returning smile of hers could send one's heart throbbing uncontrollably, and in that instant, it would be as if the rest of the world had turned colorless!

Those who had fallen for the technique would find themselves consumed in a trance, thus losing their fighting prowess.

But... wasn't this a technique which only women could use?

How could a man like Zhang Xuan use it as well, and to look so moving on top of that...

Feeling that his mind was swiftly descending into confusion, Hong Yang hurriedly bit his tongue to restore some rationality back into his head. However, it was already too late. Zhang Xuan's slap was already right before his eyes.

For some reason, those five fingers felt like towering mountains to Hong Yang. He felt that he would never be able to avoid the slap no matter how he struggled.

Pah!

A resounding 'pah!' echoed on the ring, and a palm was clearly imprinted on Hong Yang's swollen face.

"You..." Feeling the stinging pain on his face, Hong Yang felt so frenzied that he could lose his mind at this very instant.

He was the Conqueror of Hundred of the underground black market, but he ended up being slapped in the ring so easily... This was a huge humiliation to him!

"I'll rip you into shreds!" Roaring furiously, Hong Yang was just about to make his move when the young man abruptly retreated eight steps backward.

As if he had depleted all of his strength, the young man's body trembled uncontrollably, and it looked as if he would collapse onto the ground at any moment. "I told you that I have already come to the limit of my body, and I won't be able to fight with you anymore. Let's just forget it. I really am not a match for you..."

"You..." Hong Yang felt as if his mind was about to explode.

Right after literally giving me a tight slap in my face, you want to call the duel off and retreat unscathed? How can there be something that convenient in the world?

Furthermore, you aren't a match for me? If you still aren't a match for me after nearly crippling me, if you were really a match for me, wouldn't I be killed in an instant?

Boom!

Unable to hold back his rage, Hong Yang dashed forward furiously for Zhang Xuan.

This time, he decided to go all out. He adeptly weaved his zhenqi with his fingers, crafting a massive cage around them.

"Hong Yang is getting serious!"

"Once he gets serious, there's bound to be a cold corpse lying in his wake..."

"It was just a lucky slap earlier. That fellow can't possibly be so lucky the next time around too..."

A commotion broke out on the spectator stand.

Earlier, when Hong Yang was slapped by the newcomer, everyone was stunned for an instant, causing the spectator stand to fall deathly silent. However, seeing that Hong Yang had flown into a rage, excited cheerings began resounding once more.

Hula!

A might which seemed to harness sufficient strength to sway even the heavens themselves gathered in Hong Yang's palm as he callously thrust it toward Zhang Xuan.

As a person who had been crowned as the Conqueror of Hundred in the Ring of Death, his fighting prowess was truly not one to be underestimated.

Facing the other party's attack, Zhang Xuan took a step back before twisting his body, nimbly dodging Hong Yang's powerful palm strike. After which, he raised his palm once more.

It was the exact same movement as before. He was preparing to send another slap toward Hong Yang's face!

"You want to use the same move against me twice? Dream on!" Seeing that it was the same old move, Hong Yang was suddenly reminded of the previous insult he had suffered. He bellowed furiously as he sent another palm strike to meet the young man's slap.

But just as their palms were about to collide with one another, the young man before him suddenly sent him another bewitching smile.

This smile was even more radiant than the one before.

In an instant, Hong Yang felt the sight before him blurring as another bout of dizziness assaulted his head. The palm strike he had pushed forward in order to fend off Zhang Xuan's slap also came to an abrupt halt, freezing in midair.

Padah!

Another burst of fiery pain stung Hong Yang's face as his body revolved twice on the spot from the sheer might behind the slap.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Awakening from his trance, Hong Yang clutched his hair in fury.

With a furious roar, he was just about to dash forward to return the favor to the young man when the latter's helpless voice suddenly sounded once more, "Like I said, my body has really reached its limit. I am in no state to fight with you... Why won't you just listen to my words? I honestly don't want to fight with you... I really am no match for you!"

"Your body has reached its limit? You are no match for me?" Hong Yang touched the two swollen palm print on his cheeks, and his head nearly exploded.

You call this reaching your limit?

Doesn't that mean that if you haven't reached your limit, I would have already been killed by you?

Can you just stop humblebragging? My heart really can't take it anymore!

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Chapter 1267: A Shocking Bet

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

In a vast room in the underground black market...

An elder anxiously barged into the room, exclaiming, "Boss, bad news!"

"What's wrong?"

Seated at the very center of the room, a middle-aged man was leisurely sipping on his tea when he heard the exclamation and frowned.

This middle-aged man was a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert, as well as the person who rules over the entire black market! Very few people knew of his true name, so most would only deferentially refer to him as the Boss.

Invaluable treasures could be found at every turn in the black market, but very few dared to snatch those treasures for their own. A huge reason for this was out of fear and deference for the Boss and his vicious means.

"Earlier, a challenger known as Zhang Xuan arrived in the Ring of Death, and he won ten rounds consecutively, winning himself the title of the Conqueror of Ten..." the elder reported.

"Is this anything to make a fuss about? Winning ten rounds consecutively isn't anything much, is it?" the Boss replied leisurely as he lifted the teapot and poured himself another cup of tea.

It wasn't easy to rise to the position of Conqueror of Ten, but every single year, there would still be seven to eight who would be crowned as one. In view of that, it really wasn't anything much to make a fuss over.

"That would be nothing much, but just as he was about to challenge the other Conquerors of Ten for the position of Conqueror of Hundred, Hong Yang suddenly stepped into the ring!" the elder continued.

"Oh?" the Boss smiled in interest. "Given Hong Yang's strength, there is none in his cultivation realm who would be a match for him. Anyone who faces him is likely to end in death. Since that's the case, just make preparations to dispose of the corpse then. You have done this for a few years now, so is there any need to trouble me for something as trivial as this?"

"B-but Boss... I initially thought that there would be no problems as well, but after both parties traded two blows... Hong Yang ended up being slapped twice whereas Zhang Xuan... is still completely unscathed!" the elder swiftly explained the situation he had seen earlier, and the disbelief in his tone showed that he still hadn't been able to come to terms with the matter yet.

"Hong Yang was slapped? Are you saying that Hong Yang isn't a match for Zhang Xuan?" the Boss was taken aback.

"I'm afraid that's likely to be the case!" the elder nodded.

"Hong Yang is our money tree, and he has been known for his indomitable strength. While he has a resounding reputation himself, there hasn't been any good opponent to pit against him to create some fanfare for the Ring of Death... This works fine too. With this defeat, he should be able to grow further. We can plan for his comeback and earn substantial profits from it. Keep a close look on the situation, and make sure that his life isn't threatened..." the Boss placed his teacup back on the table and said contemplatively.

Hong Yang was formidable, not infallible. Anything could happen on the ring, and it was precisely this trait of the Ring of Death that allowed it to draw a steady stream of customers. As long as Hong Yang didn't die, his defeat wouldn't be a problem.

"I understand. However, there's another problem... Zhang Xuan came to the ring together with a companion, and the latter has been betting all in on him every single round! Over the past ten matches, he has already won more than 1600 concentrated high-tier spirit stones from us! When Hong Yang came on the stage, I thought that Zhang Xuan would surely be defeated in the duel, so I altered the payout to be very low on Hong Yang's side and very high on Zhang Xuan's side, wanting to lure that companion of his to go all in once more to recoup our losses... I didn't think that Zhang Xuan would actually outmatch Hong Yang!" An awkward look surfaced on the elder's face.

"Very high? How high is that?" The Boss was startled.

"If Hong Yang were to lose, even the overall profits of the black market which we have accumulated over many years won't be enough to compensate the other party..."

"What did you say?" Hearing those words, the cup in the Boss' hand fell to the ground and shattered into innumerable fragments.

Just how high of a payout did that fellow set for Zhang Xuan?!

"Bring me over to take a look. I want to see the situation with my own eyes..."

Unable to remain still any longer, the Boss stood up and began making his way over to the ring.

In the Ring of Death, the death of an individual or two wouldn't mean anything at all. However, if they were to bankrupt themselves over a bet, how were they supposed to continue operating their business?

Such a thing must be prevented at all cost!

...

"You bastard, I'll tear you apart!"

On the ring, after being slapped two consecutive times, Hong Yang's eyes had already reddened in utter rage.

Prior to challenging Zhang Xuan, he had already known the young man was no weakling. However, he hadn't thought that the young man would actually be so powerful!

It had been nearly ten years since he first fought in the Ring of Death, and never had he suffered such humiliation before!

More importantly, even after managing to land two clean blows on him, that fellow was still adamantly continuing with his act, making it look as if he would collapse at any moment...

Act your head! If anyone is going to collapse here, it should be me!

But even though Hong Yang was livid with rage, he knew better than to let his anger blind his rationality.

"I have to steady my Primordial Spirit!"

With this thought in mind, he sealed all of his acupoints and steadied his state of mind so that the young man couldn't sway him anymore.

The reason why the young man had managed to land two slaps on him was because of his terpsichorean art. As long as he were to avert his eyes and attention away from it, he would be able to avoid being falling into a trance!

Hong long!

After putting up his mental guard, Hong Yang charged forward once more. This time, he was planning to get into close quarters to launch a barrage of attacks.

His towering stature had granted him with strength superior to that of his peers, and he knew that the best way for him to capitalize on this strength was through close-quarter combat. The young man was swift and nimble, but in close-quarter combat, one would often be limited by their reaction speed, thus making it night impossible to dodge every single attack.

This would be his best shot at exacting vengeance!

Hu la!

Charging forward, his arms and legs flew forth one after another with astounding speed, reminiscent of a relentless storm battering down on the world. In comparison, Zhang Xuan seemed like a fragile raft, completely helpless in its face.

"Not bad!" Zhang Xuan muttered beneath his breath.

In this moment, Zhang Xuan's body was still limp in weakness, and it felt as if he would be swallowed by that storm of attacks. But for some bizarre reason, despite his sluggish movement, Hong Yang's barrage of attack still missed him one after another, as if Hong Yang was intentionally letting him off.

"He's able to predict my attacks?" Hong Yang widened his eyes in disbelief.

Despite the young man's slow and sluggish movements, it was apparent to him that the young man had seen right through every single one of his attack trajectory, dodging all of his attacks in advance. The young man's movements may seem unseemly, but there was not a single wasted movement at all!

Just as Hong Yang was thinking of another plan to subdue the young man before him, the latter abruptly raised his palm once more, clearly preparing to imprint another palm on his face.

"Again? I have already steadied my Primordial Spirit. Your terpsichorean arts won't work on me anymore!" Hong Yang sneered confidently.

However, in the next moment, he heard a voice sounding in his ear, "Don't bother dodging. It's futile..."

It sounded like the whisperings of a lover, causing a jolt of electricity to course through his body. In an instant, the tension in his muscles loosened, causing his body to fall limp.

"Shit, it's demonic tune this time around!"

It took only a tenth of a second for Hong Yang to realize the anomaly in his body, and he immediately bit his tongue to jolt himself out of his abnormal state. But by the time he was about to protect himself, the young man's palm had already appeared by his face once more.

Pah!

A crisp and resounding echo it was!

Hong Yang's eyes reddened once more as he twisted a round on the spot. At the same time, half of his face swelled up as well.

"Please, believe me! My body is really reaching its limit. I can't fight against you anymore... I can't defeat you!" the young man's helpless voice sounded yet again.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Overwhelmed with frenzy, Hong Yang charged forward furiously once more, but yet another palm struck his face.

And Zhang Xuan didn't forget to continue his humblebragging either, "I am really exhausted, let me go. I want to rest, don't come anymore..."

Hong Yang charged over once more.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

"No, this is really my limit. Oh, I'm going to pass out..."

It was as if the young man's hand was infused with some kind of sorcery. Each and every time, it would strike Hong Yang's face accurately. Despite trying out a dozen different movement techniques, the young man's palm would still land on his face with inconceivable precision. More importantly, after each slap, the young man would act as if he was going to fall without fail, as if he was the victim over here...

If you can't hold on anymore, just faint then!

You say that you can't hold on any longer each time, but you still manage to slap me without fail each time I charge forward...

Can you be any more shameless than that?

Hong Yang really felt that his sanity was being severely challenged over here.

He wasn't the only one who felt that. Every single person on the spectator stand was also completely dumbfounded. Their minds were too crazed over the happenings on the field that they even forgot how to react with their bodies.

They knew Hong Yang's strength very well—Conqueror of Hundred, unmatched in his power class...

They thought that it should be easy for him to teach an arrogant newcomer a lesson... But who could have thought that such would happen instead...

Each time Hong Yang charged over, he would be smacked back in place by a slap. Then, the young man would wobble on the spot, as if he would collapse at any moment.

And the cycle would just repeat and repeat...

With each slap, the indomitable Hong Yang in their hearts would erode by a bit, to the point that nothing was left at all.

What that was even more shocking was that the fellow that was on the verge of fainting was actually still completely intact! Throughout the course of the battle, he hadn't sustained the slightest injury at all!

"Did I really just fight with that monster?"

The faces of the scar-faced young man and the others were completely pale. At the same time, Qian Xu's head also cowered back with every slap that had been dealt. At this rate, it seemed like it would be long before his head was buried into his neck.

That was Hong Yang, the invincible gladiator of the Ring of Death! To be smacked around so easily as if a little chick, just how powerful could that newcomer be?

This was too exaggerated!

And he, Qian Xu, actually provoked such a figure... It was fortunate that the other party didn't hold a grudge against him over that matter, or else he would have already turned into a lifeless corpse.

"Stop hitting me, I really am not a match for you... Stop it!"

The crisp slaps and helpless exclamations continued sounding on the ring.

Putong!

At some point in time, Hong Yang finally came to the limit of his strength and collapsed to the ground, knocked out.

Even up to the moment that he lost consciousness, his heart was filled with indignance.

In his many years on the Ring of Death, this was the first time he had been pummeled so indignantly and humiliatingly.

Before his vision turned dark, he took one last look at his opponent and saw the young man was still swaying on the spot, no different from before.

It seemed as if he would fall at any time, but somehow, he just kept standing on...

"The newcomer... defeated Hong Yang?"

"I lost the bet again?"

"That was the money I took from my wife's secret stash!"

Because it was Hong Yang fighting, there were many who had placed huge bets on Hong Yang's victory. Thus, when they saw Hong Yang collapsing on the ground, knocked out, their faces turned completely livid. There were even a few who burst into tears.

After losing several rounds, they thought that they would be able to recoup some of their losses through Hong Yang. Yet, who could have thought that this match would only further their losses, plunging them deeper into the abyss.

If only they had known this in advance, they would have bet their everything on Zhang Xuan... But speaking of which, just where did this inconspicuous little lad pop up from him?

To be able to defeat even the Conqueror of Hundred with such ease...

"This duel... Zhang Xuan is the victor!"

After waiting for ten seconds, Hong Yang still remained completely motionless. So, the voice from before declared loudly, but the disbelief in his voice was still clear for all to hear.

"We're riiiichhhhhh! We have really struck it rich this time!"

At odds with the depressing atmosphere drifting along the spectator stand, upon hearing the news of Zhang Xuan's victory, Zhang Jiuxiao leaped up in excitement and cried out.

The payout for this match was a little more than 1:10, which meant to say that as long as Zhang Xuan won, the 1800 concentrated high-tier spirit stone would bring him a return of nearly 20,000!

Even as the offspring of the Zhang Clan, he had never seen that many concentrated high-tier spirit stone before!

Completely broke when they first entered the black market, in less than two hours, their wealth had actually leaped up to nearly 20,000...

Zhang shi was really a walking spirit mine! Furthermore, he was the type that could produce countless spirit stones without using an excavator!

With so many of it, it should be enough to fulfill Zhang shi's needs!

With this thought in mind, Zhang Jiuxiao walked over to the betting counter and passed over the document in his hand over. "I have come here to collect my payout. If I'm not mistaken, you owe me a total of 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones!"

"19800?"

Before the person in charge could speak, a cold harrumph suddenly sounded. Following which, a middle-aged man walked over and spoke authoritatively, "We suspect that you have been cheating in the Ring of Death, so the bet that you have made in this match will be annulled!"

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Chapter 1268: Beating Up the Boss

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Annulled?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback for an instant before his eyebrows shot up, "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly as it sounds." the middle-aged man harrumphed. "Whatever gambling we conduct in our Ring of Death is built upon the idea of fairness, but you collaborated with one of the challengers of the ring, one feigning weakness on the ring to influence the payout and the other to make the bets... This is considered a cheating behavior, and it is a violation of our rules. Not only will your winnings be confiscated, you are also to compensate the Ring of Death for your disruptive behavior!"

"Compensate?" Zhang Jiuxiao's face turned livid.

"You are hereby under arrest under the charges of disrupting the black market's order and fraud. Men, capture that fellow!" the middle-aged man commanded with a grand wave of his hand.

Huala!

In the blink of an eye, a dozen guards dressed in tight-fitting armor, each possessing a cultivation of Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, dashed forward and surrounded Zhang Jiuxiao tightly.

"You all..." Not expecting that the black market would refuse to acknowledge its loss, attempting to capture him even, Zhang Jiuxiao was seething with rage. With a raise of his hands, a Saint intermediate-tier sword materialized before him, ready to make a move at his command.

While he had the strength to challenge opponents stronger than him, there were simply too many people before him at the moment. Furthermore, from the start to the end, the middle-aged man hadn't been concealing Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivation. Even if he were to utilize all of the means at his disposal, he would be no match for the middle-aged man.

"To think that the black market would resort to forcing others to submit after losing in a gamble... Is this how you all usually act?"

But before anyone could make a move, an impassive voice sounded in the air. Following which, the young man who had just defeated Hong Yang on the ring suddenly appeared on the spectator stand as well, and his displeasure was clearly carved onto his face.

He was intending to use the money he had won to attend the auction and buy down the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, but who knew that not only would the black market refuse to pay up, they even had Zhang Jiuxiao surrounded. Unable to watch on anymore, Zhang Xuan flew over from the ring.

"The both of you collaborated with one another to conduct fraud in the Ring of Death, and that's a clear violation of our rules. If we don't punish you to make a warning to the others, how can our Ring of Death continue to operate if everyone were to do the same?" the middle-aged man flung his sleeves furiously.

The middle-aged man was the Boss of the black market.

20,000 concentrated high-tier spirit stones—the entire fortune of their black market was only worth about this much! If they were to really pay this sum to those two, their black market might really have to shut down for good!

"You want to talk rules with me? Sure, let's talk just that then!"

Even the Master Teacher Pavilion, an organization which was heavily dictated by rules, could hardly do anything to him, and yet, the head of a black market actually wanted to talk to him about rules... This was almost the same as flaunting your wealth before a bank!

"Regarding the matches in the Ring of Death, there are no rules preventing anyone from placing any bet. Zhang Jiuxiao is my friend, and he has confidence in my strength, so naturally, he would be inclined to bet on me. Surely there's no problem with that, right?" Zhang Xuan reasoned.

"There's no problem about that, but..." the Boss nodded.

There were no rules preventing the kin or friends of a challenger from betting on him; on the contrary, it was common practice. It was in view of the wealth that they could earn that the challengers were willing to go all out in their own fights. Wealth and honor upon victory, poverty and humiliation upon loss—it was the stakes at play here that they were willing to stake even their own life here.

As such, this couldn't be considered to be a violation of the rules.

"Since there's no problem, and you were the one who set the payout under the premise that you would be willing to pay up no matter how much you lost. Given so, what rights do you have to say that we have violated the rules?" Zhang Xuan interjected the Boss' words.

"You were clearly able to achieve a victory easily, but you maliciously feigned weakness on the ring. Such a behavior can be considered as fraud..."

"Fraud? By fraud, do you refer to using trickery and deception to achieve victory? Putting aside the fact that there are no rules to the ring, you can ask everyone here what has happened. In the duel against Hong Yang, I kept telling him that I am no match for him, and that we should stop the duel there and then, but he simply wouldn't listen, insisting adamantly that I should have a fight with him. It's out of no choice that I had to counterattack... Given that the duel is forced upon me in the first place, are you sure that my behavior can be considered to be fraud?"

Zhang Xuan turned to the Boss and continued, "If I really want to achieve victory that much, I could have just accepted his duel straight. There's no need for me to turn him down again and again!"

"This..." the eyebrows of the Boss shot up.

He had also been watching the match earlier as well.

Indeed, the young man kept telling Hong Yang that he didn't want to fight anymore, but the latter just kept charging at him relentlessly... From such an aspect, if anyone was guilty of cheating, it should be Hong Yang.

However, with a huge sum of nearly 20,000 at stake here, he couldn't afford to back down. Knowing that it was impossible for him to win in a proper debate, he flung his sleeves furiously and bellowed, "Don't bother playing word games with me over here. I am the Boss of the black market, and my words are the law! Men, take these two troublemakers down!"

"You are just going to use force since you are unable to reason against us? Very well, I would like to see who dares to touch a strand of hair of ours!" Zhang Xuan bellowed as he swept a cold gaze across his surroundings.

"Go!"

One of the guards bellowed before taking the lead, charging at Zhang Xuan.

Even if the fellow before them was strong enough to defeat Hong Yang easily, they had the numerical advantage. On top of that, they were all Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle experts as well. They were confident that they would be able to take him down easily.

The guard brandished his sword furiously, and the cold glint of a sword qi swiftly fell toward Zhang Xuan.

Considering the lawlessness of the black market, those who were qualified to become guards to ensure order and security had to wield extraordinary strength as well. As the sword qi flew over, the air was groaned under the immense strain from its pressure, as if testifying to the humongous strength behind it.

Facing the powerful sword brandish, Zhang Xuan didn't bother to dodge at all. Instead, he lifted his finger casually and tapped on the space before him.

Padah!

The sword qi shattered, and the burst of zhenqi continued gushing forward to the guard. 'Pah!', the latter suddenly felt a violent pressure striking his dantian.

Following which, his dantian abruptly shattered into countless pieces.

Feeling that his zhenqi was gushing out of his body like a leaking balloon, the guard widened his eyes in horror, "Y-you... you crippled my cultivation?"

The breaking of one's dantian was equivalent to destroying a person's cultivation. This meant that the countless years of hard work that an individual had put into advancing his cultivation had gone to utter waste.

Couldn't be bothered to respond to the guard's question, Zhang Xuan continued to move. A series of exploding sounds echoed in the air over the next few breaths, and the dozen of guards that were surrounding Zhang Jiuxiao suddenly collapsed to the ground as well.

