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

46. 1441

Library of Heaven's Path #Chapter 1441 - Zhang Jiang - Read Library of Heaven's Path Chapter 1441 - Zhang Jiang Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1441: Zhang Jiang

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Known as one of the most talented female offspring of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Ziqing was a celebrity among the younger generation. On top of that, she had a graceful disposition and ravishing looks, which led to her having many suitors. Each day, there would be many men who tried to approach her, hoping that they might just luck out and win her fancy, and this had become a major source of annoyance for her.

As such, she had once declared that no matter who the person was, as long as his age was not beyond thirty and he was able to surpass her in the fields of zither, chess, and painting, she would marry that man without any hesitation.

While she did say such words, it was just to stop others from harassing her. After all, she did not think that there would be anyone in the world who could best her in those three fields.

But who could have thought that there would a man who was actually able to triumph over her in the field of painting so easily?

Even though this fellow's personality isn't too good, and his words are very jarring, there's no denying that he's a person of great ability. It might not be too bad to marry him.

Such was the thought that flashed across Zhang Ziqing's mind upon hearing someone amid the crowd reminding her of the matter.

Never in her life had she contemplated the notion of marrying any man before as she had always felt that they were all unworthy of her consideration, but if it was this man... she might just be able to grudgingly accept it.

As soon as such a notion took root in her mind, it swiftly grew at a pace where even she was unable to repress it anymore. Thus, she turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, "May I know if Zhang shi is skilled at the zither too?"

"I do play it from time to time," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.

Well, he was actually an 8-star demonic tunist, but it would still be best for him to keep a low profile.

"Then... what about chess?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know a thing about it." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He had learned many occupations, but chess simply was not in the set of skills that he was interested in, so he had never really sought to learn it. As such, it could be said that he knew next to nothing about it.

"It's fine, I can teach you. Does Zhang shi want to drop by my humble abode to have a further discussion about the arts?" Zhang Ziqing asked with a slightly reddened face.

The intention behind her words was very clear. In a sense, this could already be considered as good as a confession.

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"Discussion about the arts?" Zhang Xuan frowned a little before shaking his head. "It's only out of convenience that I have picked up those arts, and I consider them a pastime. I have already spent two days studying painting, and pardon me, but I'm afraid that I have no interest in devoting any more time into it."

He was here to face slap the Zhang Clan and force the young prodigy to appear, so how could he possibly have any spare time to learn about the arts or the whatnot?

Besides, I can further my understanding of the arts just by collecting the relevant books. Do I need to waste my time discussing them with you?

Hearing the young man's rejection, Zhang Ziqing's complexion immediately turned rather awful. However, she swiftly noticed a certain detail in the young man's statement, and she could not help but ask, "Did you say that you have only spent two days studying painting?"

"I'd reckon so." Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding. "I think that should be roughly it."

The only reason he had learned painting was to meet the prerequisites required for his master teacher promotions. He had spent roughly two hours for each level, so to reach 8-star, it would have taken him around sixteen hours. Even adding up the time he had taken to browse through painting books and practice hands-on painting, the duration still should not exceed two days.

However, being the humble man that he was, he chose to round the number up.

"You have only studied painting for two days, but you were able to achieve such a deep understanding of painting?" Zhang Ziqing was unable to believe the words the young man was spouting.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was not willing to dwell too much on such a useless topic, so he reached out his hand and demanded, "Since you've lost the bet, it's about time for you to pay up what you owe me."

It was only because of the pinnacle spirit stone that he had accepted the challenge. Since he had won the challenge, it was a given that he should claim his rightful reward.

"The bet..." Recalling their bet, Zhang Ziqing could not help but chuckle at how trivial the matter was. "You should have heard what the young man said earlier. As long as any one is able to best me in painting, zither, and chess, I will marry that person without any questions asked. Considering how you are far beyond me in the field of painting, as long as your mastery in zither playing and chess are decent... I can consider spending the rest of my life with you..."

As her voice trailed off, Zhang Ziqing's face reddened in embarrassment.

For a lady, it was already very bold for her to speak of such an embarrassing matter so forthrightly.

"What are you talking about? Are you trying to talk your way out of paying me my pinnacle spirit stone?" Seeing that the young lady had no intention of paying the pinnacle spirit stone, Zhang Xuan's eyes immediately bulged in fury.

They had already agreed upon it prior to the duel; there were so many eye-witnesses around them that could testify to that! How could she renege on her promise after losing the bet... and not to mention, even force him to marry her?

You must be dreaming!

"Ah?" Zhang Ziqing was startled by the unanticipated response.

Nothing was going as she had imagined.

"A loss is a loss. No matter what, you must pay me one pinnacle spirit stone!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed indignantly. "Don't bother coming up with excuses. There's no way I'm going to let you avoid payment today!"

"You..." Zhang Ziqing nearly lost her sanity in that instant.

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In the young man's eyes, was she not even worth a single pinnacle spirit stone?

If others learned that she, one of the top geniuses of the Zhang Clan, had been snubbed over a mere pinnacle spirit stone, she would become the laughingstock of the entire Master Teacher Continent!

"T-this... Zhang Xuan's mind really works in a very odd manner!" Zhang Wuchen could not believe what he was hearing. It took a very long moment before he was able to mutter those words.

"Indeed. This is the first time I've seen someone daring to reject Ziqing, and not to mention... with such an absurd reason at that!" Elder Wuzhen also found the situation inconceivable.

As the saying goes, even the mightiest of heroes are unable to overcome the ordeal of a beauty.

With Zhang Ziqing's capabilities and looks, she was a person who commanded countless pursuers in the upper society, and yet, she had been rejected for a mere pinnacle spirit stone.

Taking a step back, if the young man had really married Zhang Ziqing, given the latter's connections in the Zhang Clan, he would have been able to obtain all of the pinnacle spirit stones that he wanted in the world!

So, was it not simply irrational to fuss over a single pinnacle spirit stone?

After a moment of thought, with a shake of his head, Zhang Wuchen remarked, "Most likely, he doesn't want to have any ties with the Zhang Clan!"

Someone as talented as Zhang Xuan could not possibly be a fool, so there was no way he would be unable to comprehend the intention behind Zhang Ziqing's words. Nevertheless, he still chose to say those maddening words. From this, it was apparent that he did not want to be too deeply involved with the Zhang Clan.

...

Perhaps Zhang Xuan's rejection of Zhang Ziqing had provoked the other geniuses of the Zhan Clan—a young man flew forth from the crowd and landed right in the center of the square. "Zhang Xuan, I am Zhang Jiang from the Zhang Clan. I would like to challenge you."

"What do you want to challenge me in?" Zhang Xuan asked leisurely.

He would have to be blind to not notice the younger members of the Zhang Clan lurking all around the crowd. He knew that they were trying to put him down, presumably due to what had happened to the Defense Formation at the entrance earlier on. However, since the purpose behind his visit to the Zhang Clan was to stir the pot as much as possible, he did not mind having them coming at him.

"I don't have many talents, but I do have some confidence in my beast taming ability. Since you dared to insult an esteemed member of our Zhang Clan, I hope that you have the guts to accept my challenge too!" Zhang Jiang said with fury burning in his eyes.

In contrast to Zhang Jiang's hostile attitude, Zhang Xuan's response was rather placid, as if he was completely unperturbed by the other party's words. "How do you wish to compete?"

"Simple. Three years ago, the Zhang Clan managed to capture a ferocious saint beast. Till now, no one has been able to tame it, and even I have failed against it. As long as you can successfully tame that saint beast, I'll accept my defeat," Zhang Jiang said.

"What if I can't tame it?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Judging from what Zhang Jiang was saying, he seemed to be implying that it would be his loss if he failed to tame the saint beast, but this would be an unfair challenge. The fact that Zhang Jiang was unable to tame the saint beast showed that the saint beast was a tricky fellow to deal with. If he failed to tame the saint beast, it could only mean that the saint beast was beyond their abilities to deal with; it did not necessarily mean that Zhang Jiang's beast taming skills were superior to his.

While Zhang Xuan was confident in his beast taming skills, the effectiveness of his tricks was limited to beasts who possessed the Dragon Bloodline or were slightly weaker than him. Against those that were much stronger than him, he had no foolproof method of taming them.

"I heard that you were able to easily tame the spirit in our Defense Formation, so you shouldn't have any trouble taming a saint beast, right?"

A smile crept onto Zhang Jiang's lips as he continued. "I have been with the saint beast for three days so far, but our intimacy is already at twenty-five points. If you can reach a level of intimacy exceeding that within three days, I'll admit that you are superior to me!"

"Twenty-five points?" Hearing that there was a fairer basis for comparison, Zhang Xuan finally nodded in agreement. "Then... if I tame the saint beast, will I be able to take it away with me?"

This was something that had to be discussed beforehand. After all, this saint beast belonged to the Zhang Clan, so naturally, they would have to discuss its allocation beforehand, or it could lead to unnecessary complications.

"Even though this saint beast was caught by the clan head, if you are able to tame it, it should be fine for you to take it away!" Zhang Jiang said.

At this point, a vicious glint flashed across his eyes before he continued. "If you lose the challenge, I won't demand any pinnacle spirit stones or the like from you. However, I want you to kneel down, apologize to Ziqing, and scram right out of the Zhang Clan!"

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Chapter 1442: Do You Want to Exact Vengeance?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Very well, I accept your challenge." Zhang Xuan nodded.

While he wasn't too sure whether he wielded the ability to tame the saint beast or not, he didn't think that it would be too difficult for him to surpass the record of the young man before him.

Not to mention, the saint beast was captured by the father of the young prodigy. Perhaps, if he could tame that saint beast, he might just be able to lure the young prodigy out?

And what better way was there to exact vengeance for Jian Qinsheng than to pummel the son of his nemesis?

Well, if that young prodigy still didn't dare to appear even after that, surely at least the father would appear? While it would be regrettable not being able to beat up the young prodigy, beating up the father would at least help alleviate some bit of his rage... After all, who asked him to bear such a shameless son? And as the saying goes, ' the son errs, the father's mistake 1 '!

"Let's begin then!" Seeing that he had managed to obtain Zhang Xuan's agreement, a hint of excitement flashed across Zhang Jiang's eyes. With a wave of his hand, an elder behind him hurriedly left the area.

Not too long later, the elder returned back to the square, and with a wave of his hand, a massive black cage appeared before everyone's eyes.

The cage spanned roughly forty meters in length, and mysterious-looking inscriptions marked its surface. It was apparent that some powerful formation had been cast on it so as to prevent the lifeform imprisoned within it from escaping.

WIthin the cage, a saint beast which bore some resemblance to a lion could be seen lying on the ground. It lazily scanned its surroundings for a moment before closing its eyes and returning back to sleep.

The saint beast wasn't too large in size, spanning only four meters from head to tail. Its appearance wasn't particularly frightening, and its aura wasn't particularly overwhelming either, but for some reason, upon seeing the saint beast, the crowd in the area narrowed their eyes in astonishment.

"It's the Inferno Qilin!"

"This is the legendary saint beast whose cultivation reaches Saint 9-dan at maturity! They are extremely rare beings, and even throughout the entire history of the Master Teacher Continent, there have been very few cases of them being caught and tamed... It's no wonder why even a beast taming genius like Zhang Jiang would be helpless before it!"

"If I could tame a saint beast like that, I would instantaneously gain the prowess comparable to a Saint 9-dan expert!"

"Hah, easier said than done! The Ancient Qilin Bloodline runs through the veins of the Inferno Qilin, and its ego is much bigger than whatever you can ever imagine. Putting aside taming it, you would have difficulty just trying to approach it! If it's really that easy, Xingmeng Sword Saint wouldn't have to resort to imprisoning it in the Zhang Clan for three years straight!"

"That's true..."

After the shock of seeing the Inferno Qilin with their own eyes, the faces of the crowd gradually turned grim.

"Third Elder, should we stop the challenge?" Elder Wuzhen hesitated for a moment before directing this question to Zhang Wuchen.

"It's fine, let them be." Zhang Wuchen shook his head.

"But... in order to tame the Inferno Qilin, Zhang shi would have to enter the metal cage. As soon as he does so, he would come under its frenzied assault! Over the past three years, the Inferno Qilin has already hurt thirteen 9-star beast tamer! Considering how Zhang shi is here to challenge our swordsmanship, if it were to get out that he was injured by our saint beast... I fear that this might reflect badly on our Zhang Clan!" Elder Wuzhen said.

He was not making a mountain out of a molehill. While others might not be aware of the circumstances surrounding the Inferno Qilin, he knew full well how vicious that fellow could be.

It was simply too difficult a fellow to deal with!

No matter what kind of delicious food or treasures one placed in front of it outside the cage, it wouldn't even bother shooting it a second glance. And when one attempted to enter the cage to negotiate with it, one would swiftly come under assault too... It was precisely due to this that many 9-star beast tamers were injured by it over the past three years. Clearly, Zhang Jiang had malicious intentions in mind when he made such a challenge to Zhang Xuan. He was intending to make use of this huge fellow to teach the other party a lesson!

"I can tell what that fellow Zhang Jiang is thinking of. If it really comes to a precarious situation, I'll step in." Zhang Wuchen said.

How could he possibly have risen to his current position if he couldn't even discern the intentions of a young lad? The reason why he chose not to say anything about the matter was because Zhang Xuan had simply brought too much shock to them. He wanted to let things run for the moment so that he could get a clearer gauge of Zhang Xuan's abilities and determine a suitable course of action for dealing with that young man.

"This... Alright, I understand." Hearing how even the Third Elder had already granted his implicit approval to the matter, Elder Wuzhen decided not to think too much into the matter anymore.

He turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan and saw that the young man was in deep contemplation, seemingly trying to figure something out.

Inferno Qilin...

In this moment, Zhang Xuan was standing motionlessly on the spot, gathering every piece of information he had regarding the saint beast from the Library of Heaven's Path.

The saint beast's vicious nature was described within the beast tamer books he had browsed through. All it took was putting a few links together for him to deduce Zhang Jiang's ulterior motive.

This fellow doesn't possess the Dragon Bloodline, and the strength it wields is far beyond my ability to deal with either. It really won't be easy for me to tame it...Zhang Xuan rubbed in glabella in frustration.

To be honest, if he knew that he had to face a saint beast of the Inferno Qilin's caliber, he would have never accepted the duel in the first place. While his Beast Pummeling Taming Method was indeed formidable, it didn't seem too likely that it would be effective against such a powerful fellow.

Would the Inferno Qilin even be willing to allow him to approach it?

Given his current strength, it was much more probable for him to be roasted to crisp before he could even get close to it!

How was he supposed to tame the Inferno Qilin like that?

"Roasted to crisp?" At this point, Zhang Xuan glanced at the fearsome flames burning on the Inferno Qilin and abruptly froze on the spot, as if a sudden epiphany had come to him.

"Are you ready yet? Can we start now?" Seeing how Zhang Xuan was frozen on the spot as if a block of ice after seeing the Inferno Qilin's prowess with his own eyes, a gleeful smirk inconspicuously emerged on Zhang Jiang's lips as he urged impatiently.

"Sure, let's start." Zhang Xuan raised his head and nodded without any hesitation. "Open the cage."

Seeing how swiftly the young man had replied to him, Zhang Jiang was slightly taken aback. He was expecting the young man to be hesitant from fear.

Nevertheless, he soon burst into laughter and nodded, "Very well!"

No matter whether Zhang Xuan really had a plan in mind or it was all false bravado, everything would eventually come crumbling before the superior prowess of the Inferno Qilin!

Zhang Jiang waved his hand, and the elder who had brought the metal cage over previously quickly walked forward and pressed his palm against the cage. In an instant, a door appeared on the cage. It wasn't too big nor too small, perfect for a grown man to pass through. Naturally, a saint beast of the Inferno Qilin's size wouldn't be able to pass through it.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan began walking toward the door.

"Zhang shi..." Jian Qinsheng hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade the young man against participating in this challenge.

He might not know too much about beast taming himself, but he did have a clear understanding of what kind of person Xing Sword Saint was. That fellow was a particularly boastful and haughty person, always wanting to show off at every turn. However, that fellow did wield abilities was indeed able to match up to his boasting... and if even that fellow was unable to tame the Inferno Qilin, it must truly be a difficult saint beast to deal with then.

To walk in and confront such a fearsome saint beast straight on... That was simply too dangerous!

"Rest assured!" Zhang Xuan turned around and directed a confident nod at Jian Qinsheng. "I'll use my sword to make them learn of the greatness of the Sanctum of Sages' swordsmanship!"

"What?" Jian Qinsheng was taken aback by Zhang Xuan's reply. He waved his hand in a fluster and said, "No, that's not what I mean..."

It was just a moment ago that he thought the other party was dabbling in too many things, diluting his identity as a sword practitioner of the Sanctum of Sages, so he stepped in to remind the other party of the matter previously...

But this time, he was stopping the other party because he was truly worried!

A saint beast of that caliber was already frightening enough when motionless; if Zhang Xuan were to execute his swordsmanship before it, wouldn't he be killed?

"It's fine, it's fine. I understand." Zhang Xuan waved his hand perfunctorily before leaping right into the cage.

Hu hu hu!

As soon as he stepped into the cage, it was as if he was transported into another world. Waves of searing heat gushed at him relentlessly, seemingly vowing to burn him down into cinders. The blistering heat accumulated within this cage distorted the space so much that there was nothing one could see that wasn't warped, making it hard to perceive size and distance.

The Inferno Qilin thrives off earth flames. Its body is able to produce a massive cloud of flames on thought and reduce everything within a three hundred li 2 radius into ashes. Due to its high aptitude for destruction, not even the powerful Sage Clans dare to offend it easily... Recalling the description concerning this saint beast, Zhang Xuan nodded.