Feeling as power gradually seeped away from their bodies, a fear so powerful that it left them hardly able to breathe consumed the guards.

These guards had made used to the authority that had been granted to them to oppress the weak and make benefits for themselves. Even killing them outright wouldn't be considered as going overboard. In a sense, crippling their dantian could already be considered as a mercy from Zhang Xuan to them.

But of course, considering all of the evil deeds they had done before through exploiting their strength, this mercy might not be one that they would appreciate...

On the other hand, seeing that a mere Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator actually crippled his subordinates right before him, the eyes of the Boss reddened in fury. Unable to hold himself back anymore, he thrust his palm forward with overwhelming might.

Facing the Boss' palm strike, Zhang Xuan had no intentions of dodging either. On the contrary, he took a step forward to receive the other party's palm.

He hadn't found a worthy sparring partner ever since he advanced to Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage. Since this middle-aged man was flinging himself at him, he didn't mind using the other party as a moving punching bag!

Boom!

As their palms clashed against one another, a resounding explosion swiftly swept across the entire Ring of Death. Under the shockwave that diffused from the collision of palms, the entire area immediately began collapsing.

Most of the spectators had chosen to linger in the area to watch the drama, but in face of the powerful shockwave, they immediately fled in fright. Even Zhang Jiuxiao also had to retreat several dozen meters away before he felt that he was finally a safe distance away.

"How can this be... How can you be so powerful?" the Boss widened his eyes in astonishment and fright.

He thought that even if Zhang Xuan possessed strength far beyond his cultivation realm, the latter should still be a long distance away from matching up to him. After all, it was nearly unheard of for a Primordial Spirit realm cultivator to match a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, let alone a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert like him! Yet, in a direct clash of palms, they were actually on equal footing!

For the other party to wield raw strength on par with him...

Even seeing it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe.

"Who in the world are you?" the Boss questioned warily.

There was no way a person who wielded such overwhelming power could possibly be from a humble background.

"I am Zhang Xuan. You can etch that name into your head!" Zhang Xuan replied nonchalantly as he flicked his palm and sent the second wave of attack toward the Boss.

His palm strike appeared to be flimsy on the surface, but for some peculiar reason, it exuded an indomitable aura that was at odds with its exterior.

The Boss was still intending to say something, but facing such an attack, he knew that he couldn't afford to waste any time on words. He quickly gathered his strength into his fist and launched a counterattack.

However, before his fist could meet with Zhang Xuan's palm, the latter's figure suddenly flickered before abruptly materializing right before him. Before he could react, the palm had already landed lightly on his body.

Peng!

With a furious spurt of blood, the Boss was sent flying all the way back, dragging a long gorge in the ground in his wake.

Back when Zhang Xuan was at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, he was already roughly a match for Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle experts, let alone now. The Boss might be a powerful cultivator, but he didn't stand a chance at all.

After trading two blows, Zhang Xuan also realized that the Boss was hardly a challenge at all, so he began losing his interest too.

Couldn't be bothered to make a move himself anymore, he waved his hand and commanded, "Go, cripple him for me!"

Hu la!

From a room connected to the ring below, more than a hundred different types of sabers flew forth, headed right toward the Boss.

These sabers might just be Saint low-tier artifacts, but there were simply too many of them. With all of them launching an offense simultaneously, it didn't take long before the entire area was flooded with saber qi.

Upon seeing this sight, the Boss widened his eyes in shock. Before he could even put up his defenses, several saber qi had already cut into his body, leaving him bloodied all over.

"These sabers..."

Seeing the familiar sabers, the eyelids of the middle-aged manager who had led Zhang Xuan into the Ring of Death earlier began twitching uncontrollably.

These sabers were no other than the weapons they were providing to the challengers of the ring! But these weapons shouldn't have any spirit at all! Why would they listen to that young man's command and attack the Boss?

"That lad must have enchanted them..." The middle-aged manager clenched his fists in realization.

Very clearly, Zhang Xuan must have enchanted those weapons. This would also explain why they were so loyal to him, attacking the Boss without any hesitation on his command.

But he had personally followed that young man into the Weapon Room, and the young man had only spent a few minutes testing out several weapons before leaving empty-handed... To actually successfully enchant all of these weapons within that short period of time... Just how in the world did he do it?!

Aside from the middle-aged manager, Zhang Jiuxiao's lips were also twitching from the sight before him.

He had known about Zhang Xuan's unparalleled proficiency in spirit enchantment, but he had never thought that the latter would be so vicious as to tame all of these weapons!

Looking at it now, it seemed like Zhang Xuan had known from the start that the black market would never allow them to walk away with the sum they had won from the Ring of Death from the very start, so he had made preparations against it in advance.

Wuuuuuuuuu!

It seemed like the hundred Saint low-tier sabers had been through some kind of special training. Every single attack of theirs was accurately aimed at the blind spot or mingmen of the Boss. Under this furious onslaught of deadly saber qi, it didn't take long for the imposing Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert to be bleeding all over. Countless cuts were inflicted throughout his body, and from the looks of it, it seemed like he wasn't too far away from death anymore.

"Stop... I'm willing to compensate you..." Knowing that he might really die at this rate, the Boss finally exclaimed anxiously.

Even though he felt incredibly frustrated, he knew that there was nothing he could do but to surrender.

If the other party really wanted to claim his life, he could have been dead by now.

"Compensate?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

With a wave of his hand, the hundred sabers immediately flew back and neatly took their positions behind Zhang Xuan's back, forming something reminiscent to the feathers of a peacock.

"Yes, I'm willing to compensate you..." Struggling to his feet, the Boss took out a storage ring and passed it over, "Here are 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones..."

This was the profit which the black market had accumulated over countless years. If he were to give it away just like that, the black market would soon find itself facing severe financial troubles.

But at this point, he had no other choice either.

Taking the storage ring, Zhang Xuan swiftly swept its contents before nodding.

There was no mistake with the quantity. It seemed like the other party wasn't playing tricks with him.

"Alright, what are you going to compensate us? These 19,800 concentrated high-tier spirit stones are what we have earned fairly through the gambling earlier, but you have made a move against me and my friend. How do you intend to resolve this matter?" Keeping the spirit stones safely into his own storage ring, Zhang Xuan turned his sight back to the Boss and asked.

"You still want me to compensate you?" the Boss' face turned pale in horror.

You have nearly taken everything that I have, and you still want to squeeze me dry?

"Isn't that a given? Or do you expect to be so magnanimous as to forget what you have just done?" Zhang Xuan sneered.

"How... do you want me to compensate you?" the Boss asked through gritted teeth.

"I heard that your black market has just obtained a certain book, Annal of Bedstead Disquisition?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before asking.

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Chapter 1269: The Voice In the Mist

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

The Boss hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding, "Fine. I'll get my men to bring it over to you now."

As valuable as the Annal of the Bedstead Disquisition was, it was just another artifact to him. If he were to weigh it against his life, it was obvious that his life was way more valuable. With a guillotine right above him at this moment, it was obvious what he should choose.

After making a few instructions, it didn't take long for an elder to arrive at the scene with a considerably large jade container in hand.

The elder opened the jade container, revealing an ancient book within. The yellowish pages were evidence to the long history behind the book, but it was still generally well-preserved. The words on the pages were also pulsating with spiritual energy.

"Un." Zhang Xuan took a closer look, and after confirming that it was the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, he finally nodded before keeping it into his storage ring.

Turning to Zhang Jiuxiao, he said, "Let's go!"

Then, with a powerful leap, he began flying away from the scene.

Zhang Jiuxiao and the hundred sabers behind him quickly followed suit.

Staring in the direction where they disappeared at, hatred began flooding into the eyes of the Boss.

"Boss, are we going to let them off just like that?" an elder walked forward and asked.

It had been more than ten thousand years since their black market had been established, and they had never suffered such a huge setback!

"Let them off? How can I, Ji Lingfeng, allow others to take my items so easily?" The Boss narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fists tightly together.

What he had lost this time around weren't just spirit stones but his pride as well. If they were to take this lying down, how could the black market uphold its prestige and authority in Qianchong City?

"Then... What should we do?"

The young man was strong enough to even overpower their Boss, so even if they wanted to exact vengeance, what could they possibly do?

"Fetch me my [Sword of Faint Whispers]!" The Boss flung his sleeves furiously.

"Sword of Faint Whispers? Boss, you can't be thinking of..." The elder narrowed his eyes in disbelief as something surfaced in his mind.

"That's right! I'm going to head there and have him make a move in my stead!" A cold glint flashed across the Boss' eyes as he gritted his teeth in fury.

"Yes!"

The elder hurriedly rushed off, and not too long later, he returned with a sword in hand.

At first sight, there was nothing that set the sword apart from the others. However, with just a slight flick of it, an incomparably chilling sword qi would shroud its blade, leaving one feeling as if one had been plunged into the midst of a winter's night. On top of that, one could also vaguely hear some soft mutterings in one's ears, as if the sword was whispering to one.

This was the Sword of Faint Whispers, a top-notch Saint intermediate-tier artifact, possessing a might comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert!

Without a doubt, it was one of the strongest weapons in Qianchong Empire!

"Look into the background of that Zhang Xuan!"

With the sword in hand, the Boss' disposition immediately changed. In an instant, he appeared to be many times stronger than before.

"Yes!"

The elder quickly backed away to arrange some men to look into Zhang Xuan's background. On the other hand, the Boss consumed several recovery pills and sat down on the spot to recuperate.

Not too long later, the elder returned with a jade token in hand, "This is the information we have gathered on Zhang Xuan so far. He's from Qingyuan Empire, and he has once succeeded in a pavilion crashing. He has also cleared the preliminary selections of the Sanctum of Sages, and he's in Qianchong Empire for the secondary selections..."

The black market was also known for its outstanding intelligence network as well, so it didn't take long for them to uncover Zhang Xuan's background.

"So he's a talented master teacher, eh? No wonder he dares to cause trouble here..." the Boss stood up and uttered menacingly.

After a moment of recuperation, even though his wounds were still severe, he was at least out of danger for the time being.

"You, stay here and keep the situation in check. I'll head out for a moment." Flinging his sleeves, the Boss began walking away with the Sword of Faint Whispers in his hand.

After leaving the black market, the Boss flew for quite some time before he reached the boundary of a land completely shrouded in mist.

"You have come..." From the midst of the mist, a faint voice sounded.

"Yes, I want you to kill someone for me!" the Boss spat coldly.

"Price."

"I'll give you the Sword of Faint Whispers in exchange!" With a flick of his wrist, the sword in the Boss' hand slowly floated up.

"Are you certain?" A trace of agitation could be heard in the voice from the mist.

"I'm certain!" the Boss replied in resolution. "I know that you are camping here for the legend, but you should also be aware that it's impossible to accomplish it without the Sword of Faint Whispers!"

After a moment of silence, the voice in the midst asked, "Who?"

"His name is Zhang Xuan, a master teacher. He has cleared the preliminary selections of the Sanctum of Sages. Here is his information!" With a flick of his wrist, the Boss threw the jade token he had received from the elder earlier into the mist.

"A master teacher who has successfully crashed the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion? It seems like he's quite a prodigy." the voice in the mist sounded a little hesitant.

A master teacher who had successfully crashed a Master Teacher Pavilion would surely be highly-regarded by the headquarters. If it were to be known that he had killed such a prodigy, the rage of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would be one he wouldn't be able to withstand.

"Cut the nonsense and tell me whether you are willing to accept the deal or not!" the Boss asked impatiently.

"I don't have much time left. If I still can't open that place, I reckon that three years will be my limit... Killing a prodigy in exchange for an opportunity for a breakthrough doesn't sound that bad. However, this matter must be carefully planned so as to ensure that no one finds out about it..." the voice in the mist spoke slowly.

"I know that that much too!" the Boss replied coldly.

Regardless of whether he was the one who had done it personally, the crime of plotting the death of a prodigy of the Master Teacher Pavilion was grave. The Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters had to make a firm stand on the matter so as to deter others from doing the same and ensure the safety of their younger talents. Even if he had the entire black market behind him, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters still wouldn't hesitate to smash him into the ground.

The might of the number one occupation on the Master Teacher Continent was not to be underestimated!

Any power would have to think twice before laying its hand on the young talents of the Master Teacher Pavilion!

This was similar to the disciples of powerful sects as well.

Even if you were to know that they were weak and carried invaluable artifacts with them, would you still dare to make a move on them?

"Alright, I have received your request, so you can leave now. I'll think over the matter and give you an answer three days later." the voice in the mist hesitated for a moment before replying.

"There's no need for that, I'll wait here for your response. I want to see you kill him with my own eyes. I'll give the Sword of Faint Whispers to you as soon as he dies!"

There was a moment of silence before the voice in the mist spoke once more, "Very well. Come in then."

"Un." Holding the sword tightly in his hand, the Boss walked into the mist, and it didn't take long before his silhouette vanished altogether.

...

"I never thought the underground black market isn't located beneath the manor we saw before but in the middle of a mountain range..."

After leaving the black market, Zhang Xuan swiftly kept the sabers following behind him. Gazing downward, he realized that he wasn't underground, or even anywhere near the manor they had stopped at before they were blindfolded and brought into the black market at that. Instead, the black market was actually located in the belly of a mountain.

The manor was just a method of deception to hide the black market away from prying eyes.

It was no wonder why one would have to be blindfolded before entering the black market. Considering the nature of the black market, it also wasn't surprising why they would go to the extent of making such precautions as well.

Even if the black market had some value of existence to Qianchong Empire, there was no saying when the Master Teacher Pavilion would decide to stop tolerating them and launch a crusade against them. It would be unwise to entrust their safety to the whims of others.

"You have really done me a great favor this time around. Here are a thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones, take it as a token of appreciation from me." Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took a pile of concentrated high-tier spirit stones out.

Zhang Jiuxiao was astonished, "How can I take so many spirit stones from you..."

A thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones—this was a fortune which he couldn't even fathom possessing!

"Take it. You will need it to raise your cultivation as quickly as possible so that you can pass the secondary selection!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Had it not been for Zhang Jiuxiao informing him about the existence of the black market and making the bets in his stead, he wouldn't have been able to earn such a huge sum either.

He had provided the brawns whereas Zhang Jiuxiao had provided the means. In that sense, Zhang Jiuxiao deserved every single one of these concentrated high-tier spirit stones.

"Then... I'll be thanking you for this generous gift then, Zhang shi!" Knowing what Zhang Xuan had said was the truth—it would be a waste if he were to fail at this point after all the trouble they had gone through for him to clear the preliminary selection—Zhang Jiuxiao accepted the concentrated high-tier spirit stones heartily and kept them into his storage ring.

Somehow, being with the young man before him had instilled him with an endless drive for cultivation, and he found himself motivated to work harder than ever to reach greater heights.

Perhaps this was the reason why others would naturally gravitate to him.

He had been filled with envy and grudges for the other party in the past, but in this instant, he found that, at some point in time, those emotions had already disappeared without a trace...

"There's no need to stand on ceremony!" Unaware of the thoughts in Zhang Jiuxiao's mind, Zhang Xuan casually waved his hand.

...

By the time they returned to their residence in the Master Teacher Pavilion, the sun had already set.

Zhang Xuan entered the Myriad Anthive Nest once more and took out the concentrated high-tier spirit stones he had just obtained.

He first conditioned his state to its peak before attempting for a breakthrough. Not too long later, he overcame his bottleneck and finally reached the long-awaited Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle.

"Alright, time for me to cultivate my soul!"

With plenty of concentrated high-tier spirit stones at hand, Zhang Xuan began cultivating his Heaven's Path Soul Art as well.

Four hours later, his soul cultivation had reached Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle as well.

"With this, my strength should be on par with Half-Grand Dominion realm experts..." Feeling the zhenqi rushing through his body, as well as his enhanced strength and grasp over the spatial laws, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Back when he was at Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, ordinary Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivators were already no match for him. Now that he had achieved a breakthrough in his zhenqi cultivation and soul cultivation, his fighting prowess had been enhanced by at least twofold at the minimum.

It could be said that with his current strength, even if he didn't use the puppets he had obtained from the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows, he would still be able to overpower Pavilion Master Yue with ease.

"But after my cultivation reached Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, it seems like concentrated high-tier spirit stones have become completely ineffective on me as well..."

While it was gladdening to see that he had managed to make significant advancements in his fighting prowess and cultivation, the ineffectiveness of the concentrated high-tier spirit stones meant that he would have to start looking for more advanced cultivation resources too.

In the past, just a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone would suffice for him to make multiple breakthroughs, but now, even a hundred of them would barely make a difference in his cultivation.

Even with the ten thousand or so concentrated high-tier spirit stones in hand, it would still be nigh difficult for him to push for a breakthrough to Half-Leaving Aperture realm.

His Heaven's Path zhenqi simply had too high a demand for the purity of spiritual energy he absorbed for his cultivation, and he had also anticipated that this would happen as well. Nevertheless, he still couldn't help but feel a little stifled by the situation.

It wasn't easy for him to earn so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones at once, but in just a few moments, they had already become completely useless to him...

It seemed that if he wanted to make progress in his cultivation, he must continue fighting on and forge his path forward.

"Clone, this is the cultivation technique for the Heaven's Path Soul Art. Hurry up and cultivate." Zhang Xuan said as he sent the content of the Heaven's Path Soul Art to his clone telepathically and tossed a pile of concentrated high-tier spirit stones over.

At this moment, his clone had already finished consuming the Qingtian Emperor's soul, and his fighting prowess had also risen to an incredible level as well.

"Alright." Without wasting any time, Zhang Xuan's clone began on his cultivation.

As they had originated from the same soul, their rates of cultivation were nearly the same. In a few hours, his clone had already finished cultivating the Heaven's Path Soul Art. Through assimilating the energy of the Qingtian Emperor's soul on top of that, he managed to surpass Zhang Xuan in terms of soul cultivation, reaching Quasi Leaving Aperture realm.

As long as he overcame the lightning tribulation, he would be able to become a True Leaving Aperture realm expert!

"How strong are you at the moment?" Seeing that his clone had managed to a significant advancement in his cultivation, Zhang Xuan couldn't resist asking.

"I can squash Half-Grand Dominion realm ants with a grasp of my hand, and as for Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivators... I reckon I should be able to put up a fight." Zhang Xuan's clone replied with his head raised haughtily.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's cheeks twitched.

Even though it was only a small cultivation stage of difference between Half-Grand Dominion realm and Grand Dominion realm, there was a vast gap in their fighting prowess.

At Grand Dominion realm, otherwise known as the Indomitable realm, cultivators would gain the ability to create their Dominion. They would be the absolute dictator within the area of their Dominion. Regardless of how many people were gathered in the area, as long as none wielded strength on par with them, they would be as good as invincible!

For his clone to wield strength on par with Grand Dominion realm primary stage experts... Just on this itself, it was clear that his clone was already many times stronger than him!

Such strength paired with that fellow's monstrous regenerative ability... Was there still anyone in Qianchong Empire who would be a match for him?

Hai, after cultivating for so long, it turned out that he was still unable to keep up with his clone...

How embarrassing!

"It seems like I am still cultivating too slowly..." Zhang Xuan remarked with his face lowered in shame.

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Chapter 1270: Dominion

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

He might still have been able to derive some feeling of superiority when comparing himself with others, but against his clone, he had been wrecked time and time again to the point where it had nearly become a trauma in his heart.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan tried to ignore the feeling of helplessness within him and took out a jade container. Opening it lightly, an ancient book came into sight.

Annal of Bedstead Disquisition!

By scanning it with his eyes, an equivalent book appeared in the Library of Heaven's Path.

After swiftly looking through the content in the book, Zhang Xuan thought, It is indeed related to the cultivation technique of the Luo Clan. However, it isn't a cultivation technique itself but a compilation of insights!

Recorded in the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition was Pavilion Master Yan's interpretation of Sage Luo's lecture. It did not contain a cultivation technique but a new interpretation toward cultivation.

To make an analogy, it would be like learning a studying method. As long as a cultivator were to fully grasp those insights, their speed of cultivation should increase significantly.

Just that... the Heaven's Path Divine Art was already no different from the best studying method in the world. While the insights to cultivation recorded in the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition were not too bad, superior to most interpretations of cultivation out there, it was completely useless to him.

After studying the book for a moment longer, Zhang Xuan eventually shook his head. I was still expecting something out of it due to how valuable it is. What a pity!

He had thought that by learning the key to the Luo Clan's cultivation technique, he would be able to better deal with them when the time came. But thinking about it now, how could the cultivation technique of a Sage Clan possibly be obtained that easily?

If, by any chance, someone leaked the Luo Clan's cultivation technique, with their massive influence, they would have surely swiftly found it and destroyed it utterly. There was no way they would allow their cultivation technique to be auctioned in a small black market in the Qianchong Empire.

While the Luo Clan's insight into cultivation is not too bad, it seems like it's still a far stretch from matching Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel.

From the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition, it was apparent that the Luo Clan specialized in the study of spatial laws. However, in terms of depth of comprehension, Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's understanding of space was clearly a more direct interpretation of the world compared to the Luo Clan's.

But looking at it now, there seemed to be striking similarities between the two of them... as if they originated from the same source.

A thought suddenly emerged in Zhang Xuan's mind.

Right. If I compile this together with the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, will I be able to perfect it?

There were five dans to the Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, and so far, he had only cultivated the first dan of the technique. The reason he had not continued was because there were simply too many flaws from the second dan onward, and his cultivation had not met the mark either.

But since his cultivation had already reached Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, he could try cultivating the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel if he could perfect it.

So, Zhang Xuan took out the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel and placed it together with the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition.

Compile!

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly flipped it open.

It really worked...

There was a total of five dans to the Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, namely Compress, Traverse, Control, Creation, and Destruction.

He had already fully mastered Compress, and by using it in unison with the Unbounded Voyager, he had gained the ability to carry out near-instantaneous movement within a radius of hundred meters, as if teleportating.

It was also his superior grasp over spatial laws that granted him the strength to rival Half-Grand Dominion realm experts.

If he could master the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, he would be able to increase his fighting prowess another a notch.

Excited, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist to place all his concentrated high-tier spirit stones before him in a pile before immersing himself into the cultivation of the Traverse realm.

Some time later...

Zhang Xuan finally stood up, and his aura began to rise steadily.

After a long moment of hard work, even though he had not mastered the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel 'Traverse' yet, his understanding of space did advance by leaps and bounds.

With his previous strength, he had only been on par with Half-Grand Dominion realm experts. However, with his current strength, he might even be able to rival true Grand Dominion realm primary stage experts!

Release!

Willing it with his mind, a sphere of faint light with a radius of one meter immediately appeared around Zhang Xuan, and he could feel the absolute control he wielded within this space.

Feeling the effects of the light sphere, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.Even though this isn't a Dominion, it has similar effects to one.

This light sphere was created by using his soul energy to warp the surrounding Laws of Space. He had absolute control over anything that was within this light sphere, and unless there was another individual who could wrestle the control over this space from him, he would practically be invincible.

Let me test out my strength!

With a flick of his wrist, the Golden Origin Cauldron appeared before Zhang Xuan.

"Attack me with your full might!"

"Alright!" Even though the Golden Origin Cauldron was unsure what Zhang Xuan was up to, it still agreed to the request. It leaped powerfully into the sky before descending heavily upon Zhang Xuan.

Possessing a fighting prowess on par with Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage cultivators, the speed at which the Golden Origin Cauldron was capable of moving at had already exceeded the speed of sound. Nevertheless, when it came within a meter of Zhang Xuan, its speed abruptly decreased.

"Freeze," Zhang Xuan muttered softly.

In the instant that the Golden Origin Cauldron was just about to touch Zhang Xuan, it came to a completely halt. No matter how it struggled, its body would not budge at all.

As long as I will it, I will even be able to destroy the spirit of the Golden Origin Cauldron easily.

Feeling the power that he wielded over the Golden Origin Cauldron, Zhang Xuan was astonished.

It was no wonder everyone said that the difference between each cultivation realm from Leaving Aperture realm onward was an unbreachable rift. From the looks of it now, it seemed like those words were not hearsay.

He had thought that the prowess that Grand Dominion realm cultivators wielded had been exaggerated—as long as there was sufficiently large group of cultivators surrounding a Grand Dominion realm cultivator, it should have been a matter of time before he eventually slipped up and erred.

But having first-hand experience with the prowess of a Dominion, he realized that he had been too naive!

Within the sphere of a Dominion, there was no such thing as chance. Unless one could destroy the Dominion with a greater power or interrupt the activation of the Dominion, the chances of success were practically null.

However, the maintenance of a Dominion is really taxing on one's zhenqi and Primordial Spirit.

After releasing the Golden Origin Cauldron, Zhang Xuan released the light sphere around him, and a feeling of extreme fatigue swiftly consumed him.

Even though this Dominion-like light sphere was extremely powerful, granting him the strength to fight toe-to-toe with a Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator, the rate at which his zhenqi and soul energy depleted was truly frightening.

Despite having cultivated the Saint Ascension Decipher, not to mention that he was a Celestial Saint as well, just maintaining the light sphere for ten seconds had left him feeling sapped and exhausted.

I should only activate this technique in times of emergency.

As powerful as the light sphere was, if he depleted all his energy from using it, he would be placed in a vulnerable position for quite a period of time. Thus, unless in times of emergency, it was best for him to avoid using it.

Zhang Xuan rested for a moment to recover his depleted zhenqi. At this moment, a thought suddenly came to his mind, and he clenched his fists in agitation. Wait a moment... Since I have comprehended a Dominion-like ability, does this mean that I will be able to crush my clone easily?

All along, he had been put down by his clone, and the shame and embarrassment had weighed down on him for far too long. Since he had managed to comprehend Dominion ahead of his clone, it was about time for him to return the favor!

With this thought in mind, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate to leap into action. He immediately called his clone over.

Without wasting any words, an earth-shaking, mountain-crushing battle began.

Frightened, the Golden Origin Cauldron swiftly retreated to a corner and trembled fearfully.

Three breaths later, Zhang Xuan had been imprinted with clear panda eyes. Five breaths later, huge spurts of blood from Zhang Xuan dyed the sky crimson. Ten breaths later, an unmoving human was lying on the ground.

"Nice try, better luck next time..." Clapping to rid the dirt off his hands, Zhang Xuan's clone turned around smugly and walked away.

Feeling utterly stifled inside, Zhang Xuan could only drive his Heaven's Path zhenqi to heal up.

He had thought that after comprehending Dominion, he would be able to utterly thrash his clone, but who knew that the other party would actually still be able to forcefully move even under the effects of his Dominion!

In the end, he had still been pummeled.

That monster! Just how in the world did he cultivate?

Driving his zhenqi two circulations around his body, Zhang Xuan managed to recover from his injuries. He looked at his clone helplessly for a moment before decisively leaving the Anthive Nest.

Oh well... I guess I'll just have to come back and exact vengeance the next time I make a major breakthrough in my cultivation!

Returning to his room, Zhang Xuan walked out and noted that the sun had already risen. Breathing in the morning air, he felt extraordinarily refreshed.

After a night of cultivation, even though it was a pity that he still was not a match for his clone, he did manage to advance his fighting prowess considerably.

A moment after walking out of the residence, he suddenly saw Zhang Jiuxiao rushing over with unconcealable glee on his face. "Zhang shi, I have managed to achieve a breakthrough to Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage! Hahaha!"

Even though he knew it was likely that he would be outdone very soon, he still could not help but to take pride in the fact that he had managed to catch up with Zhang Xuan for the time being.

To be able to catch up to a Celestial Master Teacher... This was something he could brag to his offspring about in the future!

"Congratulations!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Thank you. Since my cultivation is on par with Zhang shi now, I think that I should be able to clear the secondary selection..."

Halfway through his words, Zhang Jiuxiao's words suddenly clogged up in his throat. His face twitched a little as his eyes widened in disbelief. "Zhang shi... you are at... Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle?"

"Un. I managed to sufficiently accumulate my cultivation, so I was able to push for a breakthrough," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.

"You managed to sufficiently accumulate your cultivation?" Zhang Jiuxiao nearly burst into tears.

Accumulate your head!

It was just yesterday that you made a breakthrough, and yet, over the course of a night, you made another breakthrough. What can you possibly accumulate in a single day?

Even genius cultivators would at least take several months to advance a single cultivation stage after reaching Primordial Spirit realm, and yet, you only took a single night. Can you be any more terrifying than that?

Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes reddened in frenzy as he felt a pail of cold water washing away the little bit of confidence that he had just barely built up.

When other cultivators achieved swift breakthroughs, their strength would be volatile, resulting in a reduction in their fighting prowess. Yet, despite advancing so swiftly, that fellow was actually still be able to exert unbelievable strength.

Really, Zhang Jiuxiao felt that he should stop trying to compare with the young man before him, or else he might just die of trauma some day.

On the other hand, seeing how dejected Zhang Jiuxiao was, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt the exasperation and frustration that he had just felt from being pummeled by his clone vanishing without a trace. Satisfied with the outcome, he nodded in approval.

Indeed. While he might have been far from a match for his clone, he was still stronger than the common populace.

Knowing that he would only get more and more depressed talking about cultivation, Zhang Jiuxiao quickly changed the topic. "Zhang shi, Zhao shi asked us to gather at the main hall. The secondary selection is about to begin."

Nodding in response, Zhang Xuan quickly followed Zhang Jiuxiao over to the main hall.

In the main hall, the thirty or so master teachers he had seen the previous day had already arrived. They were standing neatly in two rows with solemn looks on their faces.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, they swiftly greeted him before falling silent.

Zhang Xuan and Zhang Jiuxiao took their positions at the end of the two rows, and quick sweeping over the room with their gazes, they noted that Zhao Xingmo and Pavilion Master Yue were standing in the middle.

Pavilion Master Yue's body was still a little swollen, and there were various patches of bruising all around. It was apparent that he had yet to recover from the beating that he had received from the puppets the previous day.

The higher one's cultivation, the lower the effectiveness of a pill. Given his cultivation realm, if he wanted to recover from his wounds quickly, he would have to consume a grade-8 pill at the very minimum. However, even as the head of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, a grade-8 pill was not a commodity that could easily be acquired.

"Since everyone has arrived, let's not waste any time and begin the secondary selection."

Stepping forward, Zhang Xingmo shot a sweeping gaze across all of the candidates before saying, "In the selections of the Sanctum of Sages, we aim to assess the strength, intelligence, ability to assess the big picture, and many other key capabilities of the candidates. In the preliminary selection, we have assessed you on your strength. As long as you wield sufficient strength, you will be able to clear the selection easily. However, the secondary selection won't be as simple as that.

"Now, I shall begin explaining the rules for the secondary selection!"

Everyone's ears perked up, and their eyes narrowed, not wanting to miss any words or gestures that he spoke or made.

This would determine whether they would be able to enter the Sanctum of Sages or not, so they had to obtain every scrap of information they could get about the secondary selection.

"As complicated as I have made it sound, there is only a single rule to the secondary selection. That is to use every means possible to eliminate your opponent!"

With a solemn look, Zhao Xingmo raised his hand and declared grandly, "The challenge for the secondary selection shall be... a caged battle royale!"

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Chapter 1271: Caged Battle Royale

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Caged battle royale?"

Hearing the theme of the secondary selection, the candidates widened their eyes in astonishment.

They had heard of caged battle royale before, and they understood the significance behind it as well.

In ancient times, when the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was still the dominant power in the Master Teacher Continent, they would often conduct caged battle royales to entertain themselves.

To put it in simple terms, caged battle royale consisted of placing a group of men in the same cage and leaving them to fight it out amongst themselves. The last one standing would be spared, and the rest would become sacrifices for his survival. It was an extremely brutal event, testing of a human's true nature.

For their own survival, there were those who would even lay their hands on their kin or even their own children... Such practice had been considered to be vile by mankind, spurned by the Master Teacher Pavilion, so why would the Sanctum of Sages use it in their secondary selections?

"Don't worry, the caged battle royale won't be a slaughter but an elimination match!" Noticing that everyone's expression was growing unnatural, Zhao Xingmo waved his hand and explained, "We'll be placing you in an isolated island, and within three days, you must find and eliminate thirteen amongst you in order to clear the examination. Of course, the method of elimination will not be killing the individual but breaking his allocated jade token. If we were to find that you have willfully killed any one of the candidates, your candidacy will be stripped immediately!"

"Breaking allocated jade tokens?"

"This will be difficult..."

Grave expressions appeared on the faces around.

They were all top-notch geniuses, and while there was some disparity in their strength, each of them wielded exceptional life preservation and escape means. If it was just a normal battle royale, they would still be able to eliminate other candidates through springing surprise assaults and swiftly incapacitating their enemy. However, if they had to break the jade token without endangering the other party's life, the difficulty would be hiked up significantly!

"Of course, you aren't the only ones on the isolated island too. There will be saint beasts, traps prepared in advance, and treacherous terrains... While trying to eliminate others, you will have to try your best to protect yourself as well!"

A glint flashed across Zhao Xingmo's eyes before he continued, "Just a warning in advance, if you think that you can just hide at one corner and wait for others to be eliminated, let me make this clear right now. You will be forcefully eliminated by me as well. The Sanctum of Sages needs no cowards and escapees! Also, if you all were to fail to eliminate thirteen people within three days, everyone shall lose their candidacy!"

"This..."

"In other words, we have to eliminate others or else we won't be able to get into the Sanctum of Sages even if we were to last till the end?"

"This is too difficult!"

"Well, if it's that easy to enroll into the number one academy of the Master Teacher Continent, it would surely be overflowing with freshmen each year!"

...

After a moment of commotion, everyone fell silent.

While the rules of the caged battle royale may seem simple, it was actually far more demanding than being literally placed into a cage.

It wasn't just a simple battle royale anymore. It was demanding on one's overall capabilities, be it planning, analyzing the situation, tracking, danger sensing, and much more.

As expected of the selection of the Sanctum of Sages, its difficulty was indeed at a different level.

"These are your jade tokens, they represent each of your identities. You can choose to carry it with you, hide it, or anything else. The only condition is that the jade token must remain on the island. As long as your jade token isn't shattered, that would mean that you aren't eliminated yet!" Zhao Xingmo said as he flicked his wrist, and more than thirty jade tokens flew toward the crowd.

"The jade tokens can be hidden as well?"

"In other words... even if we were to successfully capture others, as long as we can't find the other party's jade token, there's nothing we can do at all?"

"As long as we can't find the jade token, there's nothing we can do to eliminate a candidate... But how in the world are we supposed to find a jade token that can be hidden anywhere on an isolated island?"

...

The crowd was stunned once more. They could hardly believe what they were hearing.

If the rules enforced that the jade token must remain on one's body, after defeating an opponent, they would at least be able to search the other party's body and destroy his jade token. On the other hand, if the hiding of jade tokens were to be permitted as well, even if they were to successfully track down and subdue an opponent, there would be nothing they could do to eliminate him if he didn't have his jade token on him!

In the first place, eliminating an opponent through jade tokens had already hiked up the difficulty considerably. Now that the hiding of jade tokens was allowed as well, the difficulty would be increased to at least tenfold of before.

This is also a test of one's state of mind! In contrast to the shocked faces around him, a gleam flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes.

Perhaps it was because he wasn't as pressured to enter the Sanctum of Sages as compared to the others, from a bystander's point of view, he was able to see through the crux of the rules in an instant.

Zhao Xingmo had intentionally said that they could hide the jade token, but to be honest, where else could be safer than with keeping it with oneself?

To hide one's jade token was as good as leaving one's fate to luck, gambling on whether the others would be able to find his jade token or not. If a person couldn't even trust himself enough to guard his jade token himself, it was likely that he was lacking in certain necessary traits that a leader of mankind should have.

Most likely, such an action would result in a huge penalty of some kind.

But of course, he wouldn't go so far as to remind the others of this matter. Stretching his hand forward, he grabbed the jade token flying toward him lightly.

It was a specially forged black jade. Carved on the back of the jade token was his name whereas the front was inscribed with a peculiar kind of pattern. The pattern seemed to grant the jade token a communication function that would allow Zhao Xingmo to determine whether a candidate had been eliminated or not.

"Zhao shi, if someone were to utilize artifacts beyond our prowess in the secondary selection, wouldn't we stand no chance at all?" a genius from Qianchong Empire, Ma Minghai, asked.

Hearing those words, everyone's sights swiftly turned to Zhang Xuan.

Yesterday, that fellow threw out more than a hundred puppets and pummeled the Half-Grand Dominion realm Pavilion Master Yue with ease. If those puppets were to be used against them, they wouldn't stand a chance at all.

"In the caged battle royale, out of concerns over fairness, no candidate is to use any weapon or artifact to execute any actions that would directly or indirectly lead to the elimination of a candidate. Anyone who flouts this rule will be eliminated without exception!" Zhao Xingmo declared.

"That's good..."

The crowd heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as weapons and artifacts weren't allowed, even if Zhang Xuan possessed superior fighting prowess, there was no need to fear him!

While they might not have been able to defeat him face-to-face, but they would at least still be able to use their life preservation methods to flee from him.

"Is there any other questions?"

"Zhao shi, may I enquire where the isolated island will be? Roughly how big would it be? Also, regarding the traps and saint beasts you spoke of, how strong would they be?" a master teacher asked.

"These are secrets. You will have figure those out yourself after arriving at the location. Alright, if there are no other questions, we shall set off right now. Oh right, you aren't allowed to utilize remote communication artifacts to communicate with one another either. Anyone caught doing so will be eliminated as well!"

Zhao Xingmo warned strictly, "Don't even dream of cheating or attempting to exploit loopholes in the rules. Since I dare to set these rules, I have my own way of keeping a lookout and enforcing them."

"Yes!"

The candidates nodded.

Seeing that everyone had understood the rules, Zhao Xingmo decided to say no more. He turned to Pavilion Master Yue and said, "Pavilion Master Yue, send them off."

"Un." Pavilion Master Yue nodded before raising his hand.

In the next moment, over thirty aerial saint beasts descended to the ground. There was a cultivator on each of them, and they passed a blindfold over to the candidates, gesturing for them to put them on before leading them to the back of the saint beast.

This blindfold was similar to the one Zhang Xuan had worn prior to being led to the black market. Once put on, not only was one's sight impeded, even one's Spiritual Perception would be severely limited as well. Under the lead of the cultivators, the candidates soon heard a resounding call before the saint beasts soared into the sky.

After flying for some time, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt his feet stepping on solid ground once more. Tearing away his blindfold, he soon realized that he was standing in the midst of a dense forest. His surroundings were completely silent, and there was not a single person to be seen.

It seemed like the purpose of covering their eyes wasn't just to keep the location where they were heading to a mystery, more importantly, it was also to prevent them to finding their comrades easily and teaming up.

As such, each person would have to depend on himself for most part of the selection.

Zhang Jiuxiao did make substantial advancement in his cultivation, reaching Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage. On top of that, after my guidance along the way, his combat skills have also visibly improved as well... As long as he doesn't encounter Ma Minghai and the others, he should still be able to cope.

Admittedly, Zhang Jiuxiao's fighting prowess was still far lacking as compared to Zhang Xuan, but no matter what, he was still an offspring from a powerful clan, and he had received Zhang Xuan's guidance as well... As long as he didn't meet with enemies that were too powerful, he should be able to deal with them with relative ease. At the very least, escaping shouldn't be a problem.

Deciding not to think too much into it, Zhang Xuan leaped onto a nearby tree branch to assess his surroundings, only to find that the forest extended far into the horizon. Rather than a remote island, he seemed to be in the depths of a mountain range instead.

Is this really an isolated island? This is really way too big... Zhang Xuan thought in astonishment.

To be unable to see the other end even with his current strength, just how big could the island be?

A thousand li? Two thousand li? Or six thousand li? 1

To find the other thirty or so candidates on an island this big and eliminate them within three days... the selection really wasn't as easy as he thought.

It seemed like knowing how to track the other candidates was also one of the aspects of assessment.

But considering the size of the island, how can Zhao shi keep a tight watch over what's happening everywhere to enforce his rules? Leaping back to the ground, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but wonder.

Despite having cultivated the Heaven's Path Divine Art, his Spiritual Perception was still limited to a radius of roughly 2500 meters. Ordinary cultivators would only be at around 400 meters or so. Given how large the island was, even if Zhao Xingmo was a Grand Dominion realm expert, it was really hard to believe that he would be able to keep a tight watch over everything that was happening on the island at every moment.

Forget it, there's no point thinking about that now. What's the most important at the moment is to find other candidates and eliminate them... Unable to figure out the matter, Zhang Xuan decided not to think too much into it as well.

With his recent breakthroughs, even without a weapon in hand, he would still be able to rival Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivators. With such fighting prowess, he would be able to eliminate any candidate he encountered without any problem. The ones who should be shivering in fear were his opponents instead.

Zhang Xuan walked along the mountain range for a while, but he soon realized that roaming around aimlessly in such a manner was likely to end in futility. The chances were that he wouldn't be able to find a single person even if he were to walk like this for an entire day. Thus, he flicked his wrist and took out a compass.

As a formation master, a compass was a necessary tool. Even though Zhang Xuan had never really used it before—he had never found the need to do so—he still stored a few of them in his storage ring, and they were of decent quality as well.

The spiritual energy is more concentrated in that direction... It seems like the center of the island should be in that direction. I should head over to take a look! After determining a direction, Zhang Xuan began flitting forward on the ground.

He didn't choose to fly for several reasons. Firstly, the area was filled with saint beasts, so he might end up becoming a target if he were to rise to the air. Secondly, he would also attract the attention of the other candidates. Even if he had no fear with his current strength, he still had no intention of being too high profile.

Roar!

After advancing some distance away, a furious howl suddenly sounded. Following which, Zhang Xuan saw a massive Tigerbone Beast charging in his direction.

Just like him, the Tigerbone Beast was at Primordial Spirit realm as well. Even before its approach, one could already feel the authoritative pressure that it commanded weighing down on one's soul, as if it would crush one with ease.

Its body is pretty valuable... Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

The saint beasts should already be thankful that he wasn't seeking any trouble with them, but this fellow actually still dared to charge over. Since that was the case, he had no intention of holding back either. He raised his palm and crushed it downward.

Paji!

The body of the Tigerbone Beast abruptly froze, as if someone had sealed it in place. Fear and horror crept into its massive eyes.

"You only have your own recklessness to blame..." Zhang Xuan muttered impassively as he bent his finger backward, preparing to flick the Tigerbone Beast to death and extract its valuable body parts.

In that moment, the sky suddenly trembled, and a deafening voice sounded.

"Zhang Jiuxiao's jade token has been shattered. The first candidate has been eliminated. Remaining candidates: 32!"

What? Zhang Jiuxiao has been eliminated?

Startled, a look of disbelief slowly crept onto Zhang Xuan's face.

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Chapter 1272: Sword Lagoon

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

While Zhang Jiuxiao's strength was far from on par with his, among the candidates, he could definitely be considered to be above average. On top of that, with the various means he wielded, Zhang Xuan figured that it should not have been too difficult for him to last till the very end. Yet, to be eliminated barely ten minutes after arriving on the island...

Just who was the one who had made the move?

Not to mention, to succeed so quickly...

I should check out where he was eliminated. Perhaps, I will be able to find some clues...

Tapping his finger, a droplet of blood appeared before Zhang Xuan's eyes.

It was the blood essence that Zhang Jiuxiao had given him previously for him to test his bloodline.

Zhang Xuan formed several hand seals on the blood droplet, and the next moment, the compass in his hand began spinning before eventually pointing in a certain direction.

While remote communication artifacts were not allowed on the isolated island, there was no explicit rule preventing him from using blood essence to track the whereabouts of another candidate.

The fact that Zhang Jiuxiao had been eliminated shortly after arriving on the island was rather bewildering. He felt that there was something more to the matter, so the matter needed to be investigated immediately.

After having a way pointed out, Zhang Xuan swiftly flitted forward.

Seeing the man who was just about to kill it leaving, the Tigerbone Beast heaved a quick sigh of relief. It leaped into the depths of the forest and concealed itself, not daring to prowl arrogantly and pounce on others anymore.

After flitting for several minutes, covering a distance of almost two hundred li1 , Zhang Xuan suddenly came to a halt.

Zhang Xuan frowned. Why does it feel like I have been moving in circles?

No matter how big the island was, after traveling for so long, the terrain around him should have at least changed.

Yet, for some reason, the sight before him looked extremely familiar, as if the road he had been flitting on was a round track.

Taking a few steps forward, the truth soon dawned upon Zhang Xuan.