To be perfectly honest, it seemed like the only clan that wielded the power and resources to trap this massive fellow for three years straight was the Zhang Clan. Had it been any other clans, whatever artifact that they were using to imprison it would have been burned down into ashes by now.

Hu!

While Zhang Xuan was deep in thoughts, he suddenly felt the surrounding temperature growing higher and higher. Upon realizing that there was a foreign intruder, the Inferno Qilin, which had been lying lazily on the ground all this while, suddenly revealed a hint of savagery in its eyes, and it began making its way over slowly.

"Inferno Qilin, I believe that you should be able to tell that I'm not from the Zhang Clan." Watching as the Inferno Qilin made its way over threateningly, Zhang Xuan showed no signs of fear. Instead, a warm smile formed on his lips as he said, "An esteemed like saint beast like you have been imprisoned in a cage for three long years by the Zhang Clan, stripped of your honor and dignity. At this point, I only have a single question for you...

"Do you want to exact vengeance?"

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Chapter 1443: I Can Help You Achieve a Breakthrough!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The Inferno Qilin finally halted upon hearing those words.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he continued. "Just like you, I also hate the Zhang Clan with a passion. If you don't want to be trapped and tortured anymore, I can bring you out of here. Together, we'll make a huge uproar in the world, and if you wish, we can even destroy the Zhang Clan too..."

"Destroy the Zhang Clan? Just... what does that fellow intend to do?"

Upon hearing those words, Zhang Wuchen and Elder Wuzhen felt their hair standing on end, and they nearly fainted on the spot.

What in the world are you doing?

You're supposed to tame the Inferno Qilin! Why are you bringing the Zhang Clan into the equation?

Well, a mere Saint 9-dan beast won't pose much of a threat to our powerful Zhang Clan, but still... if it goes on a rampage and relentlessly emanates its flames in the middle of the city, we will be put in a difficult position!

More importantly... our reputation would be completely ripped to shreds!

With awful looks on their faces, the two elders turned their gazes to Zhang Jiang and saw that the young man's face had already turned pale in fright.

"Humph! If that fellow really manages to tame the Inferno Qilin and cause a mess in the Zhang Clan, I'll hold you responsible for the damage!" Zhang Wuchen flung his sleeves coldly and harrumphed.

"But..." Zhang Jiang wanted to protest, but meeting with the wintry gazes of the two elders, he could only lower his gaze meekly and accept their judgement. "I understand..."

Seeing how the young man before him was speaking such big words, the Inferno Qilin sneered in disdain. "Destroy the Zhang Clan? Are you sure you have the guts and strength to challenge the number one Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent?"

If it was one of the minor clans, it could still afford to run rampant for a while, but in here... even it had no choice but to lie low!

Putting everything aside, just the man who had captured it and brought it to its current prison had been able to suppress its flames with a flick of his hand. If that man had truly intended to kill it, it would have fallen at a single slash of his!

"The Zhang Clan is indeed powerful, with many experts filling its ranks. However, as a clan of master teachers, it has to obey by the rules. If they truly had no regard for the rules, they would have already tortured you into submission. There is no way you would be able to lie here peacefully and live your days quietly," Zhang Xuan said.

"Humph!" The Inferno Qilin turned its head away.

It was furious at the Zhang Clan's act of imprisoning it, but it had to admit that the Zhang Clan had never treated it too poorly. Otherwise, there were many ways they could have forced it into submission, such as completely halting any spiritual energy from getting to it and depriving it of food and drink. Even though it would not have succumbed to those cheap tricks, still, its life could have been made a living hell.

And the reason for that was because the Zhang Clan was a clan of master teachers. There were rules that they had to obey, or else they would risk losing their prestige and honor that they had built up over the many years.

No matter how powerful a clan was, if it paid heed only to the ends and not the means, it would be nothing more than a tyrant. A powerful clan that paid attention to only the ends and not the means would be nothing more than a tyrannical monster, and tyranny could only get one so far.

Besides, if the Inferno Qilin did not choose to serve the Zhang Clan willingly, it would be a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at any moment. If it acted up while its master was away, perhaps killing a few of the younger offspring secretly, that would cause far greater damage to the Zhang Clan!

Seeing that the Inferno Qilin was listening to his words, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he continued his persuasion. "I can bring you out to pummel the person who has landed you in the plight you are in. Not only that, I can even cleanse your bloodline, bringing you to greater heights!"

"Cleanse my bloodline? You?" the Inferno Qilin harrumphed coldly. A flame cloud immediately rose from its body, and the already blistering heat in the surroundings further intensified.

Kacha!

Zhang Xuan felt a deeply stifling sensation in his chest choking him from within. It felt like he would be reduced to ashes should the wrong words come out from his mouth.

"Indeed. Do you doubt my words?" Despite knowing he was knee deep in danger, Zhang Xuan did not show the slightest hint of nervousness. Instead, a confident smile materialized on his face. "I can prove it to you."

"Prove it to me?" The Inferno Qilin frowned.

"Indeed. I am only a Grand Dominion realm cultivator, an individual who poses no threat whatsoever to you. Whether I'm lying or not, you should be able to tell with a swift look. Think about how long you have been imprisoned here. Don't you desire to attain more power and make those who have humiliated you pay the price for their actions? Or are you satisfied being treated as a tool for the beast tamers of the Zhang Clan to test their skills on you? Are you really fine with allowing the Zhang Clan trample all over your dignity?"

Zhang Xuan lifted his gaze to look right into the Inferno Qilin's eyes as he further enticed it with his voice. "The opportunity is right before your eyes; it's your choice whether you want to seize it or not. But know that if you were to let it slip, such an opportunity might never come once more."

"This..." The Inferno Qilin fell into deep contemplation, and confusion could be seen reflected in its eyes.

But at this moment, someone amid the crowd shouted, "Agree to his request!"

It was from Zhang Ziqing.

Her shout immediately caught the attention of the crowd, and many gazes fell upon her.

"Ah..." Seeing that she was suddenly in the spotlight, Zhang Ziqing widened her eyes in realization at what she had just done, and her face immediately flushed red. At the same time, her hands trembled in shock as she muttered, "Demonic tunist?"

The words that she had just spoken simply escaped from her throat before she could even notice it. The young man's voice seemed to carry some kind of unique quality to it that drew her into a confounded state, compelling her to bend to his will.

And the fact that the young man was able to pull this off showed that he was not an amateur in demonic tunes as he had earlier claimed. On the contrary, he was an expert whose mastery in the occupation far surpassed hers!

Otherwise, there was no way a demonic tunist prodigy like her would have fallen for his beguilement and even shouted out such embarrassing words.

What was even more unfortunate was that she was the only one who had fallen for his demonic tunes. There were plenty whose cultivation was far lower than hers amid the crowd, but none of them had fallen for his demonic tunes.

She knew that this was not due to Zhang Xuan acting against her, but rather, her high affinity toward demonic tunes had worked against her. It was precisely due to her sharpness toward music that resulted in her being subconsciously swayed by Zhang Xuan's demonic tunes in her moment of carelessness, thus resulting in that embarrassing event.

In a sense, this as similar to how skillful musicians were able to hear subtle differences in the melody where an ordinary man perceived no difference in the tune at all.

The young man's demonic tune was directed solely toward the Inferno Qilin, so the effects on others were not too pronounced. It was only due to her innate sensitivity toward music that resulted in her falling for it. To others, there were completely no effects whatsoever... well, for the time being, that was.

As time went by, the others would also slowly find themselves unwittingly sinking into the young man's demonic tune, too.

After recovering from her shock, Zhang Ziqing gritted her teeth in fury. Humph! Despite possessing such deep capabilities in demonic tunes, he still claims that he's just an amateur in it. His claim that he doesn't know chess is probably a lie, too!

She had already lost to the young man in the field of painting, and it was apparent that she would be no match for him in terms of zither skills. All that was left was chess, and it was honestly hard for her to believe that the young man before her did not know a thing about chess at all.

She would have to make sure to challenge him after he was done taming the Inferno Qilin!

Paying no heed to Zhang Ziqing, Zhang Xuan continued his persuasion. "What's your decision? It's just a try, and it won't cause the slightest damage to you at all. On the contrary, if it succeeds, you will gain the power to escape from this confinement. So, why are you still hesitating?"

Just as Zhang Ziqing had guessed, he was not only using demonic tunes but also Impartation of Heaven's Will.

With the two abilities stacked on top of one another, further augmented by his Celestial Master Teacher aura and Heart of a Teacher, as powerful as the Inferno Qilin's will might have been, it was already starting to be swayed.

After a long moment of contemplative silence, the Inferno Qilin eventually nodded. "Very well, I'll just give you one chance."

It had been trapped for far too long. It would be for the best if it could achieve a breakthrough and escape... and if this young man dared to lie to it, it did not mind devouring him whole!

"You are indeed a wise beast!" Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he flicked his wrist.

A jade bottle materialized in his hand, and shaking it lightly, a pill dropped into his other hand. "This pill is able to cleanse your bloodline. Once you eat it, I guarantee that you'll be able to achieve a breakthrough within ten minutes!"

"Breakthrough?" The Inferno Qilin lowered its gaze to eye the pill in the other party's palm.

It was a golden pill, and it emanated an alluring fragrance. Rich spiritual energy shrouded its body, but other than that, there did not appear to be anything extraordinary about it.

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Chapter 1444: The Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's Breakthrough

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Hu!

The Inferno Qilin picked up the golden pill and squeezed it lightly. The longer it stared at the pill for, the more perplexed it became.

No matter how he looked at it, the pill was just an ordinary Energy Replenishment Pill; there was nothing unique about it at all! While it was true that it harnessed quite a substantial amount of spiritual energy within it, to a beast of its caliber, it was not even worth a mention. Yet, the young man said that this pill would help it achieve a breakthrough?

Was the young man taking it for a fool?

"You'll be able to make a breakthrough just by consuming it. Don't hesitate anymore, such an opportunity doesn't come every day!" Noting the skeptical look on the Inferno Qilin's face, Zhang Xuan urged.

The Inferno Qilin hesitated for a moment before tossing the pill back to Zhang Xuan and harrumphing, "I'll never eat a pill of dubious origin. Who knows whether it has been poisoned or not?"

Even the Zhang Clan was unable to make it achieve a breakthrough, so how could a mere twenty-year-old brat possibly do any better than that?

Besides, it had already taken a close look at the pill, and other than the spiritual energy within it being a bit more concentrated than usual, there was nothing unique to it. It would still be fine if it failed to achieve a breakthrough after consuming the pill, but if some kind of formidable poison that was undetectable to it were to be concealed in the pill, it would be in for a tragedy.

This was a risk that the Inferno Qilin wasn't willing to take.

"Poison?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock upon hearing those words, and he exclaimed with a deeply aggrieved voice, "Are you doubting my integrity? There's no way I would do something as despicable as that! Besides, I am only at Grand Dominion realm! Do you think that I would be able to use any poison that would be capable of fazing you in the least? Not to mention, there's nothing I would gain from harming you!"

The Inferno Qilin fell silent after hearing those words.

Indeed, the young man didn't have the ability nor motive to poison it.

But humans were known to be a particularly scheming and devious race. Who could tell what kind of deeper plots that fellow could be hatching in the shadows? In any case, it seemed like an utter foolish act as to consume something of unknown origin.

Thus, it decided not to pay the young man any more heed, and it lay back down on the ground lazily, preparing to drift off to sleep.

Seeing such a sight, Zhang Xuan harrumphed indignantly, "Since you don't believe me, I'll just have to prove it to you then!"

As he said those words, he flicked his wrist.

Hu la!

A massive Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast materialized on the spot.

"Master!" the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast lowered its head and greeted Zhang Xuan humbly.

"Eat this pill. I'll help you achieve a breakthrough!" Zhang Xuan said as he flicked the golden pill in his hand over.

"Yes, master!" the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast nodded its head. Without any hesitation, it opened its mouth and swallowed the golden pill.

Gu gu gu!

As rich spiritual energy burst out from the pill, a look of pleasure surfaced on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's face. However, contrary to its expectation, the long-awaited surge of energy that would take him on a ride toward a breakthrough didn't appear.

The pill didn't seem to be as effective as it thought it would be.

"Master..." the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast turned a perplexed gaze at Zhang Xuan.

"Calm down, everything is under control." Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he flicked his wrist once more.

Hualala!

More than a hundred swords materialized in the air. After a swift shuffling in the air, they formed a bridge by connecting their ends to one another.

"Lie down on my swords," Zhang Xuan instructed.

Even though the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was perplexed by the intention behind Zhang Xuan's action, it still obediently flew over and lay down flatly on the bridge of swords.

Due to the long and slender body frame of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, the scene of it lying flat on the bridge of swords somehow bore a striking resemblance to a skewered sausage.

"Good," Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

With a wave of his hand, he formed numerous threads of zhenqi to secure the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast in place, ensuring that it wouldn't fall from the bridge of swords. After which, he turned to the Inferno Qilin and said, "This medicine of mine is particularly difficult to assimilate. I'll require your Qilin Flames as a medium in order to fully break down the contents of the pill. Since you don't trust me, why don't you allow me to prove you wrong by lending me your flames?"

Even though the Inferno Qilin appeared as if it was sleeping, it was actually sneaking curious glances over to see what the young man was up to. Succumbing to its intrigue to find out what would happen to the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, it eventually gave a nod of agreement.

While it dared not to casually eat the young man's pills, lending the latter its flames wasn't much of a deal. And if the pill really harnessed the miraculous effects of allowing it to achieve a breakthrough, perhaps it might not be that bad of an idea to ally with the young man.

After giving a nod of agreement, the Inferno Qilin opened its mouth, and crimson flames burst forth from it. In the blink of an eye, its flames had already swept across the entire cage.

"This side, this side! Direct it straight toward the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

Tzzzzzzzzzzz!

Those flames were at a temperature which warped even the surroundings out of shape. As soon as they fell on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's back, a resounding sizzle echoed in the air.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan also began to rotate the sword, as if barbecuing a meat skewer.

"..."

Outside the cage, Zhang Wuchen and the others glanced at one another with stupefied looks on their faces.

Even the genius beast tamer, Zhang Jiang, wasn't able to make sense of the situation at all.

It was apparent to everyone that the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was Zhang Xuan's tamed beast. As a mere Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivator, that fellow really should be counting his blessing for being able to tame a Dimension Sundering realm pinnacle saint beast... So, why was he roasting it right now then?

The flames of the Inferno Qilin was more intense than the hottest earth flames; even Saint high-tier artifacts would melt swiftly under its searing heat! No matter how powerful the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was, there was no way it would be able to survive for too long when exposed to such overwhelming heat. At this rate, it might just really die!

Is this what he means by displaying his swordsmanship? Jian Qinsheng muttered in utter disbelief.

It was just a moment ago that the young man said that he would bring glory to the Sanctum of Sages' swordsmanship, so Jian Qinsheng simply assumed that the young man was going to use his sword to clash with the Inferno Qilin face on. Yet, it turned out that he was only using it as a skewer stick for his tamed beast so as to give it a good roasting...

Can you get any more misleading than that?

Tzzzzzzz!

Under the blazing heat, oil began to seep out on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's skin, and a peculiarly appetizing meat aroma wafted in the air.

"Master..."

The Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast was beginning to reach its limits. It tried to thrash its body around, but the zhenqi threads had bound it in a way that prevented it from effectively exerting its strength, thus rendering its efforts futile.

Seeing that its life was hanging by a thread, despair surfaced in the depths of its eyes.

"Grit your teeth and endure it! If you wish to make a breakthrough, this is pain that you must overcome!" Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over. "Netherworld Azure Dragon Beasts harness the coldness of the netherworld in their bodies, thus their cultivation are also leaning toward the cold attribute too. While the Qilin Flames are at odds with your primary attribute, it can help to neutralize any blockages in your meridians and cleanse your bloodline, allowing you to push right for a breakthrough!"

The pill which Zhang Xuan took out previously was infused with his Heaven's Path zhenqi, so naturally, it had the effect of cleansing bloodlines too. Unfortunately, its effectiveness was extremely limited on the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, whose cultivation was much higher than him.

In other words, from the very start, his promise of allowing the Inferno Qilin to achieve a breakthrough just by eating the golden pill had been a big fat lie. His true purpose was to make use of the intense heat of the Qilin Flames to refine the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's bloodline and grant it the momentum to overcome its Saint 8-dan pinnacle bottleneck!

"I understand!" Realizing that its master was doing all of this for it, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast gritted its teeth tenaciously and endured the excruciating pain.

When the flames dived into its body, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast felt the blood coursing through its body bubbling furiously, threatening to evaporate dry at any moment. A feeling of frailty gradually rippled through its body, and its consciousness was beginning to slip away from it.

Just when it was on the verge of caving in, the pill that it had swallowed previously suddenly released a burst of soothing energy which maneuvered the flames in its body to knock open all of the bottlenecks within its body.

As a result of that, its turbid blood began to turn clearer as well.

It's working! The eyes of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast twinkled in excitement.

Even though it had absolute trust in its master, relief and exhilaration still gushed in upon seeing the changes occurring within its body. From the looks of it, it should be able to achieve a breakthrough very soon.

Thus, it gathered all of its grit and forced itself to persevere on. Eventually, its suffering paid off.

Three minutes later, it felt the invisible ceiling that had capped its cultivation at Saint 8-dan pinnacle was beginning to loosen, and cracks were gradually creeping all over it.

"Now!" All of a sudden, its master's voice echoed loudly in its ear.

Without any hesitation, it gathered all of its remaining energy together as it released a majestic roar.