It's a formation...

To his astonishment, there was a massive formation on the island. As the sheer area that it covered was too big, even Zhang Xuan had not noticed its presence at first.

To actually be able to avert my detection and trap me... at the very least, this formation must be of grade-8!

Currently, Zhang Xuan's comprehension of formations had already reached 7-star pinnacle. Due to the exceptional prowess of the Heaven's Path Formation Art, he would be able to easily set up some of the easier grade-8 primary formations.

With his proficiency, he should have been able to notice any formation beneath grade-8 with a single glance. Yet, to be able to trap him for such a long period of time before he became aware of its presence... without a doubt, the formation cast over the island had to be grade-8.

Eye of Insight!

Regardless of the grade, as long as it was a formation, he would not have any problems with it. Lines of insight flickered in his eyes as he began assessing his surroundings.

Very soon, he found narrow threads of spiritual energy drifting in the area.

This should be... quasi grade-8 formation, Riverbank Beguilement Formation! Furthermore, it seems to cover a distance of at least several thousand li! To have such a massive formation set up over this area... just where could this place be?

The Riverbank Beguilement Formation was known for its scalability, and it would usually be used to conceal manors or even entire cities, such as the Jingyuan Empire Poison Hall back then.

For there to be such a formation here, not to mention, covering several thousand li at that...

Just why would there be something like that here?

Without several hundred years of effort, it would be impossible to set up a formation of this size. Even Zhang Xuan would require at least a month of hard work for it.

He had initially thought that it was only an ordinary island, but at this point, it was clear that there was something much more to it.

However, without much understanding of the Qianchong Empire's history and heritage, it would be difficult for Zhang Xuan to figure anything out. Shaking his head, he decided to put this matter aside for the moment.

Now that I know that it's a formation, the rest will be easy.

The Riverbank Beguilement Formation would confuse one's sense of direction, leading one to unwittingly return to the same place over and over again. However, since Zhang Xuan knew of the existence of the formation, he would not allow himself to be beguiled anymore. He swiftly scanned his surroundings and determined a direction. Then, he moved forward twenty li before side stepping roughly fourteen to fifteen li. After which, he changed direction another dozen times before he finally took a step forward.

Huala!

In that instant, it was as if he had leaped out of some seal. His surroundings were still the same lush forest, but the nature of the spiritual energy around him had changed. It had become a little heavier, carrying a hint of authority and killing intent to them.

"Sword qi!" Zhang Xuan's gaze turned grim.

He was very familiar with this aura. It was induced by lingering sword qi in an area.

Tracing the origin of the aura, Zhang Xuan swiftly saw that an area of trees collapsed on the ground not too far away. Judging from the clean severing between the tree trunk and the tree stump, it was likely to be have been done all in a single sword slash. At the center of the clearing, there were several droplets of fresh blood imprinted on a boulder, and the fact that they had yet to dry up indicated that the battle had occurred recently.

Zhang Xuan frowned. It's Zhang Jiuxiao's blood...

He had examined Zhang Jiuxiao's blood before, allowing him to recognize it at a single glance. Given that his blood was splattered there, and there were marks of battle in the area, was that where he had been eliminated by others?

Just that...

Wasn't the usage of weapons and artifacts disallowed?

What was with the sword qi and the clean cuts on the trees in the area?

Furthermore, it would be tough for even Zhang Xuan to sever so many trees within a single sword slash, so when did such a formidable figure appear among the candidates?

Eye of Insight!

Lines of insight emerged in Zhang Xuan's eyes once more as he swiftly scanned his surroundings.

Considering that it had not been long since Zhang Jiuxiao was eliminated, the culprit should not have gotten far yet. He should still be able to track down the culprit by the tracks they had left behind.

As he had expected, it did not take long for another surge of sword qi to appear not too far away, directed into the distance.

Upon seeing that, Zhang Xuan immediately dashed over in that direction.

However, barely after taking two steps, he heard a voice in his ear once more. "Chi Yurui's jade token has been shattered. The second candidate has been eliminated. Remaining candidates: 31!"

He has been eliminated, too?

Zhang Xuan had some recollection of that fellow. A Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle expert from the Qianyun Empire, Chi Yurui possessed decent fighting prowess and superior. Who would have thought that barely ten minutes after Zhang Jiuxiao had been eliminated, Chi Yurui would actually be knocked out as well? This was really too fast!

Proceeding further, another plot of land filled with cleanly severed trees appeared before Zhang Xuan's eyes. This time, the sword qi lingering the area was even more devastating. Just by standing there, one would feel as if the air was slicing into one's skin.

Perplexed, Zhang Xuan was just about to continue moving forward to investigate the scene when he suddenly felt something. He immediately took a powerful step backward, and in an instant, he was already a hundred meters away.

Huala!

The sharp sword qi abruptly burst forth from where he had been standing. It flew all the way into the heavens, slicing the air in its path.

Weng!

Highly alert, Zhang Xuan saw a sword surging up from the ground. There was a slight aura of disappointment around it, as if unhappy that its surprise assault had failed.

Zhang Xuan was taken aback. It's a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle sword? Why would it be here?

Upon sensing the assault, his first instinct was that a master teacher had been camping in wait underground, waiting for him to approach to launch a decisive attack. Yet, he never could have imagined that the one springing the assault was actually a Saint intermediate-tier sword!

Just like the Golden Origin Cauldron, the sword also possessed a spirit. Most likely, it had sensed that someone was tracking it, so it had decided to hide itself and launch a preemptive strike.

It was fortunate that Zhang Xuan possessed keen instincts toward danger, allowing him to notice that something was amiss in an instant. Otherwise, if that burst of sword qi had landed on him, even if he had not been injured by it, it would have left him in an unkempt state.

"Humph!" With a displeased look on his face, Zhang Xuan raised his hand, and a burst of force shot toward the sword.

Hu!

Sensing that the young man before it was going to fight back, the sword unhesitatingly dived back down, intending to return to the safety of the underground world.

"Trying to flee after attempting to assault me? How can I allow you to get off that easily?" Zhang Xuan sneered.

The next moment, the air in the surroundings suddenly became incredibly viscous. As if it had fallen into a pool of mercury, the horrified sword found itself unable to move at all.

"Come over here!"

A powerful suction force tugged at the sword. The sword attempted to struggle against the suction force, but severely overpowered, it succumbed after an instant and rapidly flew toward Zhang Xuan.

Catching hold of the sword, Zhang Xuan swiftly tapped the sword at various points.

Weng!

With a light buzz, the agitated sword turned gentle in a matter of seconds.

Zhang Xuan had successfully tamed the sword!

"Were you the one who assaulted Zhang Jiuxiao and Chu Yurui?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It wasn't not me; the Dawn Rain Sword did it!" the sword replied resoundingly.

"Dawn Rain Sword? What's your name?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback to hear that there was another sword in the area.

Could it be that... other than this sword, there were other Saint intermediate-tier swords in the area as well?

"I am known as the Dusk Cloud Sword!" the sword replied.

"Dawn Rain, Dusk Cloud..." Just from the names, Zhang Xuan could tell that they were likely a pair of treasured swords. Frowning deeply, he asked, "Why are you both here? What is this place?"

Not only was there a powerful formation shrouding the entire island, there were even Saint intermediate-tier swords lying in wait, prepared to assault anyone who crossed them.

"We have been here since a very long time ago. We are currently at the perimeter of the Sword Lagoon of the Qianchong Empire!" the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

"Sword Lagoon?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

Back then, Hall Master Xing had tasked him to train the candidates of the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall in preparation for a friendly spar with three other Combat Master Halls, and the prize for the winners in each cultivation tier seemed to be an opportunity to cultivate at the Qianchong Empire Sword Lagoon.

Who would have thought that the location for the secondary selection would turn out to be here?

"Yes. The Sword Lagoon is filled with swords and the Sword Intent left by countless experts. The truth is that your companions and you carry something that really attracts us a lot, so we can't help but want to attack you all to obtain that item," the Dusk Cloud Sword explained.

"Something that attracts you a lot?" A thought suddenly came to Zhang Xuan's mind. He flicked his wrist and took out the jade token. "Are you referring to this?"

"That's right, it's that item! That item contains a surge of Sword Intent that is highly beneficial to the growth of our spirit once devoured!" the Dusk Cloud Sword exclaimed excitedly.

"Sword Intent?" Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan extended his Spiritual Perception into the jade token.

Just as the Dusk Cloud Sword had said, even though it was extremely faint, the jade token harnessed a Grand Dominion realm expert's comprehension of swordsmanship, and this lingering trace of Sword Intent posed an irresistible allure to sword spirits.

"I see..." Zhang Xuan came to a realization.

On the surface, Zhao Xingmo seemed to be pitting the candidates against one another, but in truth, the secondary selection was more complex than that. On top of guarding against their opponents, the candidates also had to defend against the relentless assault of the swords.

This was probably the penalty for those who resorted to hiding their token instead of protecting it with their own strength.

Zhang Jiuxiao had probably encountered the Dawn Rain Sword, and in a moment of carelessness, he had his jade token destroyed, resulting in his elimination.

Coming to realize what was going on, Zhang Xuan continued his question. "Where's the Sword Lagoon located? How many swords of your tier are there here?"

Having acknowledged Zhang Xuan as its master, the Dusk Cloud Sword told him everything that it knew. "The Sword Lagoon is roughly two hundred li away from here, and there should probably be at least a hundred other swords like me there!"

"A hundred other swords like you... as in Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle swords?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle swords were Saint intermediate-tier artifacts. Even throughout the entire Qianchong Empire, there would not be too many weapons of such a tier. Yet, for there to be a hundred of them there... If he could tame them all, his fighting prowess would soar immensely.

"The Qianchong Empire Sword Lagoon was left behind by the old Sword Maestro many years ago. This place contains his heritage and countless Sword Formations. Every year, countless sword practitioners visit this place, searching for an impetus to further their craft, but so far, no one has succeeded in claiming his heritage.

"This place is filled with all kinds of sword qi. If one stays here for a prolonged period of time, the influx of different Sword Intent and sword arts could result in a clash of one's conception of swordsmanship, and for a sword practitioner, that is extremely dangerous. Furthermore, considering how there are people from all walks of life here, it's inevitable that there will be conflicts time to time. As a result, there are many sword practitioners who have ended up losing their lives here."

At this point, the voice of the Dusk Cloud Sword sank.

"That is also how the master of the Dawn Rain Sword and me died here."

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Chapter 1273: Heaven's Path Sword Art

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Swords were just a type of weapon, but with many generations of cultivators immersing their entire lives to furthering the Way of Sword over the course of many years, it had already developed into a complex art with countless paths. Naturally, the method of cultivation for each path also differed vastly from one another.

It was precisely for this reason that heritage was extremely important.

There were simply too many different Sword Intent and sword arts within the Sword Lagoon that if one were to attempt to use them as an inspiration to further one's mastery in swordsmanship, putting aside the fact that the divergence in the fundamental principles of each path of swordsmanship would make it very unlikely for one to succeed, the odds were that one's cultivation would go berserk instead.

It was also for this reason why the Master Teacher Pavilion chose to limit the cultivators' access to cultivation technique manuals.

Reading just one or two different cultivation technique manuals was still fine, but if exposed to too many cultivation techniques, a cultivator's interpretation of cultivation would be muddled, preventing him from distinguishing which methods of cultivation were feasible for him and which weren't. Once in such a state, the cultivator would be extremely prone to making a wrong step in his cultivation, thus making it highly likely for his cultivation to go berserk.

This was also the reason why master teachers had to be selective with what they read.

The same principles applied to the Sword Lagoon as well. Those who came here to cultivate might be tempted by the powerful sword arts and Sword Intent all around them, but if they were to cultivate what they saw without careful selection, it could very well lead to the erosion of the foundation of the swordsmanship path they had built so far. In the long-term, not only would it be detrimental to one's growth, they might even lose their lives as well.

"Bring me over to take a look!" Understanding all of these, Zhang Xuan said.

"Yes!" the Dusk Cloud Sword began leading the way forward.

A journey of two hundred li 1 was nothing to a Primordial Spirit realm cultivator. In just a few moments, they had already arrived at their destination.

Towering before them were a massive stone wall with the character '剑 (Sword)' inscribed on it. Written with majestic and powerful strokes, it felt as if the character would transform into a burst of sword qi and tear them apart at any moment.

"What powerful Sword Intent!" Zhang Xuan remarked in astonishment.

He couldn't clearly discern what level of calligraphy the character before him was at, but just by looking at it from afar, it gave him the impression of an unparalleled expert wielding a sword slashing at him furiously. It felt like no matter how he moved, he wouldn't be able to escape from that slash, as if the attack had been locked upon his soul.

"This is left behind by the Old Sword Maestro?" Zhang Xuan asked in astonishment.

"That's right!" the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

"The Old Sword Maestro must have achieved an astounding level of mastery in the Way of Sword in his lifetime!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed in awe.

In his past year of cultivation, he had assimilated quite a number of books relating to sword art, and he had successfully advanced his comprehension of swordsmanship to a considerably high level as well.

All along, he thought that even if his comprehension of swordsmanship hadn't reached the peak yet, he still wouldn't lose out to anyone. But through this inscribed character, he could tell that the level of mastery in swordsmanship that the Old Sword Maestro had achieved was far higher than his.

The Old Sword Maestro had ground the very essence of the Way of Sword into his bones, such that even his body had been forged into a sword as well... Otherwise, it was impossible for a casual calligraphy to harness such astoundingly refined Sword Intent, leaving him feeling a sense of helplessness before it.

"These are the cultivators who have journeyed here in hopes of comprehending the secrets of the Old Sword Maestro's swordsmanship." the Dusk Cloud Sword as it gestured in a certain direction.

Turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan realized that there was a huge crowd of several hundred cultivators gathered beneath the stone wall. Every single one of them was staring intently at the '剑 (Sword)' character as they emulated its strokes with their fingers. There was an unnaturally focused or even frenzied look in their eyes, almost as if they had gone mad.

"What you said is all wrong. My move has to be correct. Look!" a voice sounded.

From the direction where the voice sounded, a middle-aged man flicked his wrist in a beautiful arc, and a surge of sword qi burst forward. It slashed everything within several hundred meters of its path before gradually dissipating.

"This is Upper Sword Heart?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.

Proficiency in swordsmanship could mainly be divided into two stages—Sword Intent and Sword Heart.

Most sword practitioners should be able to comprehend Sword Intent upon reaching Transcendent Mortal. Those who were slightly more talented might be able to comprehend Sword Heart, inducing the phenomenon 'Call of the Myriad Swords, Roar of the Dragon'.

Sword Heart, as the name suggested, referred to wielding one's heart like a sword, drawing out the true prowess of the Way of Sword through their will. Every single strike made by a sword practitioner who had achieved Sword Heart would be a sword art in itself. This state was also otherwise termed as Man-Sword Union... Only those who harbored spirit and heart in their sword would be able to reach this realm.

Sword Heart could be further divided into three tiers, namely Lower Sword Heart, Middle Sword Heart, and Upper Sword Heart.

For Saint cultivators, even just achieving Middle Sword Heart would already make them top-notch experts. Yet, the middle-aged man had actually comprehended Upper Sword Heart...

One must know that so far, Zhang Xuan had only comprehended Upper Sword Heart as well. In other words, in terms of proficiency in the Way of Sword, the middle-aged man was nowhere weaker than Zhang Xuan!

"That's not right. That crux of the move lies in overwhelming one's enemy, so the focus of it should be in the relentless barrage of sword qi. Your focusing all of your strength within a surge of sword qi is clearly erroneous. Look at mine..."

In his moment of shock, an old man beside the middle-aged man shook his head in stern disapproval before he whipped out a sword and flicked it.

In the blink of an eye, a cold and forbidding aura permeated an area of several dozen meters around the old man, and a storm of sword qi filled the surroundings. It felt like anyone who dared step into the area, no matter how powerful, would be trapped for life.

"He has comprehended Upper Sword Heart as well?" Zhang Xuan was startled once more.

It was already frightening to see that a cultivator had comprehended Upper Sword Heart, but to think that the old man would also be another such person as well. In fact, it seemed like the old man had a deeper and more profound understanding of the Way of Sword than the middle-aged man before.

"Wrong! The both of you are utterly wrong! It should be like this..."

A third man joined in the commotion, and he executed a powerful sword art which utilized sword qi like thin threads that weaved around the surroundings, forming something reminiscent to a mist.

Similarly, this third man has also comprehended Upper Sword Heart.

Completely dumbstruck, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the rest of the crowd. Every single one of them seemed to harness a cold and sharp aura within their bodies, as if they were the very embodiment of swords themselves.

"These several hundred men... have all comprehended Upper Sword Heart?" Zhang Xuan gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

In his long journey, he had never seen a single cultivator whose swordsmanship was on par or superior to his. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he found himself faced with several hundred of such cultivators. Really, as expected of the famed Sword Lagoon! It sure was a fearsome place.

"They are the itinerant cultivator, master teachers, and combat masters from the various different empires or even the Empire Alliance. Some of them have already spent more than nine hundred years here... And with nine hundred years of accumulation, the least they should do is to achieve Upper Sword Heart." the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

"Nine hundred years?" Zhang Xuan was startled for a moment before slowly nodding.

It was already nearing a year since he had come over to this world, but in terms of the duration he had dedicated to learning swordsmanship, the total time probably wouldn't even add up to a single day yet!

There were plenty of experts in the Eight Conferred Empires, and with nine hundred years of hard work behind them, it wasn't too surprising that there would be so many individuals who commanded the same level of mastery in swordsmanship as him.

After all, it was not like he was some kind of unparalleled genius. Putting all aside, he couldn't even defeat his own clone!

"Wait. You mean that these men spent nine hundred years sitting in front of the stone wall, contemplating over swordsmanship?"

"This single character is already enough for them to study it for their entire life. As sword fanatics, they couldn't resist the allure of the intrigue contained in the character, and this only made them determined to decipher the secrets behind it. As a result, most of them end up never leaving the Sword Lagoon..."

"Hai!" Zhang Xuan sighed.

He suddenly remembered a book he had read in his previous life. In the story, there was an island that contained unparalleled secret manuals. Each year's Laba Festival, there would be a huge number of martial artists venturing to the island, only to never return... The situation was somewhat similar to what he was seeing at the moment.

There was no one restricting their movement, but obsessed with furthering their swordsmanship, they failed to realize that their entire life was flying past their eyes!

"Utter nonsense! It's apparent that my interpretation is correct!"

"Your direction has been wrong from the very start, so how could your interpretation possibly be right? My interpretation is the one that's correct!"

"All of you are wrong! Since none of you are willing to admit it, why don't we settle it with a fight?"

Huala!

After a long round of argument, none of the trio was willing to concede to the other. Eventually, they drew their swords on one another and began on an intense fight.

"Actually, they have already gone berserk..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

No matter how profound the '剑 (Sword)' character was, the fact that these people were no longer able to control themselves anymore, even clashing with one another over something as minor as that, meant that their rationality had already been eroded. They had already lost sense of self, and that was no different from going berserk.

Amidst Zhang Xuan's lamentation, the battle among the trio had finally concluded. Two of them were severely injured in the encounter, and the final victor walked out of the battle with a confused look on his eyes. He couldn't help but doubt if his comprehension of swordsmanship was wrong, or else how could the other two be almost as powerful as him.

The many years of devotion to nothing but swordsmanship had already eroded their rational judgement. Under such circumstances, no words could possibly sway them anymore. Sighing deeply, Zhang Xuan tore his gaze away from them to assess the massive character on the stone wall once more.

Inscribed using sword qi, the character harnessed the conception of the carver. Each stroke of the character was imbued a powerful yet unique aura, seemingly the manifestation of a sword art. The aura of these individual strokes harmonized with one another to grant an imposing yet unfathomable meaning to the formed character.

"It's no wonder why these people would abandon their all and devote all of their life to deciphering the character..." With just a look, Zhang Xuan could already feel a slight jolt in his mind urging him to cultivate according to the character.

Shaking his head, he slowly closed his eyes.

It was not that his mind wasn't resilient enough to withstand the allure of the profound sword arts contained within the character, but... the sword arts contained within the character were simply riddled with too many flaws. It was hard for him to even continue looking at it straight in the eye!

"What are these?" Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan tossed aside the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind and opened his eyes once more. In the next moment, he noticed that there were countless scribblings in the perimeter of the stone wall.

"These are the Sword Intent and sword arts that countless generations of sword practitioners have comprehended from the character. If you find yourself unable to grasp the meaning of '剑 (Sword)' on the wall, you can use them as references!" the Dusk Cloud Sword said.

"I see." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Taking a brief sweep, it seemed like there were at least a thousand of such insights scribbled all over the place.

"This does resemble the Saint Ascension Platform!" Zhang Xuan noted.

The road up to the Saint Ascension Platform was filled with insights as well. Every single individual felt that they were the person chosen by the heavens to comprehend the true meaning of Kong shi's writing, but in truth... their interpretation was riddled with flaws, a manifestation of their ignorance!

These insights scribbled around the stone wall were likely to be the same as well.

"Flaws!"

Sweeping his gaze across the area, many books swiftly materialized one after another in the Library of Heaven's Path.

These insights could be considered to be sword art manuals as well, allowing Zhang Xuan to collect them with a sweep of his eyes.

After collecting all of the insights, Zhang Xuan gathered the thousand of books together and muttered, "Compile!"

They swiftly merged together into a single book.

Casually flipping it open, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

"It's a Heaven's Path Sword Art!"

He had done this set of actions on a whim, not really expecting to gain any gains out of it. Yet, who could have thought that the compilation of insights from the many generations of sword practitioners would actually form a perfect Heaven's Path Sword Art!

Zhang Xuan swiftly went through the compiled Heaven's Path Sword Art in his mind.

It must be said that the heritage which the Old Sword Maestro had left behind was truly profound. If he were to cultivate the compiled Heaven's Path Sword Art, his comprehension of the Way of Sword could be brought to another level.

Just as Zhang Xuan as about to close his eyes to cultivate, he suddenly felt the surrounding spiritual energy surging forward, gathering to an area just ahead of him. It didn't take long for the massive influx of spiritual energy to create something reminiscent of a whirlpool.

Quickly turning his gaze over, he saw that the crowd cultivating before the stone wall had also turned their heads over toward the commotion as well.