Boom!

Even the sturdy metal cage rattled under the deafening roar!

Kacha! Kacha!

The power that the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast harnessed within its body began to surge to a new peak, and eventually, as if its body couldn't contain that power anymore, a tremendous burst of energy shot upward into the clouds.

"It managed to pull off a breakthrough... The golden pill could actually allow one to achieve a breakthrough?" Retracting its flames, the Inferno Qilin couldn't help but freeze on the spot.

It was still deeply skeptical when the young man said that the golden pill would allow it to achieve a breakthrough within ten minutes, but from the looks of it now, it was apparent that the young man wasn't lying...

The golden pill was truly a miraculous pill!

It hurriedly turned its gaze over to the young man, only to see that the latter completely preoccupied with controlling the hundred of swords he had brought out. The jade bottle that he had taken the golden pill out from previously was currently placed on the ground not too far away from the young man, open for anyone to take.

"Hehe, it's all mine!" A glint flashed across the Inferno Qilin's eyes as it flicked its paw.

Hu!

In the blink of an eye, the jade bottle was already in its grasp. Taking a look inside, he saw that there were seven golden pills inside. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, it swallowed all of them down.

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Chapter 1445: Submit To Me!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"You..."

In the midst of retracting his swords, Zhang Xuan happened to chance upon this sight, and he froze on the spot.

"I must say that I'm really thankful for your generous gift, but you need not put on an act anymore. I know your motive. You speak of helping me exact vengeance, but in the end, aren't you just trying to make me submit to you? I can tell you this loud and clear right now—dream on!"

Driving its Qilin Flames to break down the contents of the pill, the Inferno Qilin looked at Zhang Xuan and sneered coldly, "We, of the Qilin Tribe, and proud and noble beasts. How can we possibly submit to a mere human?"

Hidden under those impassioned and rousing words was the ugly intention of the human to enslave it.

Given how it refused to submit to even the head of the Zhang Clan, how could it possibly willingly submit to a mere Grand Dominion realm brat?

You must be kidding me!

The only reason why it chit-chatted with the other party for so long was because it was bored with its confined isolation, and it wanted to chat with someone a bit. Who could have thought that the young man would actually bring him some unexpected gains?

The Inferno Qilin had been paying close attention to the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast. While the latter's cultivation had indeed reached Saint 8-dan pinnacle, it was limited by the potential of its bloodline. Achieving a breakthrough for it would be a feat nearly as difficult as scaling the heavens.

Yet, just by consuming the golden pill, it managed to push through its bottleneck and rise to the next realm... From this, it was certain that the pills in the jade bottle did harness mystical effects. Even if they weren't as effective on it, it would still benefit greatly from consuming them.

At the very least, pushing for a breakthrough of a small cultivation stage shouldn't pose too much trouble!

"My pills!" Paying no heed to the Inferno Qilin's taunting, a look of absolute horror appeared on Zhang Xuan's face.

"I have already swallowed them, what are you going to do about it? Make me spit them out?" the Inferno Qilin taunted coldly.

You deserved it for placing a treasure like that before me unguarded.

It's not as if I'm bounded by the code of honor or those rubbish principles that you master teachers follow. Survival of the fittest; since I was able to snatch it, it goes without saying that it's mine!

"No, that's not what I mean..." Zhang Xuan exclaimed in a fluster as he shook his head hurriedly.

"Like I give a damn as to what you mean! Since I have presented me with such fine medicine, I'll let you off the hook this time around. Scram out of this cage right now, or else, don't blame me for getting nasty on you!"

The Inferno Qilin swung its thick tail menacingly before returning back to the area where it had laid down on earlier.

"I..." The Inferno Qilin's words did little to cool down the agitated state Zhang Xuan was in. He continued exclaiming anxiously, "I'm not concerned about you taking my pills but... I only have a single one of that breakthrough pill, and I have already fed it to the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast!"

"A single one?" Those words immediately left the Inferno Qilin halting in its footsteps. It turned his head around and asked doubtfully, "If you only have a single one of those breakthrough pills, what are the other pills you have stored in that jade bottle of yours then?"

"Those... are all poison!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed.

"Poison?" The Inferno Qilin was visibly startled for a moment before it clicked its tongue in disdain. "Don't think that you can get me to spit out those pills just because you said that they are poison. Let me tell you this, I have already assimilated those pills into my body!"

Even if the young man felt indignant at having his pills eaten by it, surely it didn't have to come up with such a ludicrous lie!

It had made sure to scan the pill carefully with its Spiritual Perception prior to consuming it, and it was certain that those seven golden pills were identical to the one the young man had offered it previously. If they were really poison, his tamed beast should have been dead by now!

And besides, who in the world would place a pill intended for achieving breakthroughs into a bottle filled with poisonous pills? What if one were to consume the poison by accident?

At least put some effort into crafting out your lie! I can't feel your sincerity at all!

Hearing those words, the young man's face immediately turned white, and he lowered his gaze despondently as he muttered, "You have already assimilated the pills? Oh no, this is a disaster..."

"Enough of your act. Get out of here right now, and I'll spare..." Fed up with the young man's theatrics, the Inferno Qilin harrumphed coldly and turned its body around.

But halfway through its motion, it suddenly froze up entirely, and an intense pain abruptly exploded through its innards.

Kacha! Kacha!

It was a kind of sensation that felt as if someone was tugging desperately at the two ends of its heart in opposite directions, attempting to rip it apart.

At the same time, the Inferno Qilin felt a flowing current of power seeping into the thinnest meridians in his body and gnawing at his nerves viciously, causing an unending wave of pain to assault his senses.

Facing such a situation, the Inferno Qilin panicked.

Qilin Flames were capable of turning anything to cinders. As such, most poisons would be reduced to ashes before they could do any harm to its body, so why would its body suddenly be tormented by great pain all of a sudden?

Tzzzzzzzz!

While it was still deep in thought, the pain assaulting him from the inside swiftly intensified, sweeping through every nook and cranny of his body like an unstoppable flood.

Padah!

The Inferno Qilin collapsed weakly to the ground, devoid of even the strength to get back to its feet.

"It's definitely the golden pills that I have just eaten. Damn it!" the Inferno Qilin cursed with his clattering teeth.

It was very certain that the cause of the pain was the golden pills that it had just eaten. When it was assimilating the pills earlier, several surges of energy burst forth from them and converged together before diving into the narrowest meridians in its body to lie in wait.

"Y-you poisoned me!" the Inferno Qilin glared at the young man before it in fury.

Everything was as clear as day to it now.

The young man had intentionally placed the jade bottle on the ground in order to prompt it to steal it from him.

By doing this, not only would he not be infringing on his dignity as a master teacher, he would be able to corner it too. More importantly, it wouldn't have anyone to blame because it was due to its own foolishness that it leaped ahead of itself and snatched the pills...

Indeed, there was nothing more frightening than a shameless master teacher!

"You should have just asked me instead of leaping forward to snatch it! Why are you so reckless? Those pills are poisonous, you know!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"You..." Trembling with fury, the Inferno Qilin found itself at a loss for words.

What else could it say? All the young man did was to place the jade bottle beside it. In the first place, the young man had offered the golden pill to him at one point in time, and it refused it. After which, it was also the one who snatched away the jade bottle and downed its content...

From the perspective of the outsiders, the young man hadn't done anything morally questionable at all from the start to the end!

Directing a vicious glare at Zhang Xuan, the Inferno Qilin growled, "Give me the antidote!"

Since the young man had such a poison in his possession, it didn't make sense for him to not have the antidote.

"To be perfectly honest with you, I don't have any antidote for that poison. However, I do know of a method to alleviate the effects of the poison... As long as you submit to me, I can help you!" Zhang Xuan said with a look of difficulty.

"You want me to submit to you? Dream on!"

After despicably luring it into eating the poison, that fellow still wanted it to submit to him?

The Inferno Qilin nearly exploded on the spot. Malicious killing intent burst forth from it as it roared ferociously, "Even if I were to die today, I shall bring you down together with me!"

Boom!

The Inferno Qilin leaped into the air, and it swiped its hoof down on Zhang Xuan.

In an instant, flames surged to every corner of the cage, and an overwhelming burst of energy which was powerful enough to even rip pitch-black rifts in space tore through the air, descending down upon the young man.

Padah!

But before the attack could reach, the Inferno Qilin suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground. Its body convulsed ceaselessly from the excruciating pain coursing through its innards, and white foam was leaking out from the corner of its mouth.

The poison was simply too potent that it had exceeded its tolerance limit.

Zhang Xuan walked up to the Inferno Qilin and gazed down on the latter impassively. He shook his head and persuaded, "Submit to me. You'll only die at this rate."

"You want someone who possesses the Ancient Qilin Bloodline like me to submit to a filthy and despicable human like you? Dream on!" the Inferno Qilin roared with gritted teeth.

The lineage of the Qilin Tribe could be traced back to the ancient times, and the Qilin Tribe had been a dominant power even in the era where powerful beasts roamed the surface of the Master Teacher Continent. While the purity of its bloodline was lacking as compared to its ancestors, there was no way its pride would allow it to submit to a mere human!

It would rather die than to submit to them!

Otherwise, the Zhang Clan wouldn't have been completely helpless despite having captured it for three whole years.

"I guess there's no choice then..." Zhang Xuan shook his head. He was just about to further goad the Inferno Qilin on with his words when an oppressive pressure suddenly weighed down heavily on him from above. In an instant, even his breathing had become laborious.

Raising his head, he saw dark, ominous clouds swiftly filling the previously clear sky. Lightning crackled angrily from within, as if heralding the arrival of a catastrophe.

"Is this the Saint 9-dan Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment

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Chapter 1446: Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Saint 9-dan Macrocosm Ascendancy realm. Macrocosm refers to the entire spatial world we perceive formed by the three dimensions. Those who had reached this realm would be able to wield an understanding of space far greater than at Dimension Sundering realm, allowing them to dictate the changes in the spaces around them, granting them the strength required to stand at the very peak of the Master Teacher Continent.

Zhang Xuan thought that it would be a huge blessing if he could help the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast rise to Half-Macrocosm Ascendancy realm, but perhaps due to the firm foundation it had built up over many years, it was actually able to crash down two bottlenecks in rapid succession using the Qilin Flames, charging up to Saint 9-dan in a single breath!

The ability to dictate space was a skill that should be unique only to the heavens themselves. Those who sought to steal this ability from them would have to suffer an equivalent punishment for their actions.

As such, the ordeal that one had to face at this level was exceptionally formidable.

If Dimension Sundering Ordeal was difficult, the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal would be despair-inducing.

To make a comparison, even the might of ten Dimension Sundering Ordeal wouldn't come close to matching up to the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal.

Tzzlala!

In barely the blink of an eye, the ominous clouds in the sky had already covered an area of four to five thousand mu 1 around them, and it was still expanding at a frightening rate.

"This is really a disaster..." Outside the cage, Zhang Wuchen and Elder Wuzhen were trembling in horror.

The both of them had been through the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal themselves, and even with their current cultivation realms, they would still shudder at the notion of facing it once more... One must know that the prowess of the ordeal was, in fact, comparable to a full strength attack by an expert surpassing Saint 9-dan.

And for such a powerful lightning tribulation to be called in the middle of their city... The entire guest area could very well be reduced to cinders!

That young man had already destroyed countless buildings near the entrance formation previously, and now, he was going to destroy their guest accommodations as well?

That Zhang Xuan was really a symbol of misfortune!

How were they to explain this to their clan head when he returned?

"Everyone, hurry up and evacuate this area!" Knowing that the crowd standing within the perimeter of the lightning tribulation would only induce it to grow stronger and stronger, Zhang Wuchen immediately instructed.

Sou sou sou!

Realizing the dangers, the crowd also didn't dare to linger in the area.

They hurriedly flitted as far away from the guest area as they could.

There was no way to stop the lightning tribulation—it would only grow stronger the more they tried to curb it. It was one thing if they succeeded in eliminating the lightning tribulation once and for all, but if they were to fail, the entire city could very well be reduced to ashes...

"That Zhang Xuan is really a herald of misfortune... He should have known better than to allow his saint beast to achieve a breakthrough here!" Zhang Wuchen spat through gritted teeth.

Whenever the Zhang Clan had anyone who was on the verge of making a breakthrough to Macrocosm Ascendancy realm, they would make sure to prepare a location for him in advance, and in some cases, set up formations even in order to ensure that the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal wouldn't cause too much damage to the surroundings. Yet, this fellow actually brought one right into the middle of their home base...

Considering how many guests there were here, there was no way they would be able to protect all of them! If any of them were to lose their life while under the Zhang Clan's care, it would really be a huge smirch on the Zhang Clan's reputation.

Taking a step back, even if no life was lost in this catastrophe, the massive damage that it would sustain as a result of the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal would still make it a laughingstock on the Master Teacher Continent!

"Zhang Xuan, hurry up and bring your tamed beast out of here. There's a Dracotiger Mountain not too far away with specialized formations that could help your tamed beast deal with the lightning tribulation!" Unable to take it any longer, Zhang Wuchen urged anxiously.

At the very end of the city was a place known as the Dracotiger Mountain. It was used by the Zhang Clan as a specialized ground for their offspring to deal with their cultivation ordeals. For this purpose, there were plenty of formidable formations set up around the area, and while it wouldn't help to fend off the lightning, it would at least suppress the growth of inner demons within the cultivator's mind, thus allowing him to focus his full attention on coping with the lightning tribulation.

As long as he could get the saint beast there, the Zhang Clan would be able to avert this crisis.

"Very well..." Zhang Xuan shot a glance at the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast before nodding his head.

But just as he was about to instruct the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast over to head over to the place which Zhang Wuchen had spoken of, a powerful surge of might suddenly burst forth from behind him.

Following which, the Inferno Qilin's furious bellow sounded in the air, "Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well bring down all of you bastards along with me!"

Flames began emanating from the Inferno Qilin's body.

"This is really bad..." Zhang Wuchen was horrified to see this sight.

Due to being plagued with lethal poison, the Inferno Qilin had already resolved itself for death. As such, it had chosen to use its full strength to further provoke the lightning tribulation so as to bring down the darned Zhang Xuan and the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast together with it.

As it was standing at the very center of the lightning tribulation, the instant that it drove its strength, the lightning tribulation was immediately rumbled furiously in response to its provocation.

Wuuuuuuuuu!

In the blink of an eye, the five thousand mu field expanded to cover over ten thousand mu 2 , and there were no signs that its growth was going to stop anytime soon either.

If the lightning tribulation had only covered the guest area previously, at this moment, it was covering a huge chunk of the area where the Zhang Clan's offspring resided in too.

"You... Well done!" Seeing how cooperative the Inferno Qilin was at such a crucial moment even without having him to prompt for it, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in delight.

Given the size of the lightning tribulation, it should be comparable to at least ten pinnacle spirit stones at the very least. If he could devour it, his cultivation would definitely surge to higher realms.

"Hahaha, I want all of you to suffer along with me!" Completely oblivious to Zhang Xuan's thoughts, the Inferno Qilin was only focused on a single matter this very instant—making the lightning tribulation grow as large as possible. Roaring furiously, it released every last bit of energy it had within it.

In the midst of doing so, it realized that the release of its strength seemed to lessen the excruciating pain from the poison, so it gritted its teeth and pushed itself on.

Kacha! Kacha!

Even before the lightning could fall, the overwhelming pressure it emanated had already destroyed the formation cast on the cage. At the same time, countless buildings also caved in to the pressure and collapsed abruptly.

"Master, what should I do?" Seeing how his Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal had gone completely out of control, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast couldn't help but cower back in fear.

It had been too focused on pushing for a breakthrough that it overlooked the possible consequences of his action. It had never thought that things would get to this point.

If even its master was helpless before this situation, it would really be electrocuted to death.

"There's no need to panic. Continue drawing in the lightning tribulation. The larger it is, the better it'll be." Zhang Xuan instructed before flying over to Zhang Wuchen and the others' side.

"Third Elder, Seventh Elder." Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and greeted.

With his current cultivation realm, he could walk around freely without catching the attention of the lightning tribulation.

"Do you have any ways to resolve this situation?" Zhang Wuchen asked grimly.

If the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast didn't leave right now, everyone would be doomed once the lightning tribulation fell!

"I do have an idea in mind, but I would require a few things to carry them out. Do you happen to have Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm, Saint 8-dan Dimension Sundering, and Saint 9-dan Macrocosm Ascendancy realm cultivation technique manuals? I need as many of them as possible!" Zhang Xuan asked urgently.

Since the lightning tribulation was already prepared for his consumption, it went without saying that he needed to have the cultivation techniques required to up his cultivation too. Otherwise, he would be wasting this precious source of energy!

"Cultivation technique manuals? What do you need those for?" Zhang Wuchen was taken aback by Zhang Xuan's abrupt request.

The matters that had occurred at the Sanctum of Sages had been classified as confidential, and students had been sternly warned not to let this matter out. Of course, it would only be a matter of time before it spread amongst the top brass of the major clans, but for the time being, Zhang Wuchen was still unable to fathom the notion of the young man making use of the lightning tribulation to push for breakthroughs.

"There's no time to explain it to you! I need you to bring them to me right now. This is the only way we can resolve the crisis standing before us, or else... I'm afraid that there would be nothing I could do either!" Zhang Xuan said with even greater urgency in his voice.

"This... I do have a few Phantasmal Space realm cultivation technique manuals with me at the moment. I was planning to impart them to my students, so I have been bringing them along with me... As for Dimension Sundering realm cultivation technique manuals, almost all of them are all locked in the clan's book vault, and I'm afraid that even with my authorization as the Third Elder, I still can't bring you in. Only those amongst the top brass of the Zhang Clan are authorized to access it, and even so, they could only pick out a single cultivation technique from there. Even I am no exception to the rule!" Zhang Wuchen paused for a moment before eventually replying.

Those who had reached Dimension Sundering realm could already be considered as individuals who had reached the apex of the Master Teacher Continent. As such, despite being the Third Elder of the Zhang Clan, he only had several of them in his private collection. And as for the clan's secret art, it went without saying that there was no way he would be able to show them to an outsider!

"I guess I would have to make do with Phantasmal Space realm cultivation technique manuals then..." Seeing that the lightning was about to fall at any moment, Zhang Xuan knew that he didn't have much time to waste. Thus, he waved his hand and urged, "Hurry up and take them out. I just have to take a swift glance at them!"

"Un." Seeing that the young man had an idea in mind, Zhang Wuchen didn't dare to waste any time. Flicking his wrist, a bunch of books appeared before him

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Chapter 1447: Please Take Me In!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

There weren't too many books amidst that pile, numbering just roughly twenty to thirty of them. After scanning through them, a deep frown surfaced on Zhang Xuan's forehead.

They were all relating to Saint 7-dan Phantasmal space realm, but those books were not something which Zhang Xuan would even call cultivation technique manuals. If he really had to give a name to it, they were more like 'assignment booklets'.

Written on those books were what that appeared similar to assignment questions which teachers would pass down to their students in his previous life. All in all, there was only a single book that could be said to be useful.

"This..." Zhang Xuan shot a deep look at Zhang Wuchen.

"It's against the rules to impart the Zhang Clan's cultivation techniques to outsiders, so I can only show you these. Nevertheless, it's still quite a formidable cultivation technique, suited for cultivators of any attribute to practice..." Noting Zhang Xuan's gaze on him, Zhang Wuchen explained with an awkward chuckle.

"..." Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

Unlike in academies, the cultivation techniques that were passed down in clans were limited in variety. As all members of the Zhang Clan shared the same bloodline, they were likely to be similar in terms of attribute and could cultivate the same cultivation technique.

At the same time, honorary elders who chose to ally with the Zhang Clan were likely to already have their own cultivation techniques and lineage as well. As such, despite the Zhang Clan's influence and standing in the Master Teacher Continent, its collection of cultivation technique manuals was actually not too big.

"If that's the case, do you have any physical body cultivation technique or soul cultivation technique?" Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before asking.

The massive lightning tribulation was like a big feast to him; he might just regret it for life if he couldn't make good use of this opportunity to push for a breakthrough or two.

"I do have quite a few physical body cultivation techniques here!" Elder Wuzhen flicked his wrist, and a pile of books numbering over a thousand appeared right before him.

"I also have a few soul cultivation technique manuals with me." Zhang Wuchen said as he took out a pile of books too.

As they weren't confidential secrets arts of the Zhang Clan, there was no problem with him showing these books to Zhang Xuan.

Seeing that these two fellows were finally reliable for once, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He swiftly shot a glance at those books and collected them into the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Alright, I'll go and fend off the lightning tribulation!" Saying those words, Zhang Xuan leaped up and soared right into the midst of the storm clouds.

"W-what? He's going to fend off the lightning tribulation? This..." Zhang Wuchen and Elder Wuzhen were visibly shocked by Zhang Xuan's abrupt actions.

Even Zhang Ziqing's face had turned pale in horror.

They thought that the young man would have a good solution to deal with the lightning tribulation, but he ended up dashing over blindly instead. Wasn't that as good as courting death?

...

Huala!

Zhang Xuan dashed right into the dark clouds.

At the same time, he swiftly compiled the physical body cultivation technique manuals and soul cultivation technique manuals he had gathered into a higher tier Heaven's Path Golden Body and the Grand Dominion realm Heaven's Path Soul Art.

"I probably won't be able to finish absorbing a lightning tribulation of this size, and if it were to really fall, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast would lose its life... Alright, you lot, come out as well!"

Looking at the storm clouds which extended past the horizon, Zhang Xuan knew that no matter how huge an appetite he had, it would be impossible for him to devour it clean within a short period of time. Thus, he chose to bring out his clone, the Dongxu Gourd, and the vine out too.

"What a splendid lightning tribulation this is!"

Looking at the sheer scale of the storm clouds that had congregated in the area and feeling the immense lightning energy harnessed amidst it, his clone, the Dongxu Gourd, and the vine couldn't help but release an excited shriek as they dashed right in.

Zhang Xuan didn't slack around either. He drew out of his Primordial Spirit and began furiously devouring in the lightning energy around him. At the same time, under the effects of the Mind of Void, his body also began drawing in the lightning energy and cultivating the Heaven's Path Golden Body instinctively too.

Some time later, as per the norm with previous lightning tribulations, it fled in fear after realizing that there were several mysterious powers robbing its energy. Zhang Xuan swiftly kept his clone, the Dongxu Gourd, and the vine back into his storage ring before heaving a sigh of relief.

He assessed his gains during this period of time, and he couldn't help but nod in contentment.

His soul cultivation had successfully reached Grand Dominion realm pinnacle. At the same time, his physical body had also surpassed its previous bottleneck, reaching a level comparable to half-Saint pinnacle artifacts.

With the current resilience of his physical body, even if he were to stand completely unguarded before a Saint 7-dan cultivator, the latter would still be unable to harm him in the slightest.

In the truest sense, he could be said to be a human-shaped weapon.

And that wasn't the happiest news yet.

It seems like the Innate Fetal Poison has been further suppressed as a result of my breakthrough!

He realized that the more lightning energy he absorbed, the more he was able to suppress the Innate Fetal Poison. After digging into the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal, it had been forced to cower quietly by a corner, not daring to move in the slightest.

It seems like the lightning energy harnessed within cultivation ordeals is indeed highly beneficial to me. I must make sure to look for more in the future... Zhang Xuan thought as he casually shot his glance downward to take a look.

And what that came into his sight left his eyelids twitching in horror.

The resplendent guest accommodations of the Zhang Clan had been replaced by rubble.

Even though Zhang Xuan had charged up to absorb the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal, the lingering might that the lightning tribulation emanated was still too powerful. At the same time, these buildings had quite some age to them, so they eventually succumbed to the pressure.

Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned is gaze to Zhang Wuchen and the others, and just as he had expected, he saw that they had an awful look on their faces. He couldn't help but shudder a little.

To think that he would actually reduce this place to ruins just like that! This was really... really... exhilarating!

With the mess that he had caused, even if the young prodigy were to continue holing up wherever he had been hiding for all those years, surely Xing Sword Saint should show up?

"Zhang shi, thank you for helping us resolve the lightning tribulation. Otherwise, our Zhang Clan would have been in deep trouble..." Clenching his trembling fists tightly, Zhang Wuchen suppressed his anger and clasped his fist.

No words could describe what he was feeling at this moment.

Even though the lightning tribulation was brought here by that young man, he had only done so in order to tame the Inferno Qilin. Not to mention, this incident had happened under his watch, so he also had to take responsibility for this incident too.

It would only reflect badly on him and the Zhang Clan if he were to push the blame to Zhang Xuan right now.

It was truly fortunate that the problem was resolved in the end, or else the consequences would be truly dire. Not only would the guest area be destroyed, a huge part of the Zhang Clan's establishment could have been reduced to ruins too!

At the very least, this was all he could tell himself to soothe his indignant heart right now.

Zhang Wuchen turned his gaze to Zhang Jiang and bellowed furiously, "Zhang Jiang, for acting on your own accord, you have to take responsibility for the mess that you have caused. I hereby order you to return back to your residence and await your punishment. Until any further orders are given, you are not to leave your room!"

"Yes..." Clenching his fists tightly, Zhang Jiang lowered his head despondently. Turning around, he was just about to return back to his residence when he suddenly recalled something and halted in his footsteps. He hurriedly turned back around and clasped his fist humbly toward Zhang Wuchen and said, "I have no qualms about being punished for this matter, but... my duel with Zhang shi isn't over yet! Third Elder, I beseech you to give me some time to wait for the results. Once the results are out, regardless of whether it's my loss or victory, I'll make my way over to the Hall of Punishments to take responsibility for my recklessness..."

He recalled that his duel with Zhang Xuan was still ongoing, and if he was going to be punished for this matter, the least he could do was to make things difficult for Zhang Xuan too.

"Results?" Zhang Wuchen frowned.

"That's right, Third Elder. I have made a bet with Zhang shi whether he would be able to reach a higher intimacy level with the Inferno Qilin than me within three days. However, looking at how fixated the Inferno Qilin was in dragging that fellow down to the depths of hell with it, I don't think that we would need three days to determine the victor..." Zhang Jiang hurriedly explained.

Just by how Zhang Xuan had resorted to schemes to poison it, there was no way the Inferno Qilin would feel the slightest shred of goodwill toward it. If a saint beast could submit to a man like that even after all that had happened, there would really be no need for beast tamers in the world! Everyone would have just become a poison master instead!

Just like humans, saint beasts had their own pride too. They would only submit to people whom they recognize, and naturally, for a person like Zhang Xuan who resorted to underhanded means such as poisons and schemes... Only someone with a loose screw would be willing to acknowledge such a person as their master!

This was especially so for a fiery-tempered saint beast like the Inferno Qilin. Using underhanded means against it would only intensify its hostility, making it nigh impossible to tame it.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but scratch his head in embarrassment.

He thought that he could win the Inferno Qilin's respect by having the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast achieve a breakthrough before it, thus convincing it submit to him. However, just by looking at how the Inferno Qilin didn't hesitate to provoke the lightning tribulation just to deal with him, most likely, it would be impossible for him to tame it anymore!

"Forget it, I admit..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan was just about to admit his defeat when he suddenly felt a slight warmth on his leg.

Turning his head over, he saw the Inferno Qilin lying right next to him, licking him with its tongue. With a face filled with respect and awe, it pleaded, "Master, please take me in!"

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Chapter 1448: Your Teacher Is Here!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Ah?" Zhang Jiang's body froze upon hearing those words.

Zhang Wuchen and the others also stared at one another blankly.

What was wrong with this fellow? It was just a moment ago that it declared impassionately that those of the Ancient Qilin Bloodline weren't to be sullied, and if it could, it would have probably slaughtered Zhang Xuan without any hesitation. Yet, why would it suddenly cast away its pride and end up kneeling on the floor subserviently all of a sudden?

Zhang Xuan was also clearly taken aback by the abrupt change in attitude by the Inferno Qilin too. He had to stare intently at the Inferno Qilin for a long while before he was able to convince himself that it was the same arrogant beast that he had dealt with just a moment ago. With a bizarre look on his face, he asked, "Are you certain that you want to acknowledge me as your master?"

"Yes! I swear on my Ancient Qilin Bloodline that I'll heed any commands that master instructs me without any complaints!" the Inferno Qilin anxiously nodded its head, as if fearing that the young man before it would change his mind.

"Alright then." Zhang Xuan nodded.

A mere instant after giving his two words of approval, he immediately saw a droplet of blood harnessing the Inferno Qilin's soul diving gently into his glabella.

And with their master-servant relationship being sealed by a soul contract, he swiftly became cognizant of the massive fellow's thought process.

Under normal circumstances, the Inferno Qilin would have never submitted to anyone. However, when it saw him diving into a lightning tribulation so powerful that even it would have fled in fear, it changed its mind.

While saint beasts were born physical constitutions that were far stronger than humans, their Primordial Spirits were much weaker in contrast. As such, they possessed natural deference toward lightning, and those who were able to conquer lightning were not too much different from deities in their eyes. As such, just on the basis that the young man was able to chase it away the lightning tribulation so easily, it didn't seem too bad of an idea to become his tamed beast...

Furthermore, since the other party was able to help the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast achieve a breakthrough, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to do the same for it too!

The thought process of beasts was sometimes just much simpler than humans. It was not to say that they were less intelligent, but the way that they perceive friends and foes was much more straightforward as compared to humans.

"I don't believe it... How can this be?!" Seeing that the Inferno Qilin had actually acknowledged Zhang Xuan as its master, Zhang Jiang's face turned as white as a sheet of paper.

That was a saint beast which even their clan head was unable to tame! Yet, to be able to win its loyalty within just a short twenty minutes...

Not to mention, it was just a moment ago that the Inferno Qilin was baring its fangs at Zhang Xuan, dying to rip the young man into shreds... Why would it suddenly change its attitude all of a sudden?

Do you know that your abrupt change in attitude has put me in a spot? Not only have I lost the duel, the clan head would also punish me severely for this once he returned!

He had to pay a heavy price in order to capture that huge fellow! If he were to learn that it had fallen into the hands of an outsider...

Pu!

Zhang Jiang's face reddened from all of the frustration bottled up within in, and a spurt of blood escaped from his lips.

"You are an Inferno Qilin, a beast who possesses the noble Ancient Qilin Bloodline!" Zhang Jiang couldn't help but exclaim in agitation.

"So what if the noble Ancient Qilin Bloodline flows through my veins? Zhang shi is an outstanding young talent who's both righteous and humble. Such a person is worthy of me devoting my entire life into pursuing!" The Inferno Qilin shot a haughty look toward Zhang Jiang, fully expressing its delight in becoming Zhang Xuan's tamed beast.

"You..." Zhang Jiang nearly collapsed to the ground.

What happened to your pride? What happened to your dignity?

It wasn't too long ago that you were screeching impassionately about how you would rather die than to submit yourself up to another and be sullied, and all of a sudden, you are acting in such a manner... It can't be that your soul has been swapped with another person's, can it?

"Since you have acknowledged me as your master, then I guess it would be inappropriate for me not to bestow you with a greeting gift, right?" Completely ignoring the blood-spurting Zhang Jiang, Zhang Xuan snapped his finger with a slight smile.

With an expectant look, the Inferno Qilin waited excitedly for its master present when all of a sudden, it felt a surge of energy gushing out from the depths of its dantian. Under the surge of energy, it found its meridians, which were previously riddled with blockages here and there, were being swiftly knocked open

"This is... the lethal poison from before?" The Inferno Qilin widened its eyes in disbelief.

The sensation of the energy coursing through its body was very familiar—it was the exact same feeling it felt when the poison in the pills diffused throughout its entire body. Just that, instead of wreaking havoc this time around, this surge of energy was clearing away all of the bottlenecks limiting its cultivation, thus pushing it toward a higher realm!

To turn a lethal poison into a tonic with just a mere thought, this was a feat which even 9-star master teachers were incapable of!

The Inferno Qilin found itself trembling uncontrollably in agitation.

It was at this very moment that it truly realized how wise of a decision that it had just made.

It was an instinctive action that it chose to acknowledge the young man as its master, but who could have thought that the capabilities the young man wielded would be far beyond its imagination.

Possessing the Ancient Qilin Bloodline, it was blessed with superior prowess at birth, putting it at a much higher starting point at the others. But at the same time, this overwhelming strength had become its limitation too.

Without a doubt, the Qilin Flames was the strongest weapon that it wielded, but it was also precisely how powerful it was that it was hard to bring it under control, thus making it nigh impossible for Inferno Qilin to cultivate the smaller and thinner meridians in its body. As a result, its rate of cultivation had been very slow.

However, in this very moment, that surge of energy was helping it to pave open all of these smaller and thinner meridians, thus clearing all of the bottlenecks in its way!

In an instant, the Inferno Qilin felt that the invisible ceiling capping its cultivation was starting to loosen up, and it would be able to push for a breakthrough at any moment.

"Master..."

"Hurry up and make a breakthrough. Don't waste this precious opportunity," Zhang Xuan interjected nonchalantly.

"Yes!" Knowing that this wasn't the time for soppy words, the Inferno Qilin closed its eyes and drove the energy in its body.

Boom!

A powerful pressure swept across surroundings, and in this instant, the Inferno Qilin appeared to be an indomitable conqueror.

"The Inferno Qilin... is going to make a breakthrough too?"

Zhang Wuchen's face immediately warped in absolute shock. With a tearful look, he exclaimed, "Zhang shi, please take the Inferno Qilin away from here. The Zhang Clan can't take another lightning tribulation! On behalf of Zhang Jiang, I'll formally concede defeat to you, alright?"

Just the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's breakthrough was sufficient to turn the entire guest area into ruins. If the more powerful Inferno Qilin were to make a breakthrough too... the entire Dracotiger City could very well be turned into ruins!

"Ah... There's no need to worry. It's currently at Saint 9-dan advanced stage, so it won't draw in any lightning tribulation!" Zhang Xuan explained awkwardly.

Through the soul contract, he was able to accurately perceive the Inferno Qilin's currently cultivation realm and strength—Saint 9-dan Macrocosm Ascendancy realm advanced stage!

Even when utilizing the momentum granted by his zhenqi, it would only be able to push for a breakthrough to Saint 9-dan pinnacle at most... And based on what he knew, just like with Saint 8-dan, there was no lightning tribulation between each cultivation stage within Saint 9-dan.

"That would be for the best..." Zhang Wuchen suddenly recalled that the Inferno Qilin's current cultivation realm and heaved a sigh of relief.

Once bitten, twice shy. Perhaps it was due to the fright from seeing what happened with the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast that he became particularly sensitive to this issue.

Indeed, a breakthrough of a cultivation stage within Saint 9-dan wouldn't draw in any lightning tribulation.

As Zhang Wuchen finally calmed down, many questions began floating in his mind. So, with a slightly intrigued voice, he asked, "Even a breakthrough of a cultivation stage within Saint 9-dan is as difficult as attempting to scale the heavens... If I may just ask, how did Zhang shi manage to induce a breakthrough in it?"

The Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's breakthrough could still be attributed to the strong foundations it had built up prior to its breakthrough and Zhang Xuan's deep understanding of it... But considering that he had just tamed the Inferno Qilin and hadn't had a chance to understand its constitution on a deeper level yet, how in the world did he manage to induce a breakthrough within it too then?

If that young man really wielded the ability to induce breakthroughs in saint beast as and when he liked, he could pretty much tame any saint beast that he wanted!

"This... I guess it can all be attributed to luck. The Inferno Qilin happens to have made sufficient accumulation over the years, so by using some special means, I was able to tap into its potential and help it push for a breakthrough. Things wouldn't have proceeded as smoothly as this if I had been dealing with another saint beast instead." Zhang Xuan explained.

There was no way he could reveal the existence of the Heaven's Path zhenqi, or else it could bring him great trouble in the future. Ultimately, everything still boiled down to low profile and humility! Those were the two greatest virtues in the world, after all!

"Pardon me, it seems like I have lacked consideration in my words." Seeing how the young man was beating around the bush, Zhang Wuchen realized that his actions may appear as if he was probing into the other party's secrets, so he hurriedly apologized.

Following which, he clasped his fist and smiled, "I have heard news from our younglings in the Sanctum of Sages that your teacher is Yang shi, Yang Xuan. Is that true?"

"My teacher is indeed Yang Xuan," Zhang Xuan replied.

At this moment, he wasn't ready to throw out his identity as Yang Xuan's student yet. Considering the abilities that he wielded despite his low cultivation realm, there was no telling that greedy individuals would attempt to do him harm so as to uncover his secrets.

Hu Yiwei wasn't around anyway, and they weren't at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters either. Even the Sanctum of Sages was unable to uncover the authenticity of his identity, so surely it wouldn't be too difficult to fool the Zhang Clan too?

"No wonder..." Zhang Wuchen nodded in realization. "May I know if Zhang shi knows where Yang shi is currently at?"

"My teacher has always been a free man, wandering the lands without allowing himself to be restrained by anything. As such, I'm afraid that I am unaware of his whereabouts either." Zhang Xuan replied.

Zhang Wuchen was slightly taken aback for a moment before finally understanding why Zhang Xuan had come to the Zhang Clan and yet, instead of paying a visit to his teacher, chose to wreak havoc here. It turned out that he was unaware that his teacher was right in the Zhang Clan!

"It's truly a work of coincidence that you came at this timing. Yang shi is currently in seclusion in the Zhang Clan, and I believe that he could be coming out very soon. The two of you will soon be able to reunite with one another!" Zhang Wuchen said with a smile.

"Yang shi is here too?" Zhang Xuan asked with a surprised smile on his face, but on the inside, his blood had already run cold.

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Chapter 1449: Blood Reservoir

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

All along, he had been openly using Yang shi's name in order to conceal the existence of his Library of Heaven's Path. Yet, who could have thought that by some mysterious workings of the world, a character whom he had created at a whim turned out to be truly existent... and not only so, he was even a grand elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, one of the strongest experts in the world!

It was already extremely awkward for him to be faking as the other party's student, but who could have thought that the other party would even be in the Zhang Clan?

If the both of them were to meet, wouldn't his fake identity be exposed on the spot?

Before Zhang Xuan could say a word, Zhang Wuchen had already asked with a frown, "Yang shi?"

"Ah, look at what I'm saying. It's been too long that I have last met teacher that I accidentally addressed him wrongly by mistake!" Zhang Xuan hurriedly glossed over his mistake.

He had been too overwhelmed with shock that he unintentionally addressed Yang Xuan as 'Yang shi' instead of 'teacher'.

"Un, Yang shi has been in seclusion at our Zhang Clan for more than a half a year now, so it's indeed been quite some time since the two of you met," Zhang Wuchen nodded in agreement, seemingly accepting Zhang Xuan's excuse.

"Would it be inconveniencing my teacher if I were to visit him while he's in the midst of his seclusion?" Zhang Xuan looked at Zhang Wuchen and asked.

Considering how Zhang Wuchen knew that he was 'Yang shi's student', and that given the fact that Yang shi was currently in the Zhang Clan, it was weird that no one had called Yang shi over yet. There could only be two possibilities for this. Firstly, Zhang Wuchen was trying to sound him out. Secondly, Yang shi was in the midst of a crucial point of his cultivation and was unable to leave his seclusion just yet.

Regardless of which of the two it was, they worked out to Zhang Xuan's advantage.

"Yang shi did instruct us not to allow anyone to interrupt him while he's in his cultivation. However, he should be coming out in a few days' time. If Zhang shi is in no rush to move, you should be able to reunite with Yang shi." Zhang Wuchen said.

"Ah, that's a relief. I'm in no hurry to leave, so I guess I'll impose on the Zhang Clan while waiting for my teacher to come out of his seclusion then." Zhang Xuan nodded as he secretly heaved a sigh of relief on the inside.

It seemed like he still had a few more days to spare. However, to be safe, he should still hasten his plan. As soon as he lured the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan out and pummeled him, he should leave straight away. Otherwise, it could pose to be a huge trouble if he were to bump heads with Yang shi!

"May I know where my teacher is in seclusion at the moment? I'll just head over to pay my respects first without interrupting him," Zhang Xuan asked.

The least he could do was to first confirm the enemy's location. This way, he would know where he should flee to if he were to hear that the other party had come out of seclusion.

"I'm afraid that I don't really know. Only the First Elder is aware of where Yang shi had gone into seclusion at." Zhang Wuchen shook his head and replied.

"You don't know?" Zhang Xuan shook his head in feigned disappointment.

While the two of them were still speaking, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast and the Inferno Qilin were finally done with their breakthroughs. Incredible energy pulsated from their bodies, and it felt as if it would burst out of their bodies at any moment.

The surrounding crowd couldn't help but eye the two Saint 9-dan beasts gathered around Zhang Xuan warily, apprehensive of the strength they wielded. Even Jian Qinsheng was a little agitated too.

One must know that even the deputy sanctum head of the Sanctum of Sages was only at Saint 9-dan primary stage, but Zhang Xuan, despite being a student, had already tamed a Saint 9-dan primary stage and a Saint 9-dan pinnacle beast... What this meant was that there was effectively no one else who could stand against him in the Sanctum of Sages anymore!

With such strength at his disposal, he was more than qualified to become an elder of the Sanctum of Sages!

At the same time, conflicted looks appeared on the faces of the Zhang Clan's offspring. They had come here to teach Zhang Xuan a lesson, but after witnessing the formidable capabilities he wielded in painting and beast taming, they found their resolve wavering.

Zhang Ziqing and Zhang Jiang could already be considered as the two most talented individuals amongst them, but nevertheless, they didn't even come close to being a match to Zhang Xuan. If they were to challenge the young man at this point, they would only be embarrassing themselves and sullying the reputation of the Zhang Clan further.

As a result, this led to an awkward standstill... Well, awkward for everyone except for Zhang Xuan.

He was simply happy to have his moment of peace. After all, fending off all those pesky challengers was exhausting on his part too!

There was only one opponent he was interested in here, and that was the little prodigy. The rest were simply too weak to even catch his interest.

"Zhang shi, the guest area is already not suited for your accommodation anymore. I happen to have another residence prepared. Allow me to bring you over." Seeing that the geniuses of the Zhang Clan had thoroughly lost their fighting will, Zhang Wuchen couldn't help but sigh deeply on the inside.

"Another residence?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a brief moment before nodding, "I'll be troubling Third Elder then."

Indeed. With the current state of the guest accommodations, there was no way he could stay here anymore.

"It's no trouble at all. Follow me." The Third Elder nodded.

After instructing Elder Wuzhen to fix up the guest accommodations as soon as possible, he swiftly headed into the distance.

Before leaving, Zhang Xuan didn't forget to impart the method to stopping the sculptures to the two 9-star spirit awakeners, and before their shocked gazes, he departed into the distance.

Not too long later, he arrived at the residential area of the Zhang Clan members.

"Sword Saint Jian Qinsheng, you can use this room for the moment. After I settle in the other guests, we'll be holding the tournament for the younger generation. Following that, we'll be hosting a socializing session so that everyone can exchange cultivation insights and catch up with one another!" After landing in a residence, the Third Elder explained the upcoming events for the day with a smile.

"Alright, thank you." Jian Qinsheng nodded.

He had been to the Zhang Clan for three times now, but this was the first time he had entered the residential area of the Zhang Clan's core members.

In a sense, he was benefitting from Zhang Xuan's halo.

The spiritual energy here wasn't as rich as that in the guest area, but there was a unique aura in the air which seemed to energize one's body and mind, enhancing one's rate of cultivation.

"Zhang shi, will you accompany me to take a walk around?" After settling Jian Qinsheng down, Zhang Wuchen turned to Zhang Xuan and asked.

"I'll be pleased to," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.

It just happened that he wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the Zhang Clan in the off case that he ever needed to snatch his bride away from them. Since Zhang Wuchen was inviting him for a walk, there was no reason for him to turn him down.

Even if there was danger, he had the Inferno Qilin and the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast to guard him. Besides, he was a guest, and the Zhang Clan seemed to value their reputation too much to make a move on their guests.

"This way, please." Zhang Wuchen gestured with a smile before leading the way forward.

This time, they didn't fly in the air but walked instead.

After everything that had happened, the sun had already set. A crescent moon was accompanied by a sky of twinkling stars in the night sky, showering the world with a dim, cold light. Somehow, everything appeared particularly cold and forlorn on this very night.

The two men walked along the pavement, one at the front and one at the back.

Silence drifted between the two men before Zhang Wuchen suddenly asked with a casual tone, "Zhang shi, where did you come from? Do you have any siblings?"

"I am an orphan. I don't even know who my parents are, let alone my siblings." Zhang Xuan replied calmly.

Even the previous him had no idea whom his parents are, so of course, he would have even less of an idea over here.

"An orphan, huh..." Zhang Wuchen muttered beneath his breath before realizing that he had allowed his thoughts to wander. So, he quickly pulled his attention back and carried on asking, "Since you are an orphan, why is your surname Zhang? Who gave you your name?"

"Hmmm..." Zhang Xuan pondered contemplatively before shaking his head. "It has been too long. I don't remember anymore."

In the first place, the memory he had inherited from the previous him wasn't complete, so how could he be aware of such complications?

Based on the memories of the previous him, it seemed like he had been hung on a noose looped over a tree when he was very young and nearly lost his life, and the man who had saved him bestowed him with the character, ' Xuan 1 '. As for why his surname was Zhang... well, beats him too.

What was important to him was that his Zhang was not the same Zhang as the Zhang of the Zhang Clan.

"You can't remember anymore? Your parents must have departed while you were very young..." Zhang Wuchen remarked. Then, he abruptly chuckled softly before asking, "Then Zhang shi, what do you think of our Zhang Clan? Do you have any interest in joining our ranks?"

"Thank you for your goodwill, but I'll have to turn down that offer." Zhang Xuan replied firmly.

After forcing Luo Ruoxin to marry a man who had never taken responsibility for her and despicably scheming to kill him, they still had the cheek to ask him to join them? Dream on!

"I see..." Not expecting the young man to reject his offer so affirmatively, Zhang Wuchen was left in a slightly awkward position.

Silence drifted between the both of them for quite some time before Zhang Wuchen caught something ahead of him, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "We're here!"

"Here? Where?" Taken aback, Zhang Xuan raised his head and saw two massive characters appearing before his eyes.

"Blood Reservoir!"

Chapter 1450: He Isn't! (1)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Those two characters were written using a rather ancient script. That being so, there didn't seem to be any particular might or power to them. In fact, looking at them from afar, they would have looked like the scrawlings of a child who had just learned calligraphy.

But taking a closer look, one would notice that there was a unique aura imbued in those words. This was an aura that carried the scent of history, signifying the existence of an artifact that transcended through time. It had existed since ancient times, and it felt like it would continue on for many years to come. Just by looking at it, one's will seemed to drift through history, seemingly undergoing a baptism of time.

"Where is this place?" Zhang Xuan asked in astonishment.

"This is the place where the offspring of the Zhang Clan awaken their bloodlines. As long as one is of the Zhang Clan, their bloodline would be awakened by entering the Blood Reservoir, and be it their comprehension of cultivation or their understanding their occupations, they would soar by leaps and bounds!" Zhang Wuchen said.

"Awaken their bloodlines?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.

It was no wonder why those two words would leave him feeling so temporally disorientated. In the first place, the Zhang Clan's bloodline was relating to the control of time, so naturally, a place where their bloodlines were activated would surely have intricate ties to the Time Quintessence.

"Zhang shi, are you interested in heading in to take a look?" Zhang Wuchen asked with a smile.

"Head in? Am I allowed to go in?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

It was obvious how important the Blood Reservoir would be to the Zhang Clan, and yet, to invite an outsider like him in...?

"Our Blood Reservoir is only effective on offspring of the Zhang Clan. Outsiders won't be affected by it, and similarly, they wouldn't affect it either. Don't worry, it's not a big deal to go n to take a look. It's not uncommon for some guests of the Zhang Clan to request to take a look at our renowned Blood Reservoir, and from time to time, we would bring them over for a tour too." Zhang Wuchen nodded.

Of course, those were all lies. The Blood Reservoir was a forbidden land for the Zhang Clan, such that even offspring of the Zhang Clan would have to receive permission from the elders first before they could be granted access. The reason why he created that load of nonsense was to dispel the other party's suspicions.

"I see." On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was completely oblivious to the Third Elder's intention.

All that was on his mind at the moment was curiosity as to what would be inside the Blood Reservoir.

Considering that it was a place where unique bloodlines could be awakened, perhaps entering the grounds would grant him a deeper understanding as to the abilities of the Zhang Clan. This might put him in a better position to deal against the young prodigy in the future.

"Let's go!" Seeing the complete lack of suspicion on Zhang Xuan's face, Zhang Wuchen heaved a sigh of relief. He walked up to the seal in front of the gates, took out his token, and pressed it against the seal lightly.

Weng!

The massive gates to the Blood Reservoir slowly creaked open.

After Zhang Wuchen walked into the room, Zhang Xuan warily followed suit too. As soon as he stepped across a formation barrier erected all around the Blood Reservoir, his body immediately jolted.

It was a rather perplexing sensation that was extremely difficult to describe, but if he really had to put it in words, it would be that there was a difference in the flow of time. He could feel an incongruity in the flow of time around him

Perhaps it was because he was too accustomed to the natural flow of time that he had never really perceived it before, but as soon as he stepped into the Blood Reservoir, the difference became very apparent to him.

"This is..." Zhang Xuan asked questioningly.

"This is a folded space which our predecessors left a long time ago. It harnesses the quintessence of time. The flow of time within this space is random; it would be fast at one moment and slow at the other, so it's common for those who have entered this area for the first time to feel a little uncomfortable. However, once the bloodline of a Zhang Clan offspring fuses together with this space, he would immediately find himself descending into the river of time. In that state, the offspring's perceived time would slow down, granting him the span of a year within a single month outside. This would mean that the offspring has more time to comprehend his supporting occupations and cultivation. But of course, as the difference in the flow of time only applies to the soul, so there would be no difference in his real cultivation and mastery during this period of time." Zhang Wuchen explained.

"So, they would be able to study for a year when only a month has passed outside?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

Even if they couldn't achieve any concrete growth in their cultivation during this period of time, it was still an extremely formidable ability.

A year in a month, that would mean a temporal slowdown of twelvefold. In other words, the offspring of the Zhang Clan who had awakened their bloodline would be able to study at a rate twelve times faster than others as long as they were in the Blood Reservoir...

It was no wonder why the Zhang Clan had far more geniuses than the Luo Clan! Just this Blood Reservoir was enough to cement their position as the number one Sage Clan of the Master Teacher Continent!

Eye of Insight! After recovering from his shock, Zhang Xuan discreetly activated his Eye of Insight and began scanning the Blood Reservoir in detail.

The folded space that formed the Blood Reservoir was indeed significantly different from those he had seen in the past. Under the Eye of Insight, he saw many layers of light overlapping on one another, reminiscent of a rainbow. They were all flowing in a single direction, albeit there being some differences in their speed. If one were to move along with the flow of light, one could clearly sense a change in the flow of time around them.

However, these flowing currents of light were intangible existences. They could neither be touched nor even affected. In fact, without staring intently at them, it would be hard for even Zhang Xuan to perceive their existence, let alone fuse into them and alter their speed.

While Zhang Xuan was proceeding ahead, Zhang Wuchen was observing him discreetly by the side, and the knit on his eyebrows was slowly growing deeper and deeper.

There isn't the slightest bit of anomaly on him... Could he not be it?

Previously, both he and the First Elder had suspected Zhang Xuan of being the person who had gone missing, and that was the reason why they intentionally brought him to the Blood Reservoir to verify their doubts.

Upon entering this room, ordinary Zhang Clan members, even if those who had never been to the Blood Reservoir before, would find their bloodlines being activated and fall into an unconscious state. Their Primordial Spirit would be brought into the unique flow of time, granting them more time to learn and cultivate.

But it was clear that the Blood Reservoir wasn't reacting to the young man at all. It seemed like not only did the young man not possess the Zhang Clan's bloodline, he didn't have anything much to do with the Zhang Clan at all.

Right, his Primordial Spirit... A thought came into Zhang Wuchen's mind.

Even if something were to happen to the bloodline of a Zhang Clan offspring, he would still be able to achieve resonance with the Blood Reservoir through his Primordial Spirit or soul. After all, even if a person were to change everything of his, he still couldn't change his soul.