"Master..." Just as Zhang Xuan was about to head over to check what was going on, he suddenly saw the Dusk Cloud Sword trembling non-stop, as if it couldn't control its body anymore.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.

"Master, someone has grasped a higher realm in the Way of Sword... As a sword spirit, I can't help but be compelled to submit to him!"

"Grasped a higher realm of the Way of Sword?"

Taken aback, Zhang Xuan quickly scanned the area in front, and there, he saw a young man seated cross-legged on the ground. An incredibly sharp sword qi burst forth from his body, as if heralding the arrival of an unparalleled sword into the world.

"Is that Ma Minghai?" Upon taking a closer look at the young man, Zhang Xuan frowned.

It was no other than the genius of the Qianchong Empire who had challenged him over the Tianchen Brew back in the Master Teacher Pavilion, Ma Minghai!

"Why would he be here?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

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Chapter 1274: The Strong Can Do as They Please

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

While the other candidates were busy avoiding being eliminated or eliminating others, this fellow actually sat right in front of the stone wall to cultivate. Furthermore, from the looks of it, it seemed like he had already been there for quite a while. Such a bizarre decision left Zhang Xuan slightly bewildered.

Soon, Zhang Xuan came to a realization.

He's a genius from the Qianchong Empire, and he specializes in swordsmanship. I had to capture the Dusk Cloud Sword in order to find out where this is, but there's a good chance that he realized that we are in the Sword Lagoon as soon as he opened his eyes!

As a sword practitioner of the Qianchong Empire, it was likely that Ma Minghai had been there before. Given so, it would not have been too surprising for him to know his way around the area.

Hong long long!

At this moment, boundless Sword Intent and sword qi suddenly converged on Ma Minghai, and in an instant, his aura surged swiftly.

Weng!

Unable to control it any longer, the Dusk Cloud Sword lowered itself onto the ground, trembling non-stop. It could feel the absolute authority that the wielder of that powerful aura had over it, and it dared not oppose him.

Looking at the sky filled with sword qi, as well as the sword in his hand that was submitting to the young man before him, the elder was overwhelmed with agitation. "That's... Sword Quintessence! It has been a whole seven hundred years! I never thought that I would see such a sight once more!"

"No, it isn't Sword Quintessence," an elder beside him refuted. "Those who have truly achieved the level of Sword Quintessence would be able to induce the Servility of the Myriad Swords, but that young man has only received the deference of the swords. If I'm not mistaken, that should be... Half-Quintessence!"

"Indeed, it's Half-Quintessence! Most cultivators are only aware that swordsmanship can be divided into Sword Intent and Sword Heart, oblivious to the fact that there's Sword Quintessence above them. Upon mastering this realm, as long as the strength of a sword is beneath one, the sword will obey one's commands unconditionally."

"The young man is only able to get the swords to submit to him, but he hasn't reached the level of having them obey his commands unconditionally. Given so, he should only be at Half-Quintessence!"

"Even if it's just Half-Quintessence, isn't that the breakthrough that we have all been working hard for?"

"Indeed!"

"Seven hundred years ago, when Sword of Faint Whispers, Ji Lingzhen, achieved a breakthrough to this realm, I happened to be around and witnessed the miraculous event with my own eyes. Who could have known that I would have the luck to encounter another Half-Quintessence breakthrough just before my life comes to an end?"

"Ji Lingzhen... If I recall correctly, he has not left the Sword Lagoon ever since he made the breakthrough to Half-Quintessence, right?"

"He has not. He chose to venture deeper into the Sword Lagoon in hopes of obtaining the Old Sword Maestro's heritage. It's just a pity that he hasn't succeeded yet. I wonder if he's still alive after all these years."

Such discussions could be heard amid the crowd.

Half-Quintessence? Hearing the words of the crowd, Zhang Xuan nodded slowly.

With a slight stroke of his hand, the crouching Dusk Cloud Sword suddenly felt the pressure crushing his soul vanish without a trace, and it quickly struggled back into the air. Its slight shivering every now and then seemed to indicate its deep fear and apprehension over what had just happened.

A Sword Quintessence expert wielded a natural dominance over all sword spirits, forcing all sword spirits to bow before them. For Ma Minghai to achieve this level at such a young age, his aptitude for swordsmanship was truly astounding. It was no wonder he had been chosen as a candidate to enter the Sanctum of Sages.

Compared to Ma Minghai, Zhang Jiuxiao was truly lacking.

Hu hu!

After absorbing all of the sword qi into his body, Ma Minghai eyes gradually opened.

Huala!

His eyes were extremely sharp, and it felt as if one could be sliced in two under his gaze.

Even though his cultivation was still only at Quasi Leaving Aperture realm, yet to undergo the lightning tribulation, his zhenqi felt much more condensed than before. It seemed like even if the lightning tribulation fell upon him at that very moment, he would have been able to slice it in two with a flick of his blade.

Ma Minghai slowly stood up and stretched his stiff muscles with a delighted look on his face. At this moment, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure standing not too far away, and his eyes narrowed. "Zhang Xuan?"

A day ago, he had exchanged blows with the other party. He had executed one of his trump cards, Sea of a Thousand Blades, which the other party had simply swallowed in a single mouthful, even returning to him right after. Without a doubt, the other party was the strongest rival he had ever come across.

Back then, he had even resolved himself to use his ultimate technique to defeat the other party, but due to Pavilion Master Yue's intervention, he had been left with no choice but to drop the matter.

After which, the other party had challenged Pavilion Master Yue with his puppets. While the other party did manage to achieve victory in the end, it was only through the vast number of puppets he had in his possession. That did not represent the other party's true strength.

If he were to pair his Quasi Leaving Aperture realm cultivation together with his newfound strength as a Half-Quintessence expert, putting aside defeating Zhang Xuan, even killing him should not pose much of a problem at all!

Thus, a sharp glint flashed through Ma Minghai's eyes as he stepped forward. "You have really come at an untimely moment. You just had to appear here right after I achieved my breakthrough. It seems like even the heavens are asking me to eliminate you..."

Hu!

With a swift maneuver, he stepped up to Zhang Xuan and said, "Zhang shi, we meet again."

"Yeah, we meet again," Zhang Xuan replied casually.

"While I am in awe of your strength, it's a pity that we are in a selection match at the moment. The slots to the Sanctum of Sages are on the line, so... will you take out the jade token yourself, or do you need me to make a move?"

Gazing at Zhang Xuan coldly, Ma Minghai spoke in a domineering voice that allowed for no opposition. "Take it out yourself, and you can at least spare yourself some pain. Otherwise... even if I'm not allowed to kill you, I have plenty of ways to temporarily incapacitate. And if you get killed by saint beasts while you are immobilized, I'm afraid that you will only have your own bad luck to blame then!"

"Are you threatening me?" Zhang Xuan looked at Ma Minghai with narrowed eyes.

"Threat? This isn't a threat. I'm just stating a fact. It's just the natural order of the world. The weak have to bow to the strong!" Ma Minghai sneered coldly.

Staring at Ma Minghai intently, Zhang Xuan asked, "Do you mean to say that the strong can do as they please?"

"Indeed, the strong can do as they please!" Ma Minghai replied with a smirk.

He had felt deeply humiliated by the crushing defeat he had suffered against Zhang Xuan. It would have been one thing if it had been a close match with one another, but the vast disparity in strength between them was truly completely unacceptable to him. This had left frustration and anger boiling within him.

Furthermore, shortly after that, the young man dared insult Pavilion Master Yue. As a member of the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, he could not swallow seeing an outsider treating their pavilion head with such disrespect.

It was not easy for him to turn the tables around, so naturally, he wanted to make use of this chance to get even with the other party for those two matters!

"Very well then." Seeing how confident Ma Minghai was, Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed. "Since you have already said so much... pardon me then!"

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan channeled his zhenqi into his palm and thrust it toward Ma Minghai.

Seeing how the young man had chosen to struggle against him instead of surrendering, Ma Minghai scoffed in disdain. "Do you think that you stand a chance against me in your current state?"

With a flick of his finger, he sent a surge of sword qi toward Zhang Xuan.

His comprehension of swordsmanship had already reached Half-Quintessence. Even without just using a sword, he could easily defeat an opponent of the same power level as him with the sword qi in his body.

Let alone a mere Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage cultivator...

Hmm?

At this moment, Ma Minghai suddenly noticed something.

When he fought with the other party the previous day, the other party had still been at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage. However, at this moment, why did it seem like his cultivation had risen to... Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle?

Did he advance two cultivation stages in a single day?

It makes no difference whether he's at intermediate stage or pinnacle. Against the current me, the only fate that lies in wait for him is death!

Ma Minghai shrugged the matter off casually as he watched the burst of sword qi he had shot previously dashing toward Zhang Xuan.

While Ma Minghai was still confident that his sword qi would be able to tear through the other party's palm strike with ease, the two finally collided with one another. However, contrary to his expectations, his sword qi actually dissipated instantaneously, as if a blob of tofu crashing into a wall of steel.

Caught off guard by the abrupt turn of events, Ma Minghai narrowed his eyes in shock.

As someone whose mastery of swordsmanship was at Half-Quintessence, he knew full well how much strength was packed into that burst of sword qi. Even the companion he had been very close with, 'Brother Sun', would not dare clash directly with it. Yet, the young man before him had been able to easily dissipate his sword qi with just a simple palm strike. Just how could this be?

But this was not the end of Ma Minghai's bewilderment yet. The remaining might of the palm strike continued charging forth toward him with astounding momentum, appearing before him in the blink of an eye.

Peng!

An overwhelming pressure assaulted Ma Minghai, causing his face to pale. He immediately tried to put up his defense to defend against the palm strike, to no avail. He crashed heavily into a massive boulder, and a stifled feeling in his chest made him cough out a mouthful of blood.

"How could this be? How can you be so powerful?" Ma Minghai widened his eyes in disbelief.

He felt that the main reason he had lost to Zhang Xuan earlier was because he had to suppress his cultivation. Now that his cultivation was not suppressed, and he had even comprehended Half-Quintessence, it would really be an eye-opener if he was defeated!

"It must be a coincidence—it must be! There's no way you can possibly be that powerful! There's just no way..."

Rising to his feet, Ma Minghai drew out a half moon in front of his chest before shooting it forth.

"Sword qi in the area, heed my command!"

Upon his shouting, the sword qi drifting aimlessly in the region swiftly converged together to form a massive sword of roughly ten meters long in front of Ma Minghai's chest.

Having comprehended Half-Quintessence, even if he was unable to earn the absolute obedience of swords, it was still well within his means to control sword qi in the air.

The Sword Lagoon was filled with sword practitioners, resulting in a massive congregation of sword qi in the area. In other words, the area was almost like a haven for those who had comprehended Half-Quintessence!

In his current state, Ma Minghai would be able to slay even True Leaving Aperture realm cultivators easily!

"This is the strength of those who have comprehended swordsmanship to Half-Quintessence?"

"How fearsome..."

"To be able to control sword qi, he's practically invincible in the Sword Lagoon!"

"Indeed. That fellow facing him is doomed."

The crowd in the area analyzed the situation grimly.

As sword practitioners themselves, they understood how fearsome a cultivator who had comprehended Half-Quintessence was. Wielding the strength to manipulate and release a barrage of sword qi at will, they were unmatched in their power class.

The young man facing Ma Minghai was only a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, so how could he possibly withstand Ma Minghai's strength?

Huala!

Before everyone's apprehensive gaze, the massive sword forged solely out of sword qi began flying toward Zhang Xuan with incredible momentum.

Its was even faster than the speed of sound, and it appeared right before Zhang Xuan in just the blink of an eye.

If that technique landed, no matter how sturdy a body one had, one would instantly be sliced in two and die on the spot.

"The attack you have launched through gathering the surrounding sword qi is indeed formidable, but it's a pity that the sword qi is not yours!"

In the face of that devastating attack, there was not the slightest hint of anxiety or fear to be seen on Zhang Xuan's face. On the contrary, disappointment was written all over his face instead.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan casually tapped his finger forward, and a powerful ray of light burst right through the sword, dissipating it instantaneously.

"Go," Zhang Xuan muttered as he flicked his finger lightly.

Peng!

Ma Minghai flew back once more. His back crashed heavily into the stone wall, creating a massive depression in it.

To make matters worse, when he tried to struggle out of the stone wall, for some reason, he found that his body simply would not budge, and this left him deeply terrified.

"Y-you..." With a ghastly pale face, Ma Minghai stared at the young man before him with horrified eyes.

He had thought that as long as he fought with his full strength, he would be able to subdue the young man easily. But it turned out that he had been too naive. Even with his heightened strength, that monster of a young man was actually able to subdue him with just a single finger!

Even when he had borrowed the strength from the massive congregation of sword qi in the surroundings, he had found that he was still completely helpless before that young man.

With a look of utter disbelief, he watched as the young man gracefully walked up to him with a frighteningly radiant smile on his face.

"While I am in awe of your strength, it's a pity that we are in a selection match at the moment. The slots to the Sanctum of Sages are on the line, so... will you take out the jade token yourself, or do you need me to make a move?"

Hearing those words, Ma Minghai's face immediately turned red.

Those were the very words that he had told the young man earlier, and the latter was returning all of them to him!

"You want to take my jade token? Unless you plan on killing me, dream on!" Ma Minghai spat with gritted teeth.

The destruction of his jade token would mean that he lost the slot to enter the Sanctum of Sages. This was his greatest opportunity to rise to the top of the Master Teacher Continent, and he could not let all of the hard work he had put into it go to waste!

"Kill you? There's no need to go through that much trouble." Gazing down on Ma Minghai, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he snapped his finger.

Peng!

It was as if a massive mountain had suddenly fallen upon Ma Minghai, crushing him deeper and deeper into the stone wall. This immense pressure seemed to squeeze whatever oxygen he had out of his lungs, threatening to choke him to death.

"Wait... a moment..." The fear in Ma Minghai's eyes intensified. He anxiously spoke up to plead for mercy, but he found that even spitting out a word was a great strain on him in his current state.

"My apologies, I don't have a habit of giving my opponents the chance to counterattack," Zhang Xuan replied with a bright smile. "Besides, there is one thing that you spoke of that I can deeply relate to...

"The strong can indeed do as they please!"

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Chapter 1275: Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Geji! Geji!

Ma Minghai's bones creaked under the immense pressure, threatening to shatter at any moment. His body also swiftly approached its limit as redness consumed his skin.

If the other party hadn't made a move on him, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have bothered to make a move either. However, since the other party had chosen to provoke him, he saw no need to go easy on the other party either.

"Let go of me... I'll give you my jade token!" Sensing that he wouldn't be able to survive long in this state, Ma Minghai gathered all of his strength in order to yell out those words.

"Very well." Zhang Xuan retracted his hands and placed them behind his back.

Padah!

Finally released from the stone wall, Ma Minghai had to take several deep breaths before he was able to calm himself down.

A hint of savagery flashed across his eyes and he discreetly whipped out two swords. With a powerful fling of his hands, he threw them right toward Zhang Xuan.

Astonishingly, these two swords were at Saint intermediate-tier as well. Further enhanced by his Half-Quintessence Sword Intent, they surged forward at an astounding speed.

According to the rules of the secondary selection, the candidates were forbidden from using their artifacts against one another in the secondary selection. Ma Minghai knew the rules, but he also understood very well that he wouldn't be a match for Zhang Xuan without using his sword, and he was already at the brink of being eliminated as well. Given so, he could only take a gamble and pray that Zhao Xingmo wouldn't find out about the matter.

Si la!

The two powerful blades tore across the air, and before one could even see them, they were already right before Zhang Xuan.

Just as Ma Minghai thought that he would be able to slay that fellow, the latter's exasperated voice suddenly sounded in the air.

"Hai, it seems like I really am too good-natured. Had it been anyone else, you would have already been killed several times over for what you have done!"

Hong long!

Before Ma Minghai could process what had just happened, his body was suddenly flung backward, crashing heavily back into the stone wall. Under the overwhelming impact of the collision, his bones finally gave in and shattered. At the same time, the severe internal injuries he had sustained caused fresh blood to spurt out of his mouth.

"If you won't hold to the end of your promise, I guess I'll just have to take your jade token myself!" Following which, Ma Minghai suddenly felt a tearing pain on his finger.

His storage ring had been forcefully taken away, and it flew straight into Zhang Xuan's palm.

"You..." Ma Minghai's face reddened in anxiety.

However, it was already too late for him to do or say anything. With a tap of his finger, Zhang Xuan took out the jade token from the storage ring and flicked it lightly.

Kacha!

The jade token shattered into powdery remains.

"It seems like Qianchong Empire does value you quite a bit, there's plenty of treasures in your storage ring. Good. I'll be taking them as your compensation then..."

Zhang Xuan had intended to let Ma Minghai off with just crushing his jade token, but since the other party was so shameless as to attempt a surprise assault after being defeated, he was no longer willing to let the other party off without making him pay some price for his actions.

Pu!

On the other hand, watching as Zhang Xuan placed his storage ring into his pocket, another mouthful of fresh blood spurted from Ma Minghai's mouth.

He had to go through a lot of effort in order to procure all those valuable resources in his storage ring, and to have them snatched away just like that...

In his moment of despair, Ma Minghai heard the other party continuing on, "These swords of yours seem to be Saint intermediate-tier artifacts as well. Not bad, not bad. I'll be taking them as interest payment!"

"I have nurtured my swords with my blood essence over a long period of time, so the spirits within them are completely loyal to me. Even if you take them, there's no way you will be able to make them submit to you..." Seeing that his swords were about to be taken away, Ma Minghai spat through gritted teeth.

He had spent a hefty sum to nurture those two swords of his, so he was certain of their loyalty toward him. As long as he was alive, there was no way they would betray him...

But before Ma Minghai could finish his words, he suddenly saw Zhang Xuan tapping his swords at various points, and all of a sudden, his swords joyfully rushed forward to the latter and bowed respectfully.

Pu!

Another spurt of blood escaped from Ma Minghai's mouth, and the despair on his face deepened.

He thought that with his newfound strength, he should be able to overwhelm Zhang Xuan easily and exact his vengeance. Yet, who could have thought that the opponent he had pitted himself against would actually be a monster in disguise!

"Alright, I'm done."

After taking Ma Minghai's items, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to waste his time on the other party anymore. Thus, he released his grip on the other party, and the other party fell from the stone wall.

Hong long!

Shortly after Ma MInghai was released, a voice sounded across the entire island, "Ma Minghai's jade token has been shattered. The second candidate has been eliminated. Remaining candidates: 30!

Huala!

Not long after those words were spoken, an aerial saint beast descended from the sky to fetch Ma Minghai before flying off into the distance.

Zhang Jiuxiao should have been taken away as well then... Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

That explained why he wasn't able to find Zhang Jiuxiao despite following the latter's track. It seemed like he had already been brought out of the island.

I understand how Zhao Xingmo is able to sense the elimination of a candidate through the dissipation of the Sword Intent within the jade token, but... how does he manage to locate individual candidates, sending an aerial saint beast over to fetch them so swiftly? Could Zhao Xingmo really have the ability to perceive everything that has happened on the island? Zhang Xuan frowned in incomprehension.

Based on his estimates, the island had to be at least two to three thousand li in diameter, and it would be impossible for anyone to cover this entire area with their Spiritual Perception. Since that was the case, how could Zhao Xingmo possibly keep track of everything that was happening here at all times?

He must be using some kind of artifact or medium to uphold an intelligence network over the entire island... Zhang Xuan analyzed.

With this thought in mind, he activated the Eye of Insight and focused his sight on the aerial saint beast which had just flown away.

This look unveiled the mystery behind Zhao Xingmo's seeming omniscience over the island.

"o think that it would just be Myriad Ants... Zhang Xuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Perhaps the simpler the truth was, the easier it was to be blindsided by it.

After all the time he had spent wondering what kind of means Zhao Xingmo could have used to watch over the entire island, it turned out to just be Myriad Ants!

Due to the small stature of Myriad Ants, they were able to conceal themselves easily amidst trees and bushes, making it nigh impossible for even keen-eyed master teachers to notice their presence. Zhang Xuan had used the exact same method to scout the Cloudmist Ridge back then too.

He really didn't think that Zhao Xingmo would use such a method to look over the secondary selection.

Since he was using Myriad Ants as his scout, there should also be a Myriad Anthive Queen under the other party's command too.

"Anthive Queen, is there any way you can drive away the Myriad Ants observing me?" Zhang Xuan communicated with the Myriad Anthive Queen telepathically.

He understood that Zhao Xingmo had to keep a tight watch over the entire field as the invigilator, but he still felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of being constantly spied on.

"While these Myriad Ants aren't my children, I still do have the ability to drive them away. However, I only fear that Zhao shi would notice an anomaly if I were to drive them away..." the Myriad Anthive Queen replied.

"That's true..." Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in frustration.

Zhao Xingmo had to maintain his watch over the secondary selection so as to keep up to date with the circumstances of each and every candidate. If Zhang Xuan's 'presence' were to suddenly disappear from his sight, there was a good chance that Zhao Xingmo might personally head over to check on the situation.

"Alternatively, I think that I might be able to tame some of the Myriad Ants and have them obey my commands..." After a moment of silence, the Myriad Anthive Queen proposed.

"You are able to tame the Myriad Ants? That would be perfect!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Naturally, it would be better to tame the Myriad Ants than to chase them away. This way, he would be able to control the information that the Myriad Ants were reporting to Zhao Xingmo about, thus allowing him to fake his position without incurring the latter's suspicion.

"I'll leave that to you then." Zhang Xuan said as he released the Myriad Anthive Queen in the area with a flick of his hand. After which, he turned his attention back to the stone wall before him.

Having witnessed how easily Ma Minghai was defeated, the sword practitioners gathered around the stone wall had all retreated a distance away from Zhang Xuan, fearing that they would accidentally offend him.

Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to waste his time on them either. Just as he was about to return back to cultivating his Heaven's Path Sword Art, the Dusk Cloud Sword suddenly flew over and said, "Master... Since you are that powerful, do you want to try challenging the Sword Lagoon? I think that there is a good chance you might be able to acquire the heritage!"

"Challenge the Sword Lagoon? Aren't we at the Sword Lagoon at the moment?" Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.

Considering the sheer amount of sword qi and Sword Intent that were drifting in the area, where else could currently be at if not the Sword Lagoon?

"We are currently only at the outer perimeters of the Sword Lagoon. The true Sword lagoon lies behind the stone wall... The heritage of the Old Sword Maestro lies within there as well!" the Dusk Cloud Sword said.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. "Are the hundred Saint intermediate-tier swords you have mentioned earlier located beyond the stone wall as well?"

"That's right!" the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

"Bring me over to take a look!"

Having a compiled Heaven's Path Sword Art sitting in the Library of Heaven's Path, the heritage of the Old Sword Maestro held little attraction to Zhang Xuan. However, if he could acquire a hundred Saint intermediate-tier swords out of this, that would really be a huge gain.

Even a hundred Saint low-tier sabers were sufficient to crush the Boss of the underground black market. If he could acquire a hundred Saint intermediate-tier swords, he would be able to destroy Pavilion Master Yue easily with them even without resorting to his puppets!

In fact... he might even be able to rival Zhao Xingmo in a battle!

The Dusk Cloud Sword delightfully led Zhang Xuan around the massive stone wall, and very soon, they arrived at the boundary of a land shrouded with mist.

The mist seemed to have been the result of some kind of formidable formation, completely blocking the sight of whatever that lay ahead.

Realizing that he didn't recognize the formation, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Flaws!

Hu la!

A book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

As the formation was currently in operation, the Library of Heaven's Path was able to compile a book on it.

Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation, a grade-8 formation? Reading the content on the book, Zhang Xuan was startled.

It was no wonder why no one had obtained the heritage this far. It was actually guarded by a grade-8 formation!

A grade-8 formation could only be set up or deciphered by a Grand Dominion realm expert, and there was no one in Qianchong Empire who possessed the strength to do so.

In no hurry to step into the formation, Zhang Xuan turned to the Dusk Cloud Sword and asked, "Have you entered the Sword Lagoon before?"

"I haven't entered it before, but I heard that the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword and heritage lie in there!" the Dusk Cloud Sword replied.

"The Old Sword Maestro's personal sword?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

"Un. According to the rumors I have heard, the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword is a Saint high-tier artifact, and even the emperor of Qianchong Empire is dying to lay his hands on it. However, it's a pity that no one has been able to bypass the formation, let alone find the sword!" the Dusk Cloud Sword said.

"A Saint high-tier artifact?" Zhang Xuan tightened his fist in agitation.

Even at the very minimum, a Saint high-tier artifact would possess strength equivalent to a Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm cultivator!

There was actually such a formidable weapon in the Sword Lagoon?

"That's right. To be honest with you, most of the sword qi lingering in the area was emanated by the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword. While those sword practitioners are attempting to decipher it in order to raise their mastery of swordsmanship, more than that, they wanted to acquire the Old Sword Maestro's heritage and obtain his personal sword through it!" the Dusk Cloud Sword explained.

It had been on this island for quite a long while now, so he was well aware of the affairs that happened here.

"Since there's such a weapon here, I really should take a good look in the Sword Lagoon then!" Zhang Xuan thought in excitement.

Unless in large quantities, otherwise even Saint intermediate-tier artifacts weren't of much use to him anymore. However, this was different for Saint high-tier artifacts.

With a Saint high-tier sword in hand, he was confident of defeating Zhao Xingmo even!

With such a weapon at hand, he would be in a far better position to challenge the Zhang Clan for Luo Ruoxin's hand in marriage.

"You should wait outside for the time being!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Yes!" the Dusk Cloud Sword nodded before standing completely still on the spot.

After which, Zhang Xuan unhesitatingly turned around and ventured into the mist.

The flaws of the formation was recorded in its corresponding book compiled in the Library of Heaven's Path, so this grade-8 formation no longer posed any secret to him. After advancing ahead for some time, the area before Zhang Xuan abruptly opened up. The mist had vanished, revealing a stream and a wooden hut instead.

Oh? To think that there would a piece of tranquil land in the middle of the Sword Lagoon! Surprised, Zhang Xuan slowly made his way over to the wooden hut.

Just as he was about to open the door to the wooden hut, his body suddenly stiffened. With a swift maneuver, his silhouette vanished on the spot, appearing at a distance of a hundred meters away.

Huala!

A burst of sword qi sliced through the area where he was previously standing on, leaving behind a dark gorge in its wake.

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Chapter 1276: Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

This burst of sword qi was extremely powerful; Ma Minghai's attacks appeared to be nothing in comparison.

Alarmed, Zhang Xuan assessed the situation before him warily.

Even with his strength, if not for his sharp instincts prompting him to avoid in advance, he could have been sliced in two by that burst of sword qi.

Just who in the world was in the wooden hut?

Jiya!

The door opened, and a figure slowly walked out.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. The Boss of the underground black market?

It was none other than the person whom he had a hundred Saint low-tier sabers pummel back in the Ring of Death!

But why would he appear here?

The other party had mostly recovered from the wounds he had suffered back in the encounter with Zhang Xuan, but from the glaring scars that crawled all over his body like innumerable centipedes, one could still fathom the tragic plight he had once been in.

The Boss of the black market, Ji Lingfeng, glared at Zhang Xuan with deep hatred in his eyes. "Zhang Xuan, you have manipulated my rules, humiliated me, and snatched my wealth. For that, I shall personally execute you today!"

While the black market was known to be a lawless zone, the truth was that it was only subjected to a different set of laws, set solely by the Boss of the black market. Regardless of whether one was a master teacher or a combat master, one would have to obey the new set of rules in there. Yet, this fellow actually disregarded the rules in place and raised a huge commotion, severely injuring him even!

If he let the other party go, how could he re-establish his dominance and authority in the black market in the future?

"You knew that I would be here for the secondary selection, so you lay in wait for me?" Zhang Xuan asked with narrowed eyes.

The only ones who should have known that the secondary selection would be held in the Sword Lagoon were only Zhao Xingmo and Pavilion Master Yue. For the other party to be lying in wait for him here, could it have been that the other party already knew of his whereabouts in advance?

Even with the vast intelligence network of the black market, it should have been impossible for them to uncover the location of the secondary selection on such short notice. So, for the other party to have been hiding within the formation all this while, waiting to launch an assault on him, that could only mean one thing.

"I'll tell you after you go to hell!" Ji Lingfeng bellowed furiously as he flung his sword furiously, sending another burst of sword qi toward Zhang Xuan.

His sword was only three chi 1 long, but it emanated bone-chilling coldness. Even before the sharp burst of sword qi could arrive, an eerie sound reminiscent of the resentful mutterings of the departed echoed in the air, placing those who heard it in a distraught state.

Feeling a sudden bout of dizziness striking his head, Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed. A demonic tune!

All along, he had been using this trick against others. He did not expect others to use it against him, and in a moment of carelessness, he was placed into an unnatural state of mind.

Even so, with his Soul Depth of 25.1, a level comparable to 8-star high-tier master teachers, he was able to shake out of his unnatural state in just an instant. However, as soon as his unnatural state was dispelled, the sword qi was already right before his face. The sharp gale that rose from the movement left a slightly piercing sensation on his skin, leaving him feeling as if a blade was slowly sinking into his body.

Hu!

Zhang Xuan immediately flitted away from the spot, appearing a hundred meters away in an instant.

Unbounded Voyager!

After learning the second dan of Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, his comprehension of the Unbounded Voyager had deepened, allowing him to move at greater speed. By driving his strength to its limit, he was capable of making near-instantaneous movements in desperate situations.

At this point, Zhang Xuan realized that his back was completely drenched with sweat.

It was fortunate that he had reacted with time, or else that attack would have gouged out a huge hole in his chest.

"Do you think that I will allow you to flee that easily?" Sneering coldly, Ji Lingfeng sent another burst of sword qi toward Zhang Xuan.

The sword qi spanned over two hundred meters, covering the entire area.

"That sword... Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

It was no wonder the other party still dared to provoke him despite having suffered a tragic defeat. It turned out that he had a top-notch Saint intermediate-tier sword that wielded strength comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert.

An attack from a sword of that caliber was far more fearsome than that of the Golden Origin Cauldron!

Wielding such a sword, Ji Lingfeng would be able to rival even Pavilion Master Yue in a match.

Despite seeing through the other party's strength, Zhang Xuan did not panic. Instead, he shook his head. "If you had drawn that sword in the battle against me yesterday, I might have been put in a spot, but now..."

The only reason it seemed like the situation was disadvantageous to him previously was because he had been caught off guard. Once he had managed to grasp the situation, with his strength, an opponent such as Ji Lingfeng was simply too lacking!

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan raised his palm, and a massive palm print materialized before him. "Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm!"

Boom!

As soon as the sword qi collided with the palm print, it felt as if several tons of gunpowder had exploded simultaneously, and an intense shockwave blasted into the surroundings.

It was fortunate that the area was protected by a grade-8 formation, or else the stone wall would have been torn down by the sheer might of the shockwave itself.

Deng deng deng deng!

Retreating consecutively, Ji Lingfeng felt his blood flow running erratic, and his eyes turned crimson.

Just a single night, and that fellow had already grown much more powerful than before!

If he allowed the other party to continue growing at this pace, it would not be long before he was completely outmatched!

"I told you that you would die by my hands tonight, and I'll do everything to ensure it," Ji Lingfeng spat menacingly as he took out a pill and swallowed it.

In an instant, his aura began surging furiously.

Before long, he managed to overcome his bottleneck, reaching Half-Grand Dominion realm.

"That's... a grade-8 Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill?" Zhang Xuan's face turned grim.

The Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill was something reminiscent of a stimulant. After consumption, it had the effect of allowing a cultivator to temporarily surpass their limits. However, once the effect was over, not only would the cultivator suffer a steep decline in their cultivation, their body could suffer permanent damage as well.

To go this far just to kill him... the Boss of the black market sure was a tenacious fellow!

But again, there was no more backing out for the Boss. Just the crime of assaulting a 7-star master teacher was sufficient to bring the wrath of the Master Teacher Pavilion upon him. If the Boss allowed him to escape alive, there was no doubt that his days would be numbered!

Thus, no matter the cost, since he had already made a move, he would have to see the deed through to the end.

" Strike not when at the bank of the river but when in the midst of crossing it!2 "

With a cold harrumph, Zhang Xuan waved his hand, and more than a hundred puppets appeared before him.

Since the Boss of the black market had already made a move to kill him, he was not so magnanimous as to grant the other party the luxury of time to achieve his breakthrough before making a move.

It would take some time for the other party to assimilate the medicinal properties of the pill, so this was the ideal moment to knock him down!

In any case, the Myriad Anthive Queen had already gained full control over all the Myriad Ants within the grade-8 formation, so Zhao Xingmo and the others would not be able to notice a thing. Thus, there was no need for him to hesitate at all.

Huala!

More than a hundred puppets immediately charged straight for Ji Lingfeng.

When their might was combined together, they could destroy even a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert like Pavilion Master Yue easily. While the Boss was no weakling, there was no way he would be able to withstand their onslaught.

"Did you think that I wouldn't be guarded against those toys of yours?" Sneering coldly, Ji Lingfeng flicked his finger and tossed a formation plate into the air.

While spinning in the air, a burst of mist suddenly diffused from the formation plate, shrouding the puppets within it.

Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before his eyes slowly lit up. This is a... quasi 8-star formation plate? It seems like that fellow does have quite a few good items on him.

As expected of the Boss of the black market, the wealth he had accumulated over the years was truly nothing to scoff at!

Putting aside how valuable the Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill was, just the quasi grade-8 formation plate was bound to be worth a huge sum, at least a thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones!

The activation of a formation plate of this tier could trap even an expert of Pavilion Master Yue's caliber for a short period of time. That explained why the other party was so confident as to swallow the pill right in front of his eyes!

In the first place, the spirits within puppets were significantly weaker compared to humans' spirits, thus making it harder for them to perceive their surroundings once their senses were hindered by the formation. With this single move, the other party had effectively incapacitated all his puppets!

Admittedly, the method used was not too bad. If it had been any other 7-star pinnacle formation master, he would have been completely helpless before this situation. However, to Zhang Xuan, such a thing could not even be called a problem!

Muttering 'flaws' in his mind, the Library of Heaven's Path jolted, and a book materialized in it. Flipping it open, the flaws regarding the formation plate appeared in Zhang Xuan's head.

"Go!" Zhang Xuan commanded with a raise of his hand.

Hu la!

The next moment, more than a hundred sabers charged into the mist, and amid sounds of 'ding ding dang dang', as if slicing through certain structures, the mist swiftly receded before dissipating altogether.

Formation broken!

"Return!" With a flick of his finger, a saber swiftly brought the formation plate over to Zhang Xuan's hands, and with a few taps on it, Zhang Xuan managed to make it his.

Hong long!

As swift as Zhang Xuan had moved, he was still inevitably delayed for several breaths. Within this period of time, Ji Lingfeng had already successfully assimilated the Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill into his body, and his cultivation had stabilized as well.

At this point, Ji Lingfeng's aura had grown frighteningly fearsome, as if he had become a feral beast that would tear his claws through others.

It seems like this Boss of the black market has fought quite a few ring matches himself, Zhang Xuan thought warily.

From the killing intent that Ji Lingfeng was exuding, it could be seen that he had participated in quite a few life-and-death matches in his time as well, killing many of his opponents.

Otherwise, there was no way he could have emanated such an overwhelming aura of savagery.

It was no wonder the other party dared make a move on him despite knowing his identity. It seemed like the blood he had on his hands had already dulled his deference for life and the Master Teacher Pavilion.

"To be able to decipher even a quasi grade-8 formation so swiftly, you are indeed a formidable opponent. However, no matter what kind of tricks you have up your sleeves, there's no way you will be getting out of here alive!" Ji Lingfeng gritted his teeth furiously.

Letting loose a feral wary cry, he raised his sword and hacked it down furiously, releasing an overwhelming burst of sword qi amid powerful winds.

Si la!

Ji Lingfeng's strength as a Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivator complemented with a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle sword was no joke. It felt as if it would tear through space and forcefully crush one into innumerable pieces.

Just this single move was sufficient to show that Ji Lingfeng's current strength was already far beyond that of Pavilion Master Yue!

Even though Pavilion Master Yue was the head of a Master Teacher Pavilion, due to his lofty position, he was lacking in battle experience. There was no way he could compare to the Boss of the black market, who had undergone multiple life-and-death battles and killed innumerable master teachers!

Without such battle experience, it was inevitable that Pavilion Master Yue's moves would be lacking in decisive sharpness and valiance, and those two factors had lowered his fighting prowess significantly.

This will be difficult.

A grim expression finally appeared on Zhang Xuan's face.

"You won't be useful against an opponent of this caliber... Return!" With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xuan collected the puppets and sabers back into his storage ring.

These puppets were only at Leaving Aperture realm intermediate stage and advanced stage. There was no way they would be able to stand against an opponent like Ji Lingfeng. They would only be crippled if they were kept on the field.

The same went for the sabers.

"Release!" After storing the clones and sabers, Zhang Xuan tapped the area before him, and a light sphere with a radius of roughly one meter covered him.

2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, Traverse!

Sensing the danger that he was in, Zhang Xuan had decided to use his strongest move!

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Chapter 1277: Poison Needles

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

As soon as his Dominion appeared, Zhang Xuan felt as if a sturdy armor had been formed around him, and the sense of security he felt made him heave a sigh of relief.

In the next moment, the sword qi fell into the range of Zhang Xuan's Dominion.

Tzzzzzz!

A sizzling sound reminiscent of searing metal coming into contact with ice was produced. Despite being impeded by Zhang Xuan's Dominion, the sword qi was actually still able to edge forward bit by bit.

It seems like my Dominion doesn't necessarily grant me invincibility. If the strength of my opponent were to exceed my limits, the effects of my Dominion will be on my opponent would be discounted... Zhang Xuan noted grimly.

He had tested his Dominion on the Golden Origin Cauldron shortly after comprehending Dominion, and he had successfully halted the Golden Origin Cauldron's movement instantaneously. But thinking back, the reason why he had been able to do so might have been because the Golden Origin Cauldron's cultivation was only at Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage, and it didn't specialize in offense either.

On the other hand, Ji Lingfeng had consumed an Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill, and he was wielding a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle sword as well. In the face of such overwhelming strength, it was inevitable that the effects of Zhang Xuan's Dominion would be limited.

Nevertheless, while his sword qi might be strong enough to move in my Dominion, an attack of this level won't be able to faze me at all.

While Zhang Xuan's Dominion failed to halt Ji Lingfeng's sword qi entirely, it did manage to slow and weaken it to the point where the sword qi could no longer harm him.

With a cold harrumph, Zhang Xuan flicked his palm.

Huala!

The slowly advancing sword qi immediately dissipated on the spot.

As powerful as the other party's sword qi was, most of its energy was expended while trying to overcome the might of his Dominion, such that the threat it posed was already minimal by the time it arrived before its target.

"You have already made your move. It should be my turn now!" While saying these words, Zhang Xuan flitted forward.

Hu la!

In an instant, Zhang Xuan traversed over a hundred meters and appeared behind Ji Lingfeng's back. Clenching his fist tightly, he dealt a powerful punch forward.

A torrential might that could reverse even the flow of a river burst forth for Ji Lingfeng's heart.

At Zhang Xuan's current strength, even without utilizing the 2-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, his strength was already on par to a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert. Pairing such strength with the Heaven's Path Fist Art, even Pavilion Master Yue would be hard-pressed to receive this attack!

My attack didn't work?

Ji Lingfeng had devoted his full strength to the previous attack, and he hadn't thought that a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator like Zhang Xuan would actually be able to withstand his sword qi, let alone launch a counterattack shortly after that. In an instant, his face turned livid in grimness.

Nevertheless, while he was taken off guard by the situation, his movements didn't stop at all. With a swift reversal of his blade, he turned his sword around and pierced it through the opening beneath his armpits.

What swift reaction speed! Zhang Xuan was astonished.

He thought that the sudden surge of strength would make Ji Lingfeng prone to carelessness. After all, the most fatal mistakes usually occur when one was certain of victory, so he was planning to catch Ji Lingfeng off guard by launching an attack right after his offense.

Yet, to his surprise, Ji Lingfeng was actually able to react to his attack with nearly no delay time at all.

As expected of a warrior who had fought on the Ring of Death! Through undergoing multiple life-and-death situations, one would become more adaptable to unexpected situations, allowing one to see opportunity amidst the threat of danger.

Take the current situation for example. Instead of going on the defensive, Ji Lingfeng had chosen to launch a counterattack instead. He angled his sword in a trajectory such that if Zhang Xuan's fist were to proceed any further, Zhang Xuan would first find a hole punctured into him by the sword.

"Excellent! Let's see who will be able to last till the very end then!" Seeing Ji Lingfeng's swift and sharp reflexes, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement. In this crucial moment, he suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline rushing through his veins.

All along, his opponents were either way stronger than him, or they would be defeated in a single move after having their flaws exploited. As a result, he couldn't really say that he had gone through a real life-and-death battle before.

Thus, when he saw how the other party was actually able to match him in battle, he couldn't help but feel his heart leap in exhilaration.

Against Ji Lingfeng's counterattack, Zhang Xuan decisively morphed his fist into a palm while twisting his body to advance forward.

The sword should have pierced Zhang Xuan if he were to proceed any further, but this maneuver allowed him to move parallel to the sword, thus bypassing the sword with ease.

Peng!

With his sharp instincts, Ji Lingfeng also swiftly noticed that something was amiss. He quickly dashed forward to retreat, but it was already too late. Zhang Xuan's fingertips struck the back of Ji Lingfeng's body squarely, pumping a powerful might through his body that shattered many of his meridians simultaneously, and a spurt of blood escaped from his mouth.

Nevertheless, Ji Lingfeng's forward dash wasn't completely meaningless. It had allowed him to ward off a significant portion of the might behind Zhang Xuan's strike, thus minimizing his injuries. At the same time, he had also managed to create some distance between the latter and him. Making use of this opportunity, he quickly turned around to launch a decisive counterattack.

In the next moment, however, the scene that came into his sight made his hair stand on end.

He realized that no matter how fast he moved, Zhang Xuan was actually able to move faster than him! The young man was like a bug firmly plastered to his back! No matter how he twisted and turned, he simply couldn't shake the young man away!

His movement technique is really a drat to deal with... Left with no choice, Ji Lingfeng could only swing his sword frenziedly and form a protective barrier around him, choosing to go on the defensive for the time being to bide his time for the next opportunity to strike.

Just as what Zhang Xuan had guessed, he had once stood on the Ring of Death of the black market using another persona, and with his superior strength, he managed to rise to the position of Conqueror of Hundred at one point in time! It would be foolish for anyone to underestimate his fighting prowess!

Even an average combat master of the same cultivation realm was no match for him!

Yet, despite possessing cultivation significantly lower than his—not to mention the fact that he had even consumed the Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill for this—he found that he was still unable to claim the upper hand in the battle...

How in the world could a monster like that young man before him exist in the world?

"I admit, you are indeed a far stronger opponent than I have thought you out to be. It won't be easy for me to kill you using ordinary means..." Ji Lingfeng uttered coldly as a callous glint flashed across his eyes.

In the next moment, he propelled his sword behind with his zhenqi and drove it straight toward the young man behind him.

Then, making use of the time that the young man was preoccupied with his sword, he turned around and flicked his left hand powerfully.

Sou sou sou sou!

Several hundred sharp needles flew forth like a raging storm.

Storm Needles!

In order to remain the undefeated champion of the Ring of Death, on top of being strong and vicious, one must possess countless different means up one's sleeves as well.

The Storm Needles happened to be his strongest trump card. Every single one of those narrow needles was forged of a unique material, allowing it to pierce through the skin of a Half-Grand Dominion realm expert. On top of that, it was also laced with lethal poison that would swiftly kill any cultivator afflicted with it.

Uncountable were the number of experts who had fallen right to this move.

Huala!

Despite having used his hidden weapons, Ji Lingfeng didn't get careless. He swiftly rushed forward first in order to free himself from the young man's relentless pursuit before turning around to assess the situation and decide on his next course of action. But when he turned around once more, the sight that unfolded before him made him narrow his eyes in shock.

The young man had successfully halted all of the needles through a sphere of light around him, allowing him to collect all of the needles into his hands. However, perhaps out of curiosity over the needles, he picked them up and began fiddling with them.

Slowly, Ji Lingfeng's shock turned into agitation, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Hahaha, I never thought that you will actually court your own death!"

He had specially found a 7-star pinnacle poison master to concoct the poison he had laced on the needles. Even if the needle didn't pierce his opponent's skin, the poison would be able to kill his opponent just by coming into physical contact with him!