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Wuchen stepped forward and suggested with a smile, "Zhang shi, the Blood Reservoir harnesses the Time Quintessence. You'll need to be in your Primordial Spirit form if you wish to get a closer look at it. Why don't you try it? Perhaps, you might just be able to comprehend something from it."

"Primordial Spirit?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding. "Got it."

Possessing the means of the soul oracles, he had cultivated his soul into a gigantic form, but after learning the Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, he had gained the ability to morph its size freely. Given so, it would be nigh impossible for even a cultivator of Zhang Wuchen's caliber to see anything wrong with his Primordial Spirit, so there was nothing for him to conceal either.

And it just happened that he wanted to explore the secrets of the Time Quintessence harnessed within the Blood Reservoir too.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Zhang Xuan drew his Primordial Spirit out from his glabella.

And indeed, the sight that he saw as a Primordial Spirit was vastly different from that he saw with his physical eye. In an instant, it felt as if he had been plunged into the midst of a frosty winter, and what that somewhat resembled snowflakes could be seen drifting all around him.

Zhang Xuan instinctively understood that these snowflakes were a physical manifestation of time created by the Blood Reservoir, so he reached his hand out and attempted to grasp them.

Hula!

His hands simply passed through the snowflakes,

...

The Blood Reservoir isn't reacting to his Primordial Spirit either. Is there really no hint of the Zhang Clan bloodline in him at all?

Meanwhile, Zhang Wuchen was assessing the reaction of the Blood Reservoir intently, and a hint of disappointment surfaced in his eyes.

If the young man was really a member of the Zhang Clan, he would surely be able to affect the surrounding physical manifestation of the Time Quintessence and even absorb it into his soul. Yet, for his hands to simply pass right through them, there could only be one possibility...

He was completely unrelated to the Zhang Clan!

It seemed like all of their deductions had been off.

Sighing deeply, Zhang Wuchen shook his head before calling out to Zhang Xuan, "Zhang shi, it's time for us to leave."

"Leave?" Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan swiftly returned his Primordial Spirit to his body and stood up.

"Un. Even though the Blood Reservoir is open to outsiders, it's still a forbidden ground of the Zhang Clan, so there's a limit on how long you can stay in here," Zhang Wuchen said with a wave of his hand.

"This..." Seeing the stern look on Zhang Wuchen's face, Zhang Xuan found himself being rendered speechless.

It was not as if I was the one who had requested to enter the Blood Reservoir! You pulled me in here, and barely after staying here for five minutes, you suddenly urged me to head out with such an austere look on your face, as if I'm causing trouble for you...

Really, every single person of the Zhang Clan should really bring a screwdriver wherever they go so that they could tighten up the screw that keeps getting loose in their head!

"Farewell!" Seeing that the smile had completely vanished from Zhang Wuchen's face, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to stay on any longer either. So, he turned around and left.

If you don't want me to see, so be it. It's not as if I really wanted to see it anyway! Hmph!

"I'll have to report this matter to the First Elder..."

Shortly after Zhang Xuan left, Zhang Wuchen quickly left the Blood Reservoir as well. He shut the massive gates well before flying swiftly in the direction of the First Elder's residence.

He had left too quickly that he didn't realize that the Time Quintessence in the Blood Reservoir was shuddering non-stop. As if having witnessed something terrifying, it dared not move in the least

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Chapter 1451: He Isn't (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Flitting forward, he soon found himself where the First Elder was.

"How is it?" the First Elder asked.

"He isn't!" Zhang Wuchen shook his head.

"He isn't?"

"I took him to the Blood Reservoir, but there was no reaction at all. I tried testing his Primordial Spirit too, but he was unable to retain the physical manifestation of the Time Quintessence. That should be more than enough to verify that he isn't a member of the Zhang Clan!" Zhang Wuchen swiftly filled the First Elder in on what he had seen in the Blood Reservoir.

"It seems like I have been thinking too much into it." The First Elder shook his head as his eyes turned cold. "Since he's completely unrelated to our Zhang Clan, dispatch someone to challenge him in swordsmanship so as to teach him that there are powers whom he can't afford to offend. Also, with all the mess that he has made in our Zhang Clan, you must make sure to resolve the issue well. He mustn't be allowed to leave easily, otherwise what will become of the dignity of our Zhang Clan?"

That young man had destroyed their entrance formation, made the sculptures of their predecessors run amok, and caused the collapse of their guest area. If not for the hint of doubt at the back of their minds, there was no way that they would have allowed the young man to do as he pleased!

The Zhang Clan could not appear weak before others, or else the powers that had chosen to ally with them would lose confidence in their leadership!

"That fellow has tamed the Inferno Qilin. I fear that if we push him too far... he might just cause some mishap," Zhang Wuchen replied hesitantly.

While that fellow appeared to be a mere Grand Dominion realm cultivator, he had tamed the Inferno Qilin, whose cultivation had reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle. If he really caused an uproar, while the Zhang Clan would be able to suppress it eventually, it would have to pay quite a heavy price to do so!

"Simple." The First Elder placed his hands behind his back and harrumphed coldly. "Have the inner clan members suppress their cultivation and challenge him with a bet. Force him to remain in the Zhang Clan and devote his entire life to serving it. Since he has taken away our clan head's saint beast, how can we allow him to walk away just like that? And if he loses the bet fair and square, we will also be able to explain the matter to Yang shi."

It was true that master teacher clans were bound by principles and rules, but that did not mean that they were foolishly honest people.

Putting aside those destroyed buildings, just talking about the Inferno Qilin itself, the Zhang Clan had devoted unimaginable resources over the prior three years in order to tame it—just the fact that they had brought in 9-star beast tamers one after another should make that very apparent. How could they simply gift it to Zhang Xuan just like that?

Not to mention, it was obvious that the young man had come with the intention of challenging the Zhang Clan!

Honestly speaking, if not out of deference for his identity as Yang shi's direct disciple, they would have had him captured and forcefully retained!

"You're right." Zhang Wuchen looked at the First Elder and asked, "Who will be a suitable candidate for dealing with him then?"

For a clan to continue growing stronger and stronger and eventually reach the top, they had to resort to underhanded means from time to time. There were simply some problems that could not be resolved otherwise, so this was something that could not be helped.

The First Elder pondered for a moment before nodding. "Zhang Xu, Zhang Heng, and Zhang Qin should be fine. Their understanding of swordsmanship has reached a decent level, and their strength is formidable for their level. It shouldn't be too difficult for them to deal with a Grand Dominion realm lad."

"Very well. I'll instruct them to challenge Zhang Xuan later on," Zhang Wuchen replied. "How is the preparation for the Clan Assembly coming along? When will it be held?"

The reason they had gathered all of their outstanding clan members and the experts of every occupation was to conduct their Clan Assembly. Since most people had arrived, it was about time to hold the Clan Assembly.

"We'll be conducting it once day breaks. As you know, this involves the marriage with the Luo Clan, so we can't afford to have any hiccups!" the First Elder said as a glint flashed across his eyes.

"I understand. Just that, the young prodigy is still missing to date, so..." Zhang Wuchen said hesitantly.

"Like I have said, we'll be using this Clan Assembly as a platform to conduct a tournament, and the person who finishes in first place will marry the little princess of the Luo Clan in place of our young prodigy. There's no time to be wasted, or else things might just spiral beyond our control!" the First Elder said grimly.

"I guess that's the only way around it." Zhang Wuchen nodded. Clasping his fist, he bowed deeply and said, "I'll make arrangements right now. However, I think challenging Zhang Xuan should still come after the Clan Assembly. Otherwise, Zhang Xu and the others could be disadvantaged during the tournament."

"Alright, I'll leave it up to you to determine the specifics." The First Elder nodded before falling silent.

...

While they were discussing Zhang Xuan, the man himself had already returned back to his residence. While he was making his way in, he saw a human silhouette heading his way.

The human silhouette clasped his fist and greeted, "Teacher!"

It was Zhang Jiuxiao.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard of the commotion that you've caused," Zhang Jiuxiao replied with a bitter smile.

This teacher that he had just acknowledged caused turmoil like there was no tomorrow. He had been causing a ruckus ever since he arrived at the Zhang Clan, and if not for the First Elder holding everyone back, someone might have just assassinated him by now.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan waved his hand to signify that it was nothing before asking hurriedly, "Why is your clan in such a hurry to conduct the Clan Assembly?"

Without a doubt, the reason the Clan Assembly had been brought forward was because of Luo Ruoxin. However, that was all he knew at the moment.

Even now, he still was not too sure just what kind of despicable plan the Zhang Clan was hatching this time around!

"I just finished looking into the matter. It seems like there's only one reason the Clan Assembly has been brought forward—it seems like the clan is intending to hold a selection to select another person from the younger generation to marry the little princess from the Luo Clan," Zhang Jiuxiao replied.

"Select another person to marry the little princess?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows leaped up in astonishment. With his fists tightly clenched, he asked, "What about your young prodigy? Isn't he supposed to be the little princess' fiancé?"

"Based on rumors that have been going around, the young prodigy has gone missing. No one knows where he is. However, with the marriage with the little princess of the Luo Clan coming right up, there's no time to be lost. Thus, the elders decided to find the most outstanding talent of the younger generation in the Zhang Clan to take his place and marry her." Zhang Jiuxiao revealed all that he knew about the matter.

"Screw this!" Zhang Xuan felt blood rushing to his head, threatening to take his sanity away.

It was already shameless for them to force a marriage on Luo Ruoxin, and now, they were even randomly finding a replacement for the young prodigy just because the latter willfully went missing.

Had they ever considered the Luo Clan's feelings before doing this? What did they take Luo Ruoxin to be?

"How can they take the marriage with the Luo Clan so lightly?" Zhang Xuan roared in fury.

This was truly the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard! How could the Zhang Clan even think of finding someone to replace the young prodigy in the marriage? Was this not a complete lack of respect for the other party?

"It seems like the Zhang Clan has no choice in this either. I'm not too sure about it, but it appears that there's something much more important tied into this. In any case, one thing is for certain. The Zhang Clan is determined to go through with this marriage, and they won't allow anyone to foil it!" Zhang Jiuxiao said.

"When will the tournament be held?" Zhang Xuan asked with a livid expression.

Zhang Jiuxiao clearly felt a cold killing intent leaking from Zhang Xuan's body, and he shuddered slightly in fear. A bad premonition suddenly surfaced in his head, and he hurriedly exclaimed in horror, "Teacher, there will be many experts at the tournament! You mustn't act recklessly! Otherwise... I fear that you might be placed in a precarious situation!"

He knew the personality of his teacher very well; obstinate and fearless, never hesitating to go through with whatever he believed in despite the risks. Back in the Qingyuan Empire, he had also stood against the emperor and a vice pavilion master without any hesitation.

However, the Zhang Clan could not be placed on the same level as the likes of the Qingyuan Empire. As the number one Sage Clan, the Zhang Clan was one of the strongest powers on the Master Teacher Continent. If his teacher interfered during the tournament, the Zhang Clan would not allow this matter to be resolved peacefully.

Not even a Saint 9-dan pinnacle expert would be able to survive the wrath of the Zhang Clan.

Knowing what Zhang Jiuxiao was thinking of, Zhang Xuan replied with a sinister smile, "Rest assured, I won't be the one causing trouble. The one who will be causing trouble is you!"

"Me?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback.

"Indeed. I want you to participate in the tournament and win the champion seat!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand grandly.

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Chapter 1452: The Eighth Direct Disciple

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Me? Champion?"

Zhang Jiuxiao was stunned. He hurriedly shook his head and said, "How can I possibly become the champion?"

He was currently only at the Grand Dominion realm. Even if he immediately made a breakthrough to the Phantasmal Space realm, he would still be far from matching up to Saint 7-dan pinnacle experts like Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng. It was doubtful whether he could clear the first match or not, let alone vie for the champion seat. This was something that he did not even dare dream of!

It was already a wonder to him how he, a member of the side family, was able to attend such an important clan event. Obtaining the champion seat on top of that was something that he did not dare dream of!

"Nothing is impossible in this world. As long as you trust me, I can grant you strength far surpassing the other members of the Zhang Clan within a short period of time," Zhang Xuan replied.

"This..." Seeing that Zhang Xuan was not joking around, Zhang Jiuxiao replied with a bitter look on his face. "Of the younger generation, the strongest individual that I know of, Zhang Chun, has already reached Half-Dimension Sundering realm. According to the rumors, there might even be others who have already reached the Dimension Sundering realm. Against them... I am simply far too lacking at the moment!"

It was not that he did not believe the young man before him, but some things were simply impossible.

He knew full well how large the gap between Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm and Saint 8-dan Dimension Sundering realm was. Against a real Dimension Sundering realm expert, even if there were a thousand of him, he would only be able to run for his life!

Besides, the core members of the Zhang Clan were top-notch geniuses, and it was questionable whether combat masters of the same level would be able to compete with them or not! Thus, the chances of him achieving victory was pretty much zero!

"There's no need to put yourself down like that. Just the fact that you have chosen to acknowledge me as your teacher means that you have far better eyes than the others," Zhang Xuan said.

"It's my honor to be able to become your student, but still..." Zhang Jiuxiao's face still as bitter as a bitter gourd.

He would have loved to be confident as well, but the tournament was the very next day, and his current strength was just too...

"I know what you're worried about." With his hands placed behind his back, Zhang Xuan turned to look at Zhang Jiuxiao. "I, Zhang Xuan, have risen through the ranks from the Tianxuan Kingdom. Within less than fourteen months, I have advanced by cultivation from Fighter 3-dan to Saint 6-dan pinnacle. All in all, I have seven direct disciples.

"My first disciple, Zhao Ya, is the young court chief of the Glacier Plain Court.

"My second disciple, Wang Ying, has entered the Spirit Awakener Guild, and she's a strong candidate to becoming their future hall master.

"You have met my third disciple, Liu Yang, before. Even though his whereabouts are unknown at the moment, he's a person with both guts and determination. I have no doubt that he will find his own way in the future.

"My fourth disciple, Zheng Yang, is currently the Progeny of Combat of the Combat Master Hall, in the line of succession to becoming its next hall master!"

Zhang Xuan slowly walked toward Zhang Jiuxiao as he spoke, and the presence he exuded seemed to grow taller and taller.

"My fifth disciple, Yuan Tao, is the young master of the Yuan Clan. Possessing the purest Emperor's Bloodline of the Yuan Clan, he's in the line of succession for the position of its clan head.

"My sixth disciple, Lu Chong, will be inheriting the heritage of soul oracles, and his comprehension of soul arts will be matched by none in the world!

"My seventh disciple, Wei Ruyan, is the newly-appointed head of the Poison Hall. Possessing the Innate Poison Body and Poison Soul Constitution, only the foolish would dare stand in her path!

"All seven of my direct disciples have achieved great accomplishments and made me proud. The reason I took you in as my student is because I bear great expectations of you too, but are you going to retreat in the face of my high expectations?"

At this point, Zhang Xuan was already standing right before Zhang Jiuxiao. Their heights did not differ too much from one another, but for some reason, it felt as if he was towering over Zhang Jiuxiao. There was a sharpness in his eyes that seemed to peer right into the depth of one's soul.

"I..." Zhang Jiuxiao's hands were trembling non-stop. At this point, he could not even tell whether it was excitement or trepidation anymore.

He had known that his teacher had quite a few direct disciples, but he had not known that they were all such formidable figures!

The young court chief of the Glacier Plain Court, the Progeny of Combat of the Combat Master Hall, the head of the Poison Hall, the young master of the Yuan Clan... All of these titles were not beneath that of the deputy clan head of the Zhang Clan, and yet, they were all his students!

If he had not heard it with his own ears, this was something that he never would have believed!

Hearing all those exploits left his blood running wildly in excitement. He desired to become as powerful as the rest of them, but at the same time, he could not help but doubt himself. Was he really able to reach such a height, too?

But even that hint of doubt was swiftly eliminated from the back of his mind. His teacher was a man of great ability, someone who had redefined what was impossible over and over again.

Since such a great figure was willing to believe in him, why should he not believe in himself?

If he truly wanted to make it big, this was the leap of faith that he would have to take!

Seeing that fighting spirit that was ignited in Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. He looked Zhang Jiuxiao straight in the eye and threw out the very last bomb. "If you can win the champion seat in the tournament, I'll take you in as my eighth direct disciple."

"Eighth direct disciple..." Zhang Jiuxiao's breathing hastened upon hearing those words, and his face reddened in agitation.

He could not believe what he was hearing.

The only other Celestial Master Teacher that the world had ever known was Kong shi, and of his seventy-two direct disciples, even the weakest of them had successfully become an Ancient Sage!

In fact, even the founder of the Sanctum of Sages, the legendary Ancient Sage Bo Shang, could not be considered one of his stronger direct disciples!

From this, it could be seen just how formidable a thing it was to become the direct disciple of a Celestial Master Teacher.

The young man standing before him was a Celestial Master Teacher, too, and while his seven direct disciples were still little known figures on the Master Teacher Continent, there was little doubt that they would rattle the continent at its core in the near future. If he could become the eighth direct disciple of the young man, his future would be boundless!

Even the founder of our Zhang Clan didn't possess extraordinary bloodline from birth. It was only after he reached the pinnacle that his abilities were passed down generation after generation through his bloodline! So what if I'm from the side family? That doesn't mean that I'm unable to surpass the others and reach the very top!

The more Zhang Jiuxiao thought about the matter, the more excited he felt.

Kings, dukes, generals, and ministers, did they only attain the influence that they possessed because power and nobility was etched into their bloodline?

Who said that one's bloodline would determine one's final destination?

If that was the case, despite so many outstanding geniuses possessing the purest of bloodlines being born in the Zhang Clan over the past several dozen millenniums, why had none of them been able to surpass the founder?