Usually, there would be no cultivator who would dare to pick up the hidden weapon of another carelessly, but that fellow actually picked up his needles directly with his own hands... Was he tired of living?

But instead of seeing the young man's face slowly caving in to despair, the latter simply glanced over and shook his head in disappointment.

"The poison you have used on the needles is too weak. You have probably been scammed. You might be able to scare others with it, but there's no way such an inferior poison is going to kill anyone!"

RIght after saying those words, Zhang Xuan intentionally pinched the tip of the needle, as if trying to prove his point.

"You are able to discern the poison on the needles?" Ji Lingfeng narrowed his eyes.

The lethal poison concocted by the 7-star poison master was colorless and odorless, making it impossible for any ordinary cultivator to perceive it. Yet, to be able to see through the poison just by holding it up... how did he manage to do it?

"If I can't even discern such an obvious poison, I would have already died countless times over!" Zhang Xuan scoffed coldly. Then, with a sudden flick of his wrist, he shot the needles back at Ji Lingfeng.

Wuwuwu!

These needles were further enhanced by Zhang Xuan's zhenqi, allowing them to move at a speed that seemed to be as fast as lightning. In just the blink of an eye, the needles were already right before Ji Lingfeng.

Knowing that the needles were laced with poison, Ji Lingfeng didn't dare allow any of the needles to land on him. Thus, with a powerful swing, he spun the sword before him in a continuous circular motion to deflect the needles.

Ding ding dang dang!

As the Boss of a black market in Qianchong Empire, Ji Lingfeng possessed considerable talent in swordsmanship as well. His mastery over the sword had at least reached the level of Upper Sword Heart. Under his tight guard, all of the needles were easily deflected to the ground.

"If you think that you can injure me using my hidden weapons, dream on..." After knocking away the storm of needles, Ji Lingfeng sneered coldly.

But before he could finish his words, the vision before him abruptly blurred. Without any warning, Zhang Xuan materialized right before him and raised his hand up, preparing to send a slap over.

To his astonishment, it seemed like in the span of time that he was dealing with the hidden weapons, the young man had already closed in the distance between them once more.

"You..." Livid, Ji Lingfeng quickly raised his sword, intending to counterattack. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Pah!

A fiery pain consumed Ji Lingfeng's face, and he was sent flying away. A sweet sensation welled up in his throat before a spurt of fresh blood spilled from his mouth along with several teeth.

The young man had used his full strength in that slap. Had it not been for the Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill that he had eaten earlier, his head might have exploded from that move.

Even so, he still felt intense vertigo assaulting his head, leaving him feeling deeply disoriented for a moment.

"Damn you!" Ji Lingfeng's body trembled uncontrollably under the impact, and he roared in frenzy.

He had lived for several centuries now, and yet, he actually suffered two consecutive setbacks in the hands of the same person. The overwhelming feeling of shame left him so angry that he could explode on the spot.

"You bastard, I will rip you into pieces!" Roaring angrily, the zhenqi in his body billowed as he prepared to charge forward. But before he could make a move, a derisive smile had already emerged on the lips of the young man in front of him.

"I advise you not to move recklessly. And also, it would be wise for you to avoid driving your zhenqi as well... Otherwise, you will only be hastening your own death!"

"What do you mean?" Seeing the fearless smile on the young man's face, Ji Lingfeng narrowed his eyes warily.

"I don't mean anything much... Just that when I struck you earlier, I inserted two needles into your cheeks." Zhang Xuan replied calmly.

"Needles?" Ji Lingfeng's body froze. It was only in this moment that he realized that there were indeed two additional needles on his cheeks. Due to the powerful might of the slap he had suffered earlier, he hadn't sensed the presence of the needles at all.

"The antidote..." Swiftly withdrawing the needles, he hurriedly retrieved a pill from his storage ring and swallowed it.

He had witnessed the formidable potency of the poison with his eyes—even a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert had died within three seconds of being afflicted with the poison! While his cultivation was currently at Half-Grand Dominion realm after consuming the Insane Demon Breakthrough Pill, he still wouldn't last more than ten seconds before a poison as lethal as that!

"Consuming the antidote can spare you from death, but if my eyes fail me not, the side effects of the antidote will induce numbness in your body in the short run. You aren't even a match for me in your peak condition, so how do you expect to defeat me in your current state?" Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he slowly made his way forward toward Ji Lingfeng.

He raised his palm slowly and thrust it down lightly.

Kacha!

A tremendous pressure fell on Ji Lingfeng and shattered all of the bones in his body in an instant, rendering him completely helpless on the ground.

The young man was right. Since he wasn't a match for the other party in his peak condition, how could he possibly defeat the other party in his current state?

"What other trump cards do you have? Take them all out at once! If this is all you got, don't you think that it's laughable for you to attempt to take my life?" Crushing Ji Lingfeng firmly to the ground, Zhang Xuan glanced down at him impassively.

The both of them had crossed blows with one another back at the black market, so Ji Lingfeng should know that he had over a hundred puppets and sabers in his possession. To be safe, the latter should have assumed that he would have other means in his hands as well.

Yet, Ji Lingfeng still dared to attempt an assassination on him, even declaring proudly that he would claim his life... If this was all Ji Lingfeng had, a pill and a sword, he was really being a little too conceited over here!

"Oh? You are indeed a smart person... But smart people tend to die premature deaths!" Spurting another mouthful of blood, savagery returned to Ji Lingfeng's face.

Gathering whatever strength he had left, he flicked his wrist, and the sword in his hand flew into the stream not too far away.

"I have already given you the sword, so it's about time for you to fulfill the end of your bargain..."

The stream began billowing furiously before a massive column of water rushed into the sky, as if heralding the arrival of an unparalleled existence. Following which, an old man slowly walked out of the water column, headed toward Zhang Xuan.

He naturally commanded a grand and imposing appearance, reminiscent of a deity.

"It's no wonder why Ji Lingfeng wants to kill you. You are indeed extraordinary." the old man chuckled. Then, his eyes abruptly turned cold, "It's really a pity to see someone as talented as you going down prematurely, but I guess it can't be helped..."

Huala!

With a flick of his finger, a sharp surge of sword qi whizzed toward Zhang Xuan.

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Chapter 1278: Ji Lingzhen

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

This surge of sword qi descended from the sky with a might almost comparable to a comet. The surrounding space froze as soon as the sword qi appeared, making it nigh impossible to avoid the attack.

"Grand Dominion realm primary stage?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

Who could have thought that the old man hiding in the stream would actually be a real Grand Dominion realm expert, stronger than even Pavilion Master Yue himself!

More importantly...

"His comprehension of swordsmanship is also on par with Ma Minghai, reaching Half-Quintessence!"

To possess superior cultivation and exceptional mastery of swordsmanship...

Even normal Grand Dominion realm primary stage experts would find it hard to rival him!

Si la!

In the midst of Zhang Xuan's shock, the sword qi had already appeared before him, colliding with the one-meter Dominion he had constructed around him.

Kacha!

The sword qi sliced right through his Dominion like butter, opening a small gap that allowed it to advance forward unhindered.

"Halt!" Zhang Xuan swiftly concentrated the strength of his Dominion to hinder the sword qi as much as it could. At the same time, he also thrust his palm forward in order to fend it off.

Peng!

Despite the defenses Zhang Xuan had put up, the tremendous might of the sword qi was still too much for him to bear. His face paled, and he was sent flying straight into a massive tree behind him.

To think that even when using his full might together with his barrier, he would still be unable to withstand the other party's attack!

"It's no wonder why Ji Lingfeng is unable to defeat you. You actually managed to grasp the primary form of Dominion... To be able to achieve this despite being only at Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle, your talent is really beyond my imagination!" On the other hand, seeing that his slash had only injured Zhang Xuan, the old man in the stream remarked wintry.

The coldness in his eyes deepened as he continued, "All the more reason to kill you!"

A genius of this caliber was bound to come from a powerful lineage. Since they had already made a move, they would have to ensure that the other party was killed through and through, or else this matter would come back to haunt them in the future.

They couldn't afford to take such a risk!

"Who are you?" Struggling to his feet, Zhang Xuan spat through gritted teeth.

"Since you are already bound for death, I'll at least fulfill satisfy this little curiosity of yours. I am the Sword of Faint Warble, Ji Lingzhen, and the Boss of the black market is my younger brother, Sword of Faint Whispers, Ji Lingfeng!" the old man, Ji Lingzhen, said.

"Ji Lingzhen?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

He had been in Qianchong empire for a day now, and toward those two names, he only had four words to say... Never heard of it!

"Now that your curiosity is satisfied, it's about time for me to send you off on your trip down!" Ji Lingzhen spoke coldly.

Unwilling to waste his breath anymore, he flicked out another sword qi with his finger.

This attack was even more fearsome than the one before.

As soon as the burst of sword qi was released, the entire formation began shaking, as if even the grade-8 Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation wasn't resilient enough to withstand the might of the sword qi!

If he could wield such strength without a sword in hand, how powerful would he be armed? With a face livid with graveness, Zhang Xuan knew that he mustn't take Ji Lingzhen's attack face on.

Thus, he flicked his wrist, and a formation plate appeared in his hand.

It was the very same formation plate which Ji Lingfeng had thrown out previously, but Zhang Xuan had managed to take it for his own!

Hong long!

Instead of using it to trap Ji Lingzhen, Zhang Xuan used the formation to shroud himself instead, and his silhouette swiftly disappeared in the mist produced by the formation.

A Beguilement Formation could be used to trap others, but it could also prevent the enemy from finding one in the short-term.

But of course, such a course of actions had its own setbacks too.

Firstly, it would be much easier for the enemy to break the formation from the outside. Secondly, placing oneself in the midst of a Beguilement Formation was as good as trapping oneself in a cage! Even if the cage was shrouded with a cloth, a relentless barrage of attacks from the outside would still eventually wear down and destroy whatever that was on the inside.

"Interesting. Let me see how long you can hide for!" Chuckling softly, Ji Lingzhen took a step forward and sent another burst of sword qi over.

It sliced an opening through the mist easily, reminiscent of a sword cutting through mud. Astonishingly, instead of caving back in to fill up the opening, the mist actually remained firmly parted, as if there was some kind of force preventing them from converging in once more.

With just one look, it was obvious that the formation plate had been ruined.

Regardless of whether a formation was constructed using formation flags or a formation plate, there were two ways to overcome it. First, understanding the principles behind it and finding its flaws or Life Gate. Second, using brute force to destroy it.

Ji Lingzhen's formation plate was only at quasi grade-8. It could still trap Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle or Half-Grand Dominion realm cultivators, but against a true Grand Dominion realm expert, let alone one who had comprehended Half-Quintessence, it was inevitable that its resilience would be lacking.

A slash to overcome all means!

As long as one's strength had reached a certain mark, regardless of what kind of ridiculous abilities others were to throw at one, a single slash would be able to put them right back in place!

And the current Ji Lingzhen wielded such strength.

Zhang Xuan had many means up his sleeves, but against Ji Lingzhen, they were all sorely lacking.

After slicing the mist into two, Ji Lingzhen waved his hand slightly.

Kacha! The mist dissipated without a trace, and a severed formation plate fell to the ground.

Without the formation to conceal him, Zhang Xuan's silhouette appeared once more.

In just a few breaths, the young man had changed into a fresh set of clothes. More than that, his aura seemed to have become loftier, and his eyes carried disdain from everything in the world. If one had to describe his attitude, it would be that of the indomitable conqueror of the world, peerless and unmatched by any other.

If not for the identical face and soul, Ji Lingzhen would have really thought that the young man had swapped positions with someone else.

"No matter what means you use, there's no way you will be able to bridge the vast difference in strength between the both of us. Even if you change your clothes and disposition, it won't make a difference at all. It's all futile!" Sneering coldly, Ji Lingzhen flicked another sword qi at Zhang Xuan once more.

Si la!

The air was split apart once more, and a chilling glint whizzed swiftly across the air.

He can't even deal with such trash? He sure is regressing with time... Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.

With a swift step, his figure suddenly blurred.

Wu!

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared in mid-air and threw a fist forward.

Huala!

"Do you really think that you stand a chance against me?" Seeing how the young man who had struggled to withstand even a single burst of sword qi from him was attempting a counterattack, Ji Lingzhen scoffed in disdain.

A cold glint flashed across his eyes, and he flicked another burst of sword qi forward.

That burst of sword qi clashed directly with Zhang Xuan's fist, and a powerful shockwave rippled from the collision, causing the entire formation to tremble non-stop.

The collision lasted for just an instant before the sword qi shattered into countless fragments and scattered the surroundings, leaving sharp gorges all over the ground.

"What?" Astonished by the outcome of the collision, Ji Lingzhen widened his eyes in astonishment, and he unwittingly took a few steps back.

Earlier, even when using a technique similar to a Dominion, the young man was still unable to fend against his sword qi. Yet, just by changing his clothes, it was as if the young man had turned into a completely different person! To actually catch his sword qi with a brute punch...

Furthermore, he shockingly realized that... the other party's fist seemed to be even more resilient than his sword qi?

"I don't believe it. There's just no way a person's cultivation could grow that quickly. He must have used some kind of method, some kind of method!" Shaking away his astonishment, Ji Lingzhen flicked his finger with greater force than before, sending forth a sword qi far stronger than before.

Halfway in its movement, the sword qi abruptly divided into countless surges of sword qi that filled up the entire sky. These surges of sword qi seemed to harmonize with one another, releasing the metallic call of a sword, resembling waves in a sea.

Sea of a Thousand Blades!

This was one of the most powerful techniques of the Sword Lagoon, and clearly, Ma Minghai wasn't the only one who had managed to comprehend this move.

Si la!

The sea of sword qi swiftly gushed toward Zhang Xuan, and a black streak seemed to vaguely appear along the path where it passed by, as if even space was unable to withstand its stupendous might.

"A mere child's play!" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly as he took a single step forward.

He raised his palm high in the sky and pressed it down powerfully.

It was the same palm strike which was used against Ji Lingfeng earlier, but its might was far stronger than before. Even when faced against the sea of sword qi, it was like a swat smacking away a fly, an unquestionable suppression.

Right after resolving the sea of sword qi, Zhang Xuan immediately flitted forward, appearing before Ji Lingzhen in the blink of an eye. Without any hesitation, he shot a fist toward the latter's abdomen.

Peng!

Caught off guard, Ji Lingzhen didn't even manage to put up his defenses when a colossal might sunk into him. His lungs suffocated in that instant, and 'sou!', he was sent flying diagonally the ground.

He tumbled along the ground many times, creating hole after hole in his wake.

"How can this be? This is impossible!" In this moment, the severely wounded Ji Lingzhen had nothing but disbelief left inside his head.

It wasn't too long ago that he wielded the absolute advantage in the battle, so how could the other party suddenly overpower him by so much in just a few moments?

He wasn't just any ordinary Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator, he was a genius who had comprehended Half-Quintessence! There was not a single person in Qianchong Empire who came close to being a match for him! Yet, someone as strong as him wasn't able to receive a single punch from that young man...

Was that young man really just a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator?

Very quickly, Ji Lingzhen's disbelief turned into rage. He had been an indomitable existence to those around him for a good part of his life, and he couldn't accept being defeated by a mere young lad so easily.

"Screw this!"

Suppressing his injuries, he pushed himself out of the pit he was in forcefully. In this moment, the elegance and grace he had when he first appeared had already turned into unkempt and fury.

"Screw this? The only one who is going to be screwed here is you!" Zhang Xuan replied coldly as his figure blurred once more.

This time, the attack that Ji Lingzhen found himself faced against wasn't a punch nor a palm strike but a kick.

"You..."

This kick wasn't a battle technique, and there was nothing notable about it skills-wise either. However, the might it wielded was staggering, to the point where it felt as if no human could stand against it. For a moment there, Ji Lingzhen felt as if the heavens were collapsing down on him!

"Damn it! Damn it!" Ji Lingzhen cursed furiously as he quickly drove his zhenqi furiously, sending out as many sword qi as he could.

In an instant, a sphere constructed out of sword qi surrounded him.

Battle technique, Great River of Swords!

This was a defensive technique that served to create a spherical river of sword qi around one, neutralizing any external attacks that were to land on it. In terms of defensive ability, it could be said to be even stronger than a Dominion!

Kacha!

As soon as the kick landed on the sphere, a resounding 'jiya!' echoed deafeningly in the surroundings, seemingly threatening to burst the spherical river of sword qi.

With a livid face, Ji Lingzhen gritted his teeth and infused even more sword qi into the defensive technique, attempting to sustain it.

"Hmph!" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as he intensified the strength exerted by his leg.

Boom!

Under the swiftly growing might of the kick, the sphere eventually came to its limit and burst.

Pu!

Ji Lingzhen spurted a mouthful of fresh blood as he flew out once more, crashing forcefully to the ground.

"You actually think that you could kill me with skills like yours? You sure know how to dream!" Zhang Xuan slowly walked over on mid-air before stopping right above Ji Lingzhen. With his hands behind his back, he gazed sternly down on the latter, reminiscent of a peerless God of War.

"I..." At this point, Ji Lingzhen's mental defenses had already collapsed. Frightened by the imposing disposition of the young man before him, he couldn't help but crawl backward in fear.

The young man was simply too strong!

Without using Dominion or any powerful battle technique, just by sheer brute strength, the young man was able to overcome all of his means. To make things worse, the young man's body was also unbelievably resilient. Despite clashing multiple times with his sword qi, there wasn't the slightest scratch to be seen on his skin at all!

At this rate, he might really just die!

"Just what kind of existence is this fellow?" Ji Lingzhen couldn't help but feel a shred of regret.

Had he known that the young man would be so powerful, he would have never agreed to help Ji Lingzhen and place himself in this mess.

He thought that the other party was just an insignificant shrimp whom he could crush to death at a wave of his hand, but in the midst of his battle, he realized what he was faced against was an inviolable dragon instead!

"This won't do. I'll really die like this! Since that's the case, I can only give it a try then..." Ji Lingzhen gritted his teeth and toughened his resolve.

He swiftly rushed toward the stream before slitting his wrist with a flick of his finger. Fresh blood began spurting out wildly.

Tzzzzzzzzz!

As more and more fresh blood flowed out of his body, Ji Lingzhen's face shriveled more and more, and his black hair swiftly turned snowy white. It felt as if his vitality was flowing away along with his blood, causing his rapid aging.

With a feeble but indignant voice, he exclaimed, "Over the years, I have offered countless blades to you... Now, I have even tributed the Sword of Faint Whispers, Sword of Faint Warble, and even my own fresh blood to you... Isn't it about time for you to appear? Or are you just going to lie dormant here for your entire life?"

Hong long long!

The earth began shaking uncontrollably, and the water in the stream raged furiously. The Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation shrouding this area also began to shake intensely as a result of this furious surge of power, seemingly on the verge of collapsing altogether!

"What's that?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

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Chapter 1279: Movements From All Fronts

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

The sight before him was simply too scary.

Even 'he' had to rely on the Library of Heaven's Path to overcome the Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation, and yet, just the power surging from the stream was enough to leave the formation on the verge of collapsing. Most likely, whatever that was hidden beneath the stream had already exceeded his ability to deal with.

Si la!

In Zhang Xuan's moment of shock, a powerful Sword Intent suddenly burst into the sky, tearing right through the Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation and soaring up into the sky, reminiscent of pillar of blinding light that connected the heavens with the earth.

Huaji! Huaji!

Along with the appearance of the ray of light, Zhang Xuan felt the Sword Intent within him being completely suppressed, preventing him from utilizing it at all.

Following which, the earth began shaking intensely, and a scarlet stone platform slowly rose from a crack in the stream. There was a sword plunged into the stone platform.

Even from afar, one could already feel an unbelievably sharp sword qi harnessed within the sword, and it felt as if it was threatening to slice them into thin shreds.

"That is... a Saint high-tier artifact?" Zhang Xuan's face warped in astonishment as he clenched his fists tightly.

A powerful aura which could burst a hole even through the Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation, along with that indomitable Sword Intent—there could only be one possibility...

The weapon before him had far surpassed the level of ordinary Saint intermediate-tier artifacts, reaching the level of Saint high-tier!

Only a weapon of that caliber could wield the strength to overwhelm even a grade-8 formation and instill a feeling of helplessness in him.

"That must be the personal sword of the Old Sword Maestro!" While Zhang Xuan still pondering over the matter, another identical 'Zhang Xuan' appeared with a grim look on his face.

Naturally, the one who had subdued Ji Lingzhen with ease earlier was the clone, and the one who had just appeared was the real Zhang Xuan.

Previously, when the real Zhang Xuan realized that he wouldn't be a match for Ji Lingzhen, he swiftly concealed himself within the mist and made use of the opportunity to swap places with his clone.

And his clone really didn't let him down, crushing Ji Lingzhen with ease... Just that, he didn't think that Ji Lingzhen would still have another card up his sleeves!

Considering how the sword was lying in the middle of the Sword Lagoon, the chances were that it was the personal sword which the Old Sword Maestro had left behind.

Could it be that Ji Lingzhen had successfully tamed the sword?

If that was the case, they would really be in a dire position.

"Like I have told you, only when you have truly comprehended Sword Quintessence will you be qualified to make me submit to you and obtain that old man's heritage... Why are you waking me at this moment? Do my words sound like a joke to you?" A crisp voice reminiscent of a bell sounded from the sword.

There was a special quality to the voice that allowed it to echo even within one's soul.

Saint high-tier artifacts had the ability to slay Primordial Spirit and erode one's mental fortitude. If one were to get careless around them, one's state of mind could very well be shaken by them.

"Elder, the reason why I pleaded for you to appear is to request your help in dealing with my enemy... I hope that you can help me kill that, that..." Ji Lingzhen turned around to point at Zhang Xuan, but the sight that he saw left his face freezing in shock instead.

He was sure that there was only one 'Zhang Xuan' earlier, so how did he split into two all of a sudden?

"Kill?"

The sword embedded in the stone platform also swiftly understood what was going on, and in the next moment, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a wave of Sword Intent locking in place and assessing him from head to toe. He tried resisting it, but he found that he was unable to move at all. Realizing that he was completely helpless against that sword, cold sweat began dripping down his back.

"Y-yes!" It took a while before Ji Lingzhen recovered from his shock, and he hurriedly nodded in response.