Of the seventy-two Sages of Kong shi, none of them had been born with powerful innate bloodlines!

Success did not hinge on one's bloodline but relentless hard work and perseverance! It was only with the grit to push through the tough and unyielding will to forge a way to the top that the slim chance of getting a glimpse at the peak would open up to one.

Of course, a good teacher to point out the right way was crucial, too!

Right now, those two factors were already in place. He had the best possible teacher in the world, and he also had the grit to climb to the top. Now, he just had to make the journey there! As long as he could clear this trial and become his teacher's eighth direct disciple, a whole new world would appear before him!

"Teacher, what do I have to do? Just give me your instructions, and I'll definitely achieve it!" Deciding to leap right in, Zhang Jiuxiao looked at Zhang Xuan with burning passion in his eyes.

"Good!" Seeing that the young man had made up his mind, Zhang Xuan nodded. "Alright, kneel down and pay respects to me!"

"Right now?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback. "Won't I be qualified to become your eighth direct disciple only after I emerge as the champion in the tournament?"

He dared not believe his ears. It was just a moment ago that his teacher had said that he would only take him as his direct disciple after he became the champion of the tournament. It should have been something very far away and uncertain, so why would...

In response to Zhang Jiuxiao's doubt, Zhang Xuan directed a confident smile at Zhang Jiuxiao and said, "Since I said that I'll make you the champion of the tournament, you'll definitely emerge as the champion. What harm is there in conducting the acknowledgement ceremony in advance?"

Hearing those words, Zhang Jiuxiao felt goosebumps rising on his skin, and his heart began beating faster and faster in agitation.

The unwavering confidence of his teacher had eliminated every shred of uncertainty from his mind. He felt that as long as his teacher said that he could do it, he would definitely be able to achieve it.

All of a sudden, those insurmountable mountains that had once stood in his path did not seem impossible to scale anymore.

Zhang Jiuxiao kneeled onto the floor and conducted eight resounding kowtows before solemnly rising to his feet, completing the teacher acknowledgement ceremony.

"Teacher, what should I do now?" he asked.

Since his teacher had such deep confidence in him, he clearly had a plan in mind.

"Currently, your cultivation is only at the Grand Dominion realm. If you wish to win the tournament, you will have to raise your cultivation swiftly. It would be nigh impossible to push your cultivation up to Saint 8-dan within a single night, unless..."

At that point, Zhang Xuan paused for a moment as he looked in a certain direction.

"... we make use of the Zhang Clan's Blood Reservoir!"

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Chapter 1453: Bloodline Enhancement

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Blood Reservoir?" Zhang Jiuxiao scratched his head in embarrassment upon hearing those words. "That's a place where only the core members of the Zhang Clan are allowed to enter. Someone like me isn't qualified to enter at all..."

The Zhang Clan's Blood Reservoir was a place of utmost importance. Only those whose bloodline had reached a certain level of purity would be allowed to enter the area and cultivate. People like him had no rights to enter at all.

"I'll bring you in," Zhang Xuan said.

If he wanted to raise Zhang Jiuxiao's cultivation from Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm to a level where he could subdue experts of Zhang Chun's level, normal training methods wouldn't work at all. After all, the other party didn't possess the Library of Heaven's Path and couldn't cultivate the Heaven's Path Divine Art. On the other hand, the cultivation of its simplified version took a significantly longer period of time.

Given so, there was only one last resort—using the Zhang Clan's Blood Reservoir to alter the flow of time!

With this, they would be able to increase the time on their hand by twelvefold, thus raising the possibility of success significantly.

"You'll bring me in?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback. "Aren't there seals and formations preventing unauthorized personnel from entering?"

If everyone could enter the Blood Reservoir of the Zhang Clan so easily, the Zhang Clan would probably have been destroyed a long time ago!

Considering how his teacher was an outsider who had just arrived in the Zhang Clan, how could he possibly be able to enter the Blood Reservoir, let alone bring him in?

"I might have no way to enter it if it had been a while ago, but right now, it isn't a problem anymore!" Zhang Xuan harrumphed.

Previously, when Zhang Wuchen led him in, he had taken a close look at the formation. Despite its ingenuity, it was still exposed to be riddled with flaws under the discerning gaze of the Library of Heaven's Path. Just using any single one of those flaws was enough for him to sneak in without catching anyone's notice.

"Let's go!"

Without much explanation, Zhang Xuan led the way forward.

It didn't take too long for them to arrive before the entrance of the Blood Reservoir once more.

"This is the place!" Taking in a deep breath, Zhang Xuan circled around the entrance before stopping at a certain spot and tapping lightly on the formation before him.

Weng!

There was a slight buzz, and the massive gates sealing the Blood Reservoir slowly opened. At the same time, a small opening appeared in the entrance formation as well.

"Hurry up and enter!" Zhang Xuan quickly walked in, and Zhang Jiuxiao followed closely behind him.

The formation quickly closed up once more, and from the outside, it was impossible to tell that someone had been here.

"This is the Blood Reservoir?" As soon as Zhang Jiuxiao stepped in, he immediately felt his cells trembling in excitement and his Primordial Spirit shaking non-stop.

"Not bad. Try activating your bloodline and see if you can harmonize with the Time Quintessence in here," Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Yes, teacher!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded before swiftly sitting on the ground to meditate. He activated his bloodline and attempted to forge a connection with the surrounding Time Quintessence.

But soon, he stood up with an awful look on his face.

Till this instant, he finally understood why those of the side family like him wasn't allowed to enter the Blood Reservoir. It wasn't that the Zhang Clan was miserly and was discriminating against them but that... their bloodline was simply too thin!

Even if they were to enter the Blood Reservoir, they would still be unable to fuse together with the Time Quintessence and cultivate like the inner clan members.

And since they couldn't do it, there was no point for them to waste their time coming here either.

"Teacher..." Zhang Jiuxiao looked at his teacher with a look of guilt on his face.

His teacher had gone through all the trouble of bringing him here, but in the end, due to his own problems, he was unable to trigger the Blood Reservoir. Even though this was something which he couldn't control either, he felt like he had let his teacher down.

"Calm down." Seeing that Zhang Jiuxiao was unable to forge a link with the Time Quintessence, Zhang Xuan frowned. "For the time being, you should carry on cultivating first. I'll think of a solution."

"Yes, teacher!" Zhang Jiuxiao closed his eyes and began cultivating.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and began scanning the area.

Beautiful flowing currents reminiscent of rainbows could be seen all around him, but as if oil floating on top of water, Zhang Jiuxiao was simply unable to immerse himself within it no matter how he tried to activate his bloodline.

"It's due the lacking purity of his bloodline..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

The Time Quintessence in the Blood Reservoir was left behind by the founder of the Zhang Clan as a gift to his descendants. While Zhang Jiuxiao possessed the Zhang Clan's bloodline too, it was so thin that he couldn't even activate its ability. As a result, the most he could do was only to draw the rainbow toward himself, but immersing himself completely into it was far beyond his means.

"If only his bloodline is a little purer..." Zhang Xuan couldn't help but think.

In the midst of his lamentation, his Library of Heaven's Path abruptly jolted. Following which, a golden page materialized before his eyes before flying forth with a resounding whistle, heading straight for the cultivating Zhang Jiuxiao.

"Shit..." Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in shock.

The Book of Heaven's Path was a weapon which even 9-star poison masters were completely helpless before. Given Zhang Jiuxiao's current strength, there was no way he would be able to withstand it!

He hadn't thought of killing anyone, so why would it fly out all of a sudden?

Zhang Xuan tried to stop the golden page, but it was already too late. It dived right toward Zhang Jiuxiao's glabella, but instead of smashing him into meat paste, it slipped into his mind instead.

Following which, he clearly saw the surrounding Time Quintessence bubbling furiously, gushing toward the meditating young man in the fastest time possible.

"Is this... Bloodline Enhancement?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes, clearly shocked by the effects produced.

It was just a moment ago that he wished for Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline to be purified when the golden page suddenly flew forward... Could it be that other than rising his Soul Depth, assimilate the content of the books in the Library of Heaven's Path for his own, sealing Vicious, and crushing others to death, it had the ability to enhance one's bloodline too?

If that was the truth, it would be truly fearsome!

One must know that he had studied unique bloodlines several times, but even with the help of the Library of Heaven's Path, he was still unable to find a feasible way to purify them. Who could have thought that the golden page would actually wield such a capability?

"Teacher, my bloodline..."

At this moment, Zhang Jiuxiao had also sensed the changes ongoing in his body, and he trembled in agitation despite not being too sure what was going on.

"I have helped you purified your bloodline. Here are some pinnacle spirit stones. Use them and quickly make a breakthrough!" Zhang Xuan said as he flicked his wrist and tossed over all three of the pinnacle spirit stones he had left.

Even though he had taken Zhang Jiuxiao as his direct disciple, he still didn't feel too comfortable speaking about the golden page before him. Thus, he decided to simply circumvent the topic altogether.

"Yes, teacher!" While Zhang Jiuxiao had no idea how his teacher managed to do it, he knew that this wasn't the time to be asking about it.

Grabbing one of the pinnacle spirit stones tightly in his hand, he closed his eyes and began furiously absorbing the spiritual energy inside.

Hong long long!

Due to the enhancement in his bloodline, the rate at which he absorbed spiritual energy became much faster than before. All of the meridians which had been blocked previously swiftly cleared up, and it almost seemed as if cultivation bottlenecks was a concept that didn't apply to him.

Kacha! Kacha!

In the blink of an eye, he had already successfully reinforced his recent breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm.

Knowing that Zhang Jiuxiao had stopped due to the lack of a suitable cultivation technique, Zhang Xuan swiftly tapped his finger and imparted to him a simplified version of the Grand Dominion realm Heaven's Path Divine Art.

With the enhancement in the purity of his bloodline, Zhang Jiuxiao was finally able to draw the surrounding Time Quintessence into his body, and he used this twelvefold slowdown in time to comprehend the cultivation technique he had just been imparted with.

It didn't take him too long to fully grasp it.

At this point, Zhang Jiuxiao was intending to break out of the unique state he was in to make the breakthrough in his cultivation, but Zhang Xuan stopped him. Instead, he imparted to him a simplified version of the Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm Heaven's Path Divine Art as well.

While this cultivation technique had yet to reach the level of a true Heaven's Path cultivation technique yet, it only had a single flaw. Even though it was difficult for Zhang Xuan to swallow, to Zhang Jiuxiao, it could already be considered as an incomparably ingenious cultivation technique.

Still, this single flaw made the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art derived from it needlessly more complex than it should be, thus making it significantly more difficult to comprehend.

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Chapter 1454: The Tournament Begins

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

This time, Zhang Jiuxiao spent a much longer time than before. It was only till the sun had risen in the east did Zhang Jiuxiao finally open his eyes, and a sharp brilliance could be seen reflected in his eyes.

"How is it?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Teacher, I have managed to grasp the cultivation technique all the way up to Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle. I believe that I shouldn't take me too long to reach it if I were to start cultivating now!" Zhang Jiuxiao replied excitedly.

Even though the Blood Reservoir was able to grant a cultivator the time of an entire year within the passing of a month in the real world, this temporal distortion only applied to one's consciousness. It wasn't, in the truest sense, a slowdown of time.

As such, while Zhang Jiuxiao was able to achieve a deep understanding of Grand Dominion realm and Phantasmal Space realm by making use of the twelvefold time, in truth, his real cultivation hadn't changed at all. He was still the same Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator he was when he first entered the Blood Reservoir.

Nevertheless, having fully familiarized himself with the cultivation technique, he should be able to raise his cultivation swiftly if he were to start cultivating now.

It was also using such a method that the offspring of the Zhang Clan was able to constantly stay above the geniuses of the other clans.

Zhang Xuan took a look at the sky, and after confirming the time, he frowned, "The sun has already risen, so the tournament should be starting very soon. There isn't any time for you to cultivate anymore; we have to head there right away. While making our way over, grab onto one of the pinnacle spirit stones I have given you and cultivate. Try to at least make a breakthrough before the tournament begins."

If Zhang Jiuxiao had been any faster in his comprehension of the cultivation techniques, they might still have been able to make it in time. However, it seemed like his expectations were too high after all.

At this current time, they didn't have any time to dilly dally anymore. It seemed like the only thing they could do was to try to have Zhang Jiuxiao raise his cultivation as much as possible while they make their way over.

"Alright." Knowing that there was no time to be wasted, Zhang Jiuxiao nodded. Grabbing a pinnacle spirit stone tightly in his hand, he absorbed the spiritual energy in it swiftly as he hurriedly followed behind his teacher.

"The place where the tournament is held is the sparring grounds in the Zhang Clan. However, teacher, outsiders are prohibited from entering the sparring grounds, so I fear that you might not have the authorization to enter the grounds as an outsider!" Zhang Jiuxiao said hesitantly after leaving the Blood Reservoir.

Even outsiders weren't allowed to spectate this internal tournament, so there should be little doubt that his teacher wouldn't be able to enter either.

"Are clan members allowed to bring their subordinates into the sparring ring?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.

"Of course. Injuries are common in such tournaments, so they would have to bring someone in to take care of them." Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

"Very well. I'll play as your subordinate and enter the sparring grounds together with you then!" Zhang Xuan said.

"This won't do! You are my teacher, how can I treat you as my subordinate? Something like that is simply too..." Zhang Jiuxiao seemed to be put in a spot.

It would be deeply insolent of him to regard his teacher as his own subordinate! There was no way he could do something as unfilial as that!

"Even though you have gone through the cultivation techniques several times in your head, it's still inevitable that you might accidentally make some mistakes while cultivating them. To be safe, you'll need me to offer you pointers on the spot," Zhang Xuan said.

Zhang Jiuxiao might have grasped the cultivation method of the simplified version of the Heaven's Path Divine Art all the way up to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle, but there would still be all kinds of practical issues that he might face while cultivating his way up. To be safe, it would be best for Zhang Xuan to be around to offer pointers and ensure that nothing went awry.

"I understand!" Understanding his teacher's intentions, Zhang Jiuxiao hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Un." With a slight jolt, Zhang Xuan's appearance swiftly morphed into that of a yellow-skinned old man.

As formidable as his disguise art was, there were simply too many experts in the Zhang Clan. If he were to feign as a subordinate, at least no one would pay much attention to him. On the other hand, if he were to feign as Zhang Jiuxiao and participated in the tournament on his behalf, there was a good chance that he would be swiftly exposed.

If it was truly that easy to impersonate as one of the core members of the number one Sage Clan, it would have been destroyed ages ago!

It was precisely for this reason that Zhang Xuan had no choice but to raise Zhang Jiuxiao's cultivation and have him make a move in his stead.

On the other hand, seeing how even he was unable to recognize the disguised Zhang Xuan, Zhang Jiuxiao heaved a sigh of relief. After which, he swiftly led the way forward to the sparring grounds.

"Zhang Jiuxiao, it would be best for you not to use your bloodline in the tournament later on, or else it would be difficult to explain the vast difference in the purity of your bloodline," Zhang Xuan instructed.

If it were to be known that there was actually a way to raise the purity of one's unique bloodline, all Sage Clans on the Master Teacher Continent would swiftly go into a frenzy.

Once that happened, there could be deep trouble.

In any case, it was just an internal tournament. It shouldn't come to the point where he would need to use his bloodline ability.

"Rest assured, teacher!" Understanding the possible implications of the matter, Zhang Jiuxiao nodded grimly in response.

...

Gathered in the Zhang Clan's sparring grounds were all of the talented members of the younger generation.

The First Elder was seated at the topmost seat, and seeing the spirited and confident looks on the faces below, he nodded his head in approval.

Typically speaking, most clans tended to decline over time, whether it was due to their talent pool drying up or a culture of complacency going around the younger generation. However, even after several dozen millenniums of heritage, while the offspring of the Zhang Clan was indeed a little spoilt, most of them were still driven to grow stronger.

It was precisely with such a culture that the Zhang Clan was able to remain at the very top over so many years, their position unmovable by anyone.

"In this tournament, we'll be competing not in supporting occupations or any other capabilities but true fighting prowess. Those who believe that they have the strength to challenge the ring, step forward. Those who lack trust in their strength, back off. Every single one of you will be able to utilize any means in your possession, but if I were to find that any of you have resorted to depraved arts prohibited by the Master Teacher Pavilion such as poison and the sort, not only will you be eliminated from the tournament, don't expect me to let you off easily either!" the First Elder's voice boomed across the entire sparring field as he glanced down on the faces beneath imposingly.

"Yes!"

The crowd beneath replied resoundingly.

In this tournament, occupational means were fair game, meaning that participants were allowed to use demonic tunes, celestial designer creations, tamed beasts, so on and so forth... But poison and the sort were not allowed for very obvious reasons.

"Alright, I hereby declare the start of the tournament!"

Huala!

As those words were spoken, the eight dueling rings on the sparring field immediately sprung to life. The Zhang Clan offspring who were in for the first round swiftly leaped onto their respective rings.

"Dueling Ring D, fourth battle, Zhang Linqing and Zhang Jiuxiao!"

After three matches, an elder supervising the duel shouted to the crowd.

Hula!

Zhang Linqing leaped onto the dueling ring and drove his zhenqi, revealing his Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivation.

Even though he was one of the sidelined members in the Zhang Clan, unable to access the better resources, he was still in a much better off position than Zhang Jiuxiao.

"Where's Zhang Jiuxiao? Does he dare not face his challenge?" Zhang Linqing glanced around the area after noting that Zhang Jiuxiao was nowhere to be seen.