"The items you have tributed to me over the years did help me regain consciousness. In view of your efforts, I'll grant you this favor and kill a person for you. However, you are still lacking in your mastery of swordsmanship for me to submit to you. We'll only talk about that after you have comprehended Sword Quintessence."

After saying those words, the sword on the stone platform trembled slightly, and a powerful wave of Sword Intent abruptly caved in on the two Zhang Xuans. It felt like as long as the sword were to will it, the both of them would be killed easily.

"Thank you, elder!" Seeing that the sword was willing to stand up on his behalf, Ji Lingzhen heaved a huge sigh of relief. He directed a savage look at the two young men, and the deep hatred in his eyes was apparent.

If not for those two fellows, he could have used the tributing of the Sword of Faint Whispers and Sword of Faint Warble to win the goodwill of the sword, and with that, he might just be able to convince the latter to hand him the heritage.

But now... he could only expend the goodwill with the sword for a favor to kill that bastard. Just like this, this ideal opportunity for a breakthrough was blown!

Just as Ji Lingzhen thought that the sword was going to make a move, the sword's doubtful voice suddenly sounded, "Which one of those two do you want me to kill?"

"Which one of those two?" Ji Lingzhen frowned upon hearing that question.

In truth, he was also deeply perplexed over this matter. Shouldn't there be only one of Master Teacher Zhang Xuan? Why would there suddenly be two of them? Could they be twins? But even twins wouldn't have such identical appearances, dispositions, and even souls!

"I am the real one, he's the fake!"

"I am the real one, he's the fake!"

The two Zhang Xuans simultaneously pointed to one another, glaring at the other indignantly.

"This..."

Seeing how even the movements of those two fellows were identical, as if a mirror, Ji Lingzhen fell into a daze.

...

While such a farce was occurring within the formation, a huge commotion had broken out amidst the crowd outside.

All of the sword practitioners had halted their cultivation to look at the burst of Sword Intent in the air, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably in agitation.

"That must be from the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword! Does it mean that... the heritage is about to surface?"

"I have waited so many years just for this day! Let's go over to take a look!"

"I must snatch over the heritage no matter who obtains it, otherwise my centuries of hard work would have gone to vain..."

"I shall slay anyone who stands in my way of obtaining the heritage!"

Everyone's eyes had reddened upon seeing this sight. Some were out of agitation, some were out of envy, some were out of greed, and some were out of all three.

Many of them had camped here for several centuries now, and it was not without reason why they would devote such a huge portion of their lifespan in the Sword Lagoon. Of course, a part of the reason was to advance their comprehension of swordsmanship, but more than that, they were biding their time for the day that the heritage of the Old Sword Maestro rose from the dirt!

Otherwise, even if they could refine their mastery of swordsmanship in the Sword Lagoon, they would have never wasted several centuries of their life here...

The Old Sword Maestro had stood at the very peak of Qianchong Empire. Countless opponents had challenged him, and some were even experts from the Empire Alliance, but he remained undefeated until his death. If they could obtain his heritage, they would be able to overcome their current bottleneck and reach far greater heights!

"It must the young man who has just entered. Let's head over to take a look!"

Someone amidst the crowd exclaimed, and the crowd hurriedly rushed toward the area behind the stone wall.

Previously, a young man had easily defeated Ma Minghai, who had comprehended the Half-Quintessence, and barely ten minutes after he walked into the formation, a huge pillar of Sword Intent suddenly rose from within. For such a situation to occur, it could only mean that the young man had managed to free the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword from its seal!

The emergence of the Old Sword Maestro's heritage was an opportunity of a lifetime. The young man might have displayed astounding might earlier, but just this much wouldn't deter them from fighting over the heritage.

Very soon, they arrived before the formation.

The structure of the Chaotic Palace Beguilement Formation had already been destroyed by the burst of Sword Intent from the sword earlier, putting it in a precarious situation, on the verge of shattering at any moment.

It might have been difficult for them to overcome the formation in the past, but in its current state, it wouldn't be able to hinder their passageway anymore.

"Everyone, let's calm down and discuss a plan first. We have all witnessed that fellow's strength, and it's apparent that he's no ordinary cultivator. One on one, none of us will be an opponent for him. Thus, I propose that we collaborate with one another to subdue him first!" an old man halted the crowd and said.

"He's right. We'll only stand a chance against that fellow if we were to unite with one another!" a voice of agreement swiftly sounded from the crowd.

"But how do we determine the allocation of the heritage after that?" asked another member of the crowd.

"We have known each other for quite some time now, so we have some understanding of what each of us is capable of. So, I say that we collaborate with one another to obtain the heritage first, and after that, we can study the heritage together!" the old man suggested.

"Sounds good to me!"

Voices of consent swiftly rippled through the crowd.

The Old Sword Maestro's heritage was bound to be incredibly profound. If they were sufficiently talented to figure it by themselves, they wouldn't have ended up sitting before the stone wall for centuries yet still be unable to take the final step forward.

Besides, they also knew that if any one of them were to attempt to claim the heritage for himself, that person would never make it out of here alive. Assuming that that person really did manage to escape from their encirclement, his friends and family would also swiftly meet with the vengeance of those gathered here.

"Good. Let's proceed ahead then!"

Having successfully come to a consensus, the crowd began marching into the formation.

...

At the same time, on the island, many young men were standing opposite to one another with wary looks in their eyes.

"Sun Gan, we can be considered as old acquaintances with one another, so you should know that even if you are able to snatch away my jade token, you will end up sustaining severe injuries yourself as well. By then, you would be easily eliminated by other candidates too. Since that's the case, why don't we team up to eliminate the others instead?" one of the young men proposed.

Standing opposite to the young man was the person whom Ma Minghai recognized as 'Brother Sun'. Brother Sun contemplated for a moment before replying with an amiable smile, "Brother Hu is right. If we were to clash with one another, the victor will surely be severely wounded at the end of the battle. It's simply not worthwhile. In any case, we only have to eliminate 10 more candidates, so it would be wiser for us to team up and eliminate other candidates. There's really no need to fight this tough battle."

"Very well. Let's make a Master Teacher Vow then. We shall work with one another to eliminate others, and we are not to turn on one another until the end of the secondary selection." Brother Hu said.

A Master Teacher Vow was more of an informal promise, and it wasn't binding. Nevertheless, in view of their standing, it was unlikely that they would stoop so low as to renege on their words.

"Very well..." Brother Sun nodded, but halfway through his words, there was suddenly an abrupt disturbance in the spiritual energy in the surroundings.

Following which, a pillar of Sword Intent burst into the sky.

"A treasure has surfaced..."

The eyes of the young men gathered in the area narrowed their eyes.

They were all top-notch geniuses in their own regions, and every single one of them was deeply knowledgeable. The Sword Intent was powerful, but it carried no hostility at all. As such, it was unlikely to be the emanated by a cultivator. Since that was the case, it was likely to be the occurrence of a phenomenon as a result of the emergence of a treasure.

"I heard that Qianchong Empire has a Sword Lagoon, and hidden within it is an exceptionally powerful Saint artifact. There was once an expert who attempted to venture into the depths of the Sword Lagoon to uncover the secret behind it, only to be chased away by the Qianchong Empire Master Teacher Pavilion under the pretext that this was a heritage left behind for the populace of Qianchong Empire, so it should only be acquired by them... All along, I thought that it was only a legend, but this... Could the island we are on really be the Sword Lagoon?" Brother Hu exclaimed with fists tightly clenched in agitation.

All of them had heard of Qianchong Empire's Sword Lagoon, but they didn't think that the secondary selection would actually be held there. More importantly, the powerful Sword Intent that was radiating from that blinding pillar of light was a clear sign that the treasure that had surfaced possessed extraordinary strength!

Whether the legend was true or not, as long as they could obtain that treasure, their strength would surely increase by leaps and bounds. With a superior Saint-tier artifact in hand, they would be able to make a name for themselves even in a place as competitive as the Sanctum of Sages!

"Let's head over to take a look!" With irrepressible excitement on his face, Brother Hu proposed.

"Let's not hurry into making a move first. Considering the scale of the phenomenon, everyone on the island should have noticed the emergence of the treasure by now. Given so, there's bound to be a tough fight over it. Since that's the case, why don't we make an agreement to team up first? Otherwise... with our strength, we won't have much of an advantage over others, especially against that Zhang Xuan!" Brother Sun quickly halted the crowd and said.

"Zhang Xuan? The rules of the secondary selection prohibit the usage of puppets and weapons. That lad is just powerful for his own cultivation realm. As long as we don't suppress our cultivation, we'll surely be able to thrash him with ease!" Brother Hu replied casually, clearly not thinking of Zhang Xuan as a threat.

There was an unbreachable gap between the strength of Primordial Spirit realm cultivators and Leaving Aperture realm cultivators—this was common knowledge known to all cultivators. As long as he fought with his full strength, he should be able to subdue Zhang Xuan easily!

"The rule which Zhao shi has set is that artifacts are not to be used in any manner that contributes to the elimination of a candidate. If he were to just use his puppets to keep us at bay, preventing up from getting to the treasure, that wouldn't be against the rules!" Brother Sun replied.

"This..." Brother Hu was taken aback.

Thinking about it once more, Zhao Xingmo did say that artifacts weren't allowed in the elimination of other candidates... As long as Zhang Xuan didn't attempt to break their jade tokens with his puppets, whatever actions he made with his puppets wouldn't be considered as an infringement of the rules.

"What do you suggest then?" Brother Hu hesitated for a moment before asking.

With just the strength of the few of them, they wouldn't be a match for those puppets even if they were to team up with one another.

"Simple... As soon as we meet Zhang Xuan, we should just charge forward and subdue him before he can release his puppets. With our combined strength, we should stand a pretty good chance at success!" Brother Sun said as a glint flashed across his eyes.

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Chapter 1280: Five Minutes

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Charge forward and subdue him?" Brother Hu and the other young men fell into deep contemplation.

"With our strength, as long as we collaborate with one another, it shouldn't be too difficult for us to seal his cultivation before he can release his artifacts! Once we succeed, we won't have to worry about him anymore. By then, we can just fight it out amongst ourselves to determine the allocation of the treasure. What do you say about that?" Brother Sun analyzed the situation for the crowd.

"Zhang Xuan will indeed be a huge trouble to deal with if we don't strike him down promptly. As long as he remains in the race, there's no way any one of us will be able to acquire the treasure. I approve of your idea!" Brother Hu nodded.

The others also quickly expressed their agreement to the temporary collaboration as well.

"Alright. Since we are all agreeable to the matter, let's make a Master Teacher Vow. Anyone who violates our agreement shall have his reputation torn to shreds!" Brother Sun said.

"Very well!" The others nodded in agreement.

Very soon, everyone made their vows, and the group began making their way in the direction where the treasure had appeared.

As powerful as the massive formation 1 cast over the island was, as top-notch geniuses, it didn't take long for the group to overcome it and make their way over the stone wall.

Circumventing the stone wall, they soon found themselves standing at the boundary of a land shrouded in mist.

There, they found that all of the remaining twenty or so candidates were gathered in the area as well.

"Shall we make an agreement? Let's first obtain the treasure before fighting it out amongst us?" Brother Sun swiftly raised his previous suggestion to the larger crowd.

"Very well!"

The crowd knew that a temporary teamwork with the others would boost their chances of acquiring the treasure, so they swiftly agreed to Brother Sun's idea.

...

"Regardless of which one is real and which one is fake, just kill the both of them to be safe!" Lying on the ground, Ji Lingfeng exclaimed anxiously.

"Indeed, elder. Please kill both of them for me..." Ji Lingzhen clasped his fist to the sword and requested.

Dealing with one Zhang Xuan had nearly cost him his life. Now that another had popped up, he wouldn't stand a chance at all without the help of the sword.

"Kill the both of them? Well, I guess that I can help you. However, don't you think that you should show some sincerity in exchange? For example, another sword of the same caliber of the Sword of Faint Warble..."

"This..." Ji Lingzhen's face twitched.

Finding an ordinary Saint intermediate-tier artifact in Qianchong Empire was no difficult feat, but those of the Sword of Faint Warble's caliber only numbered a few, and they were extremely difficult to find and obtain.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have put himself at risk and agree to help Ji Lingfeng over his sword.

"Elder, you also know that swords of that caliber are extremely hard to find. If you could just give me some time, I promise you that I'll find one for you. However, that young man over there must be killed as soon as possible, or else there'll be great trouble..." Ji Lingzhen hesitated for a brief moment before replying anxiously.

But before he could finish his words, the young man not too far away had already interjected with a voice filled with disdain, "In the end, you are just unwilling to offer my sword to the elder!"

Following that, one of the Zhang Xuans stepped forward, and with deep indignation reflected in his eyes, he cried, "Elder, do you know why the both of them are so determined to kill me? That's because they have stolen a top-notch Saint intermediate-tier sword which has been passed down through my clan over many generations from me! It's out of fear that I would alert the elders in my clan of the matter that he lured me here, intending to silence me!"

"You are saying that we stole your sword?"

"Who in the world stole your sword? You are the one who stole my spirit stones and the Annal of Bedstead Disquisition from me, you bastard!"

Not expecting those two Zhang Xuans to interject at this crucial moment, Ji Lingzhen and Ji Lingfeng were stunned for a moment before they lashed out furiously.

Can you get any more shameless than that?

When have we stolen your sword? Don't you dare hurl false accusations at us!

On the other hand, after hearing the words from the two Zhang Xuan, the sword on the stone platform shook its blade and sealed Ji Lingzhen and Ji Lingfeng's mouths with its sword qi. After which, it asked, "Lad, you said that Ji Lingzhen stole your sword? What tier is it?"

"Elder, my sword is at Half-Grand Dominion realm. Even though it hasn't reached Saint high-tier yet, it isn't too far from that... An elder in my clan has bestowed it to me in case I encounter any danger in my journey, and he has reminded me time and time again not to lose it!" One of the Zhang Xuans replied anxiously.

"A Half-Grand Dominion realm sword?" The sword in the platform harrumphed coldly, and a burst of Sword Intent suddenly emanated from it, as if reflecting the overwhelming rage it was in.

"Elder, don't listen to his nonsense! I have never taken his sword! Besides, he's just an ordinary cultivator, so how could he possibly have such a powerful sword in his possession?" Ji Lingzhen desperately explained.

The spirits within weapons tended to be innocent and candid in nature.

For some reason, the personal sword of the Old Sword Maestro had an interest in collecting other high-tier swords. Thus, Ji Lingzhen brought the Sword of Faint Whisper and Sword of Faint Warble over, hoping to win the sword's goodwill through offering them.

He thought that after several centuries of companionship, they would already be considered as friends with one another. Yet, the sword actually chose to trust the words of that young man over his!

"Who are you saying is an ordinary cultivator? I am a genius of a Sage Clan, the Zhang Clan at that! Elder, if you don't believe my words, you can check my blood..." As he said those words, Zhang Xuan flicked a droplet of blood toward the sword lodged in the stone platform.

"Offspring of Sage Clans possess the strength of old Sages in their bloodline. Through using a unique method, it's possible to draw out the Sage Aura in it..." the sword on the stone platform mumbled as it shook its blade.

Wuuuuuuuu!

Numerous surges of sword qi landed on the droplet of blood, and a slight, divine aura rippled out from it.

"It's very thin, to the point that it's almost negligible, but without a doubt, you do possess the bloodline of a Sage Clan..." the sword said.

"This..." Ji Lingzhen body stiffened.

In the information which Ji Lingfeng had provided him, Zhang Xuan should have just been an insignificant figure from Qingyuan Empire. When in the world did he become an offspring of a Sage Clan, not to mention, the powerful Zhang Clan at that?

If he had known that Zhang Xuan was related to the Zhang Clan, he would have never dared to make a move on him!

"Elder, please don't listen to the nonsense that fellow is uttering! One must possess a very high comprehension over swordsmanship before one can possibly earn the recognition of a Half-Grand Dominion realm sword. However, that fellow is a saber practitioner. Even if he knows a little of swordsmanship as well, there's no way his minor understanding in the Way of Sword would be sufficient for him to tame such a sword..." Seeing that the sword was beginning to waver, Ji Lingfeng quickly spoke up.

Since neither Ji Lingzhen nor he was a match for Zhang Xuan, they only had the personal sword of the Old Sword Maestro to fall back on. Their fates were dependent on the decision made by the sword. If the sword were to be beguiled by Zhang Xuan, they would be the ones who would die here today!

Recalling their encounter with Zhang Xuan so far, he had shown superior proficiency in saber art, fist art, palm art, and movement art, but as for sword art... it didn't seem like he knew much about it.

Swords were light and agile whereas sabers were heavy and powerful. While both weapons may appear similar, they were very different in nature. Those who were proficient in the saber were not necessarily proficient in the sword too!

As long as they were to bite relentlessly on this point, they should be able to convince the sword that it was impossible for Zhang Xuan to have a Half-Grand Dominion realm sword in his possession, and that Zhang Xuan had been lying all this while!

As expected, as soon as it heard those words from Ji Lingfeng, the sword on the stone platform immediately spoke with a displeased voice, "Lad, you specialize in saber art?"

For many years, sabers and swords had been in a rivaling relationship, both vying for supremacy. Naturally, the sword would be displeased to hear that Zhang Xuan specialized in the saber instead.

"Elder, please don't listen to the lies he is spouting! I am a sword practitioner, so the weapon I specialize in is naturally the sword! My comprehension of swordsmanship has already reached the level of Upper Sword Heart, so how can I possibly be a saber practitioner?" Zhang Xuan exclaimed indignantly as he tapped his finger forward.

Tz la!

A surge of sword qi flew across the air, causing a cold, sharp glint to reflect onto the surroundings.

From the pure Sword Intent, it could be deduced that Zhang Xuan had long reached the level of Upper Sword Heart, just a step away from Half-Quintessence.

"You..."

Arriving at the same conclusion as well, Ji Lingzhen and Ji Lingfeng were stunned.

It was just a moment ago they had seen that fellow controlling over a hundred Saint low-tier sabers to deal with Ji Lingfeng's formation plate, so they assumed that he specialized in the saber... Yet, how in the world did his field of specialty turn into the sword all of a sudden?

Furthermore, they realized that his Sword Intent was so pure that even theirs paled in comparison to it!

"A pure and firm Sword Intent! Those who don't carry true passion toward swordsmanship will never be able to comprehend such a realm!" the sword on the stone platform complimented earnestly.

"H-how can this be..."

Ji Lingzhen and Ji Lingfeng's bodies stiffened.

It was apparent from the sword's tone that it was full of approval for Zhang Xuan... If so, things were really bad for them. It would be nigh impossible for them to convince the sword to kill the young man.

"In order to become closer with the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword, I spent the last five hundred years offering treasures and artifacts to it. The wealth I have spent on it can easily number up to several ten thousand concentrated high-tier spirit stones... On top of that, my comprehension of swordsmanship has reached Half-Quintessence as well. Yet, after so many years, not once have I ever received its recognition... How could that fellow receive the sword's compliment despite only being at Upper Sword Heart?" Ji Lingzhen couldn't accept the situation.

Taming a high-tier sword was somewhat similar to taming a beast. Continuous and steady effort was required for the high-tier sword to accept one.

In order to get close the Old Sword Maestro's personal sword, he had gone to great lengths, but never once did he receive the other party's compliment. On the other hand, Zhang Xuan had only spoken a few words, but the sword was already full for compliments for him... When did the sword become so understanding?

If the sword had been so understanding from the start, he wouldn't have failed to make any progress despite centuries of effort!

"Wait a moment... That fellow is using demonic tunes and Impartation of Heaven's Will!" Ji Lingfeng hurriedly sent a telepathic message over to Ji Lingzhen.

He could tell that there was a unique quality to the other party's voice that seemed to put one in a trance. If not for that, the sword would have never believed Zhang Xuan so easily!

"That bastard!" Ji Lingzhen also swiftly realized the same after Ji Lingfeng had pointed it out, and his gaze swiftly turned cold.

"Elder, please don't fall for his deception..." Ji Lingzhen anxiously stepped forward and persuaded.

However, Zhang Xuan swiftly shot him a piercing glance and bellowed, "Silence!"

After which, he turned his sight back to the sword and explained, "Elder, the main reason why those two men want to kill me is because... I have fully grasped the conception behind the Old Sword Maestro's '剑 (Sword)' character, and my comprehension of swordsmanship is also about to reach Sword Quintessence. They feared that I would overtake them, that's why they have been wanting to suppress me for a long time now..."

"You have fully grasped the '剑 (Sword)' character?" the sword on the stone platform trembled intensely upon hearing those words, and it hurriedly asked on.

"Of course!" Zhang Xuan nodded proudly. "All in all, the character harnesses a total of 107 sword arts. On the surface, the sword arts appear to be individual of one another, and some of them were conflicting even, but... this is also where the wisdom of the Old Sword Maestro lies. He has managed to combine all 107 sword arts together to create a new sword art. Elder, may I know if my analysis is right?"

The sword on the platform shook in agitation as it gestured on, "Continue!"

"While the sword art doesn't manifest itself in the '剑 (Sword)' character, I am still able to deduce a part of it. Most likely, it would have a grand air so as to allow it to harness and control any sword art within it... If I'm not mistaken, the final sword art that the Old Sword Maestro has formed out of the 107 sword arts should be a type of Sword Formation, and in order to activate it, we would need your strength, elder!" Zhang Xuan said.

The scribblings on the stone tablet outside contained the knowledge of experts over many generations. While their interpretation was erroneous on a whole, there were bits and pieces of truth in each of them, and through the Library of Heaven's Path, he was able to derive out the most accurate cultivation method to the sword arts.

After which, with his deep understanding of swordsmanship, it wasn't too hard for him to deduce a little ahead!

"You're right..." the sword on the stone tablet replied as it assessed the young man before it once more. The more it looked at the young man, the more satisfying he became to it.

To be able to deduce this much from just the '剑 (Sword)' character itself, the young man's talent was really frighteningly high.

If Ji Lingzhen could comprehend so much back then, it might have already submitted to him and became his weapon.

"You said that you were about to reach Sword Quintessence... May I know how long will it take? Ten years? Fifty years? Or a hundred years?" the sword asked in agitation.

The young man already managed to achieve a complete grasp of the character which the Old Sword Maestro had left behind. As long as he achieved Sword Quintessence, he would be able to meet the requirements for the Old Sword Maestro's heritage.

"I don't need that much time..."

At which, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes before continuing, "Just give me a moment... Five minutes would do!"

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