He had looked into his opponent for the match beforehand. The other party was just an offspring of the side family who had managed to get into the Sanctum of Sages by some stroke of luck, thus winning himself an invitation to the Clan Conference by sheer luck. Otherwise, given his identity, he wouldn't even be allowed through the main door!

Thus, in his view, this duel was just for show. He would be able to advance up easily without much trouble.

"I know who Zhang Jiuxiao is. He's a mere Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivator... He probably is shuddering somewhere in fear at the notion of facing Linqing, not daring to show up at all!"

"He's from the side family after all, what can we expect from him?"

"Elder Fengchen, I don't think that fellow will be showing up anymore. Let's just declare it as his loss."

Seeing that Zhang Jiuxiao was nowhere to be seen, a huge commotion broke out amidst the crowd below.

A mere offspring of the side family, even if present, would stand no chance of advancing through the ranks. Since that was the case, they might as well just declare his loss straight instead of wasting time here.

After all, how could an offspring of the side family possibly compare up to core members like them?

"I'll give him a tea's time 1 . If he isn't here after that, I'll take it as he has forfeited the match," the person presiding over the duel, Elder Fengchen, waved his hand to suppress the commotion and said calmly.

There was an elder supervising each of the dueling rings in order to ensure the fairness of the duels.

Even though Zhang Jiuxiao hadn't appeared yet, from the official rules, they would still have to give him some time before considering it as a forfeit.

"This is pointless. It's obvious that that fellow had fled in fear!"

"It's just a few minutes, what are you getting so anxious about? Actually, I'd love to see him appear and challenge Linqing. It would be fun to see him struggling desperately..."

The Zhang Clan members beneath the dueling ring chuckled softly in disdain.

The clear hierarchy in the Zhang Clan had put them in a position of superiority from birth. So, to them, those of the side family were complete nobodies who weren't even worth a mention.

"It seems like he really won't be coming after all..."

Time crept by amidst those chatters, and very soon, a tea's time was up. Seeing that there was still no one in sight, Elder Fengchen shook his head and declared, "Since Zhang Jiuxiao isn't here yet, I'll take it as he has..."

"Pardon me, I'm late!"

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from the sky above.

Following which, a tall and slender figure descended onto the dueling ring.

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Chapter 1455: First Round, Victory

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Boom!

The impact from falling onto the dueling ring jolted a cloud of dust into the air.

Zhang Jiuxiao wiped away the sweat on his forehead.

It was fortunate that his teacher had pushed him forward for a significant part of the journey, or else they really would have failed to make it in time.

He looked below the dueling ring and saw that the middle-aged man whom his teacher was disguised as was currently standing by an inconspicuous corner, smiling at him. Then, he turned his eyes to Zhang Linqing and said, "I should have made it in time, right?"

"So what if you have made it in time?" Zhang Linqing shook his head with a sneer as he raised up a single finger.

Zhang Jiuxiao tilted his head in confusion, unsure about what that finger gesture meant.

"Against you, a single move is all I need!" Zhang Linqing declared proudly. "Even if your cultivation has reached Grand Dominion realm primary stage, it's still nothing at all to me. Let me show you the difference between the core members of the Zhang Clan and those of the side family like you!"

After saying those words, Zhang Linqing took a step forward, and six shadows immediately appeared all around him in the blink of an eye. With a seemingly light downward thrust of his palm, a ferocious might burst forth.

It might have appeared as if his attacks lacked skill and preciseness, but the palm strike had, in actuality, sealed the surrounding space, making it impossible for others to escape from it.

"Formidable!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

As expected of a member of the main family. He was not to be underestimated!

Any other Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator might have panicked in this situation, but Zhang Jiuxiao had already deepened his understanding of cultivation up to Saint 7-dan pinnacle in the Blood Reservoir. On top of that, having been taught by Zhang Xuan, his understanding of battle techniques did not even pale in comparison to top Zhang Clan geniuses like Zhang Chun, so naturally, he would not fall for such a simple move.

Thus, he lightly took a step backward and drifted out of range of the palm strike. At the same time, he still continued holding the pinnacle spirit stone tightly in his left hand, furiously absorbing spiritual energy from it.

While the speed of his retreat could not be said to be fast, it still caused Zhang Linqing's attacks and possible follow-ups to fall empty.

In other words, his first move had ended in a complete failure, failing to harm Zhang Jiuxiao in the least or achieve any strategic purpose.

Zhang Linqing harrumphed. "I'll admit, you do have some means, but this is as far as you'll go!"

He had not expected this nobody of the side family to actually be able to find the opening in his attack and evade his offense. With a livid expression, he turned his palm into a claw and struck forward.

Tzzzzzzzzzz!

Zhang Jiuxiao immediately felt as if his body had been bound by a rope, and a powerful force pulled his body toward Zhang Linqing.

Given the huge disparity in power between the both of them at the moment, he knew that it would be disadvantageous for him to get into close-quarters combat with Zhang Linqing. Thus, taking a deep breath, he drew the spiritual energy from the pinnacle spirit stone in his hand with greater intensity before and roared, "Come on, make a breakthrough!"

Zhang Jiuxiao's aura burst into the clouds, and following which, his strength began to surge forth. In the blink of an eye, he had already torn down the bottleneck before him to rush straight toward Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage.

This breakthrough had caused his aura and fighting prowess to rise by nearly twofold, allowing him to hold his own against the powerful might that Zhang Linqing was using to pull him in.

"You are still able to make a breakthrough?" Zhang Linqing widened his eyes in astonishment.

He knew that Zhang Jiuxiao had only achieved a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm primary stage in recent days, so he should still have been busy reinforcing his cultivation during this period of time. Yet, he had actually managed to find enough momentum within him to make a breakthrough in the midst of their duel!

However, so what if he had reached Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage?

He was still a far way off from reaching the pinnacle!

"Don't you think it's a little too late for you to be sharpening your edge?" Zhang Linqing sneered coldly as he drove the zhenqi in his body with greater ferocity, causing the prowess of his tug to intensify.

Ji ji ji!

Deep gorges emerged on the surface. Zhang Jiuxiao found himself succumbing to the strength once more, and his body began to be gradually dragged in Zhang Linqing's direction.

Zhang Linqing had been at Grand Dominion realm pinnacle for quite a number of years now, and he had already familiarized himself fully with his cultivation technique and abilities. As such, his movements were extremely fluid, completely devoid of the stiffness that those who had just reached the realm would have.

"Too late? You should learn to hold your tongue until the very end!" With a sneer, Zhang Jiuxiao threw the pinnacle spirit stone back into his storage ring before abruptly stomping his feet forcefully.

Boom!

Two massive pits appeared on the ground, and Zhang Jiuxiao's forward moving body immediately stabilized on the spot.

His strength might still have been a little lacking against the other party at Grand Dominion realm primary stage, but intermediate stage was more than enough!

Even though the core members of the Zhang Clan were capable of challenging opponents beyond their cultivation realm, one would do well not to forget about the incredible purity of his bloodline at the moment. Even without activating the ability of his unique bloodline, it would still enhance his physical abilities significantly, such that defeating an opponent of two cultivation stages higher than him would not pose too much of a problem!

"What?" Zhang Linqing could hardly believe his eyes. He tried to further intensify the strength of his pull, but the other party did not budge in the slightest.

In this moment, he realized that he had been underestimating his opponent all this while. The smug look on his face was replaced with grimness, and transforming his claw into a punch, he dashed forward to strike.

In the depths of his heart, he still felt that it was beneath him to be fighting against an offspring of the side family, but after the previous two blows that they had traded, he had no choice but to recognize the possibility that he might lose this match if he did not get serious.

And that was not something that he could accept.

Boom!

As his punch surged forth, a sphere of power that somewhat resembled the shape of an umbrella appeared at the tip of his fist, crushing the surrounding air so much that it creaked furiously in protest, on the verge of crumbling apart at any moment.

"It's a Saint high-tier battle technique, Fist of Void!"

"This is a fist that channels all of the strength a cultivator harnesses in their body through a unique method and releases it in a single burst. The overwhelming strength in the resulting punch can even cause a void to be created in the air, making it a technique that's extremely difficult to defend against!"

"That's a technique that only the core members of the Zhang Clan are able to practice. A mere offspring of the side family like him probably hasn't even seen it before. Let's see how he plans to deal with something like that!"

Everyone's eyes were gathered upon Zhang Jiuxiao, curious to see how the young lad would fare against an attack of this caliber.

On the other hand, Zhang Jiuxiao completely disregarded the commotion around him. In this moment, there was not the slightest hint of nervousness or anxiety in his heart. Before the overwhelming attack rushing toward him, he slowly closed his eyes instead.

Through his Spiritual Perception, he could feel the other party's fist art growing slower and slower, almost like an old man practicing the Taiji Fist 1 .

So, this is the benefit of possessing a pure bloodline, Zhang Jiuxiao thought as an excited smile crept onto his lips.

He had not fully awakened his enhanced bloodline yet, but he could already feel the groundbreaking changes in his body.

Zhang Linqing's attack was impressive, but to him, it appeared as if it was moving in slow motion, allowing him to uncover all of the flaws in it easily.

Teacher once said that to deal with such a forceful attack, all that has to be done is to strike its crux and tear it apart, Zhang Jiuxiao thought as he utilized his finger as a sword and tapped it lightly ahead of him.

Huala!

Before Zhang Jiuxiao's finger could reach Zhang Linqing, a crack already appeared in the latter's Fist of Void, and like fragile glass, the umbrella-shaped sphere of power swiftly shattered. A look of horror appeared on Zhang Linqing's previously triumphant face.

Peng!

Struck in the middle of his chest, Zhang Linqing fell forcefully onto the ground. Excruciating pain engulfed every inch of his veins, and a gush of fresh blood spilled out of his mouth.

"Y-you..." Zhang Linqing stared at the young man before him in disbelief.

He knew just how powerful his Fist of Void was, and under normal circumstances, not even a Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm primary stage cultivator would have dared to face it head-on. Yet... not only did his opponent do so, he even overcame it with ease!

From this, it was apparent that the other party had already reached a level far beyond his.

Was this really the strength that an offspring of the side family should possess?

It was illogical! How could he be so strong?

"You have lost."

Instead of answering Zhang Linqing's questions, Zhang Jiuxiao placed his hands behind his back and gazed down at him nonchalantly.

While Zhang Jiuxiao was standing imposingly before his opponent, beneath the dueling ring, a certain middle-aged man was trembling uncontrollably with rage.

That moronic show-off! He could have settled this duel in a single move, and yet, he just had to waste his effort and use three instead. Why the heck did I accept such an unreliable disciple?

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Chapter 1456: I Can Make a Breakthrough Now!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

While Zhang Xuan was on the verge of spurting blood, the other core members in the sparring grounds had their mouths hanging agape, unable to speak a word at all.

Given that Zhang Jiuxiao was an offspring of the side family and was far weaker, they had thought that Zhang Linqing would be able to destroy him in an instant. Who could have known that after three moves, Zhang Jiuxiao would be the one standing triumphantly on the stage?

Not expecting such a conclusion either, Elder Fengchen was stunned for a moment before he remembered his role and hurriedly announced, "Zhang Jiuxiao... has won."

In his long life, there had only been an occasion or two where he had seen a cultivator defeating an opponent far stronger than him with just a single finger.

But again, anything could happen in the dueling ring. It was not all that uncommon for weaker cultivators to defeat stronger opponents, and as such, while he did find it rather incredible, he did not think too much into it.

"Next round, Zhang Lin and Zhang Fengyun!"

After achieving victory, Zhang Jiuxiao headed down from the dueling ring and sat down to rest. He took out the pinnacle spirit stone once more and absorbed the spiritual energy within it to convert it into his strength.

What he was lacking the most at that moment was time, so he could not waste even a single second.

On the other hand, after being helped down from the dueling ring, Zhang Linqing immediately found himself surrounded by his peers.

"What happened up there?" a tall young man asked.

As everything had happened too quickly, and Zhang Jiuxiao had struck his opening squarely, most of those within the crowd did not manage to make sense out of what was happening.

"There's something weird about that fellow..." Zhang Linqing shook his head.

To be honest, even he himself was still unable to understand how he had lost.

His cultivation was higher than the other party's, and the battle technique that he had executed was far superior as well, yet it had still ended in his loss. He really found himself unable to come to terms with it.

A cold harrumph suddenly sounded, and a slender young man walked over. "To think that an inner clan member like you would lose to a mere member of the side family. Linqing, you have really disgraced all of us this time around. If I were in your place, I would have killed myself out of embarrassment!"

"Zhang Quanyi, what do you mean by that?" Zhang Linqing's face turned livid with rage.

"Nothing. I just feel embarrassed on your behalf," the young man named Zhang Quanyi replied with a look of disdain.

"You..." Zhang Linqing clenched his fists tightly in anger.

Zhang Quanyi had come from the same lineage as him, and the both of them had often argued with one another. As angry as he felt at the moment, he found himself unable to speak a single word of rebuttal after the tragic loss that he had suffered.

Thus, he took a few deep breaths and replied coldly, "If I remember correctly, you will be facing him next, right? I hope you remember what you have said here and don't disgrace yourself later on!"

"Disgrace myself? You must be joking! Is there even the slightest possibility that I will lose against a mere Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage cultivator?" Zhang Quanyi waved his hand furiously, and an indomitable aura burst forth from his body.

"Half-Phantasmal Space?" Zhang Linqing narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

He had often fought with the other party, and their cultivation had always been equal to one another. How did the other party achieve the breakthrough after just a night of absence?

Even though there was only a cultivation stage of difference between Grand Dominion realm pinnacle and Half-Phantasmal Space realm, in truth, there was a world of difference between the two realms.

"Indeed! What's most important to a cultivator is their cultivation! Before true strength, skills and battle techniques mean nothing at all. If your cultivation had been at Half-Phantasmal Space realm, do you think that the fellow would have been able to withstand your Fist of Void?" Zhang Quanyi sneered coldly.

"This..." Zhang Linqing's body stiffened.

The other party was right. If his attack had been any stronger, even if Zhang Jiuxiao had struck his opening, the latter's finger would only have been snapped in two. There was no way his attack would have been neutralized!

"Rest assured. Even though we are rivals, no matter what, we are still from the same lineage. Since you have been bullied by an outsider, I'll surely exact vengeance for you!" Zhang Quanyi sneered coldly as he turned his gaze in Zhang Jiuxiao's direction, and a cold light flickered across his eyes. "I won't be as soft as you later on. I'll make sure to defeat him in a single blow!"

Hearing those words, Zhang Linqing was silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

Having fought with Zhang Quanyi for many years, he knew just how powerful the other party was. Now that the other party had taken a step ahead of him and reached Half-Phantasmal Space realm, he should be able to subdue that fellow from the side family with ease!

The tournament continued, and it was roughly an hour later before the second round commenced. As expected, Zhang Quanyi was indeed paired with Zhang Jiuxiao.

Just as he had said previously, Zhang Quanyi used his full strength as soon as he got onto the field. It was hard to tell whether he did it intentionally or not, but he executed the Fist of Void as well.

The mighty force commanded behind the fist caused even the seal cast on the dueling ring to waver slightly. Zhang Jiuxiao frowned in the face of the fist. Instead of launching a counterattack as he had done with Zhang Linqing, he chose to take evasive measures this time around.

"Do you think that I'd allow you to dodge my attack that easily?" Zhang Quanyi sneered coldly.

Utilizing his newfound abilities as a Half-Phantasmal Space realm cultivator, he sealed the surrounding space completely, such that even one's Spiritual Perception would not be allowed to enter or leave the space.

"It seems like I won't be able to match him with my current level of strength..." Seeing that the enemy's palm was going to fall on him at any moment, Zhang Jiuxiao muttered beneath his breath. "Since that's the case, I'll just have to make a breakthrough!"

Boom!

Before Zhang Quanyi could even react, he suddenly felt a powerful force bursting forth from the young man in front of him. In the blink of an eye, that Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage fellow had already successfully taken a step forward into Grand Dominion realm advanced stage.

With the advancement of his cultivation, Zhang Jiuxiao's strength had risen by leaps and bounds once more. He swiftly raised his hand and retaliated against the Fist of Void with a punch of his own.

Peng!

The two fists collided, and both parties were pushed back simultaneously.

"How is this possible?" Zhang Quanyi widened his eyes in disbelief.

He had clearly seen the young man making a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage while he was battling with Zhang Linqing earlier, so how could he continue making a breakthrough right now?

Not even Cultivation Impartation could be this fast!

"I don't believe it!" Zhang Quanyi roared as he dashed forward once more.

This time, he chose not to use the Fist of Void but the battle technique that he specialized in.

Hu hu hu!

Flitting swiftly around the dueling ring, Zhang Quanyi's afterimages filled the entire area, forming a circular cage that trapped Zhang Jiuxiao in place.

Saint high-tier battle technique, Revolving Dragon Art!

This battle technique was aligned with the essence of a Confinement Formation, and once executed, even his long-time rival, Zhang Linqing, would find himself in a pickle. Even if Zhang Jiuxiao had made a breakthrough, he was still only at Grand Dominion realm advanced stage. There was no way that he could escape from there!

"What swift movements!" Trapped at the center of the circle, Zhang Jiuxiao felt himself being deprived of not just spiritual energy but oxygen as well, and giddiness was starting to fill his head. His face soon turned grim.

"You should be glad that you have managed to force me to the point where I have to use this move. You'll be able to boast about this to others for the rest of your life!" Zhang Quanyi sneered coldly as he thrust his palms several times.

Peng peng peng!

From the whirling shadows around him, several palms suddenly struck Zhang Jiuxiao without any forewarning, and he ended up being struck squarely before he could even react.

"Heh, rest assured. I won't let you lose that easily. I'll slowly drive it deep into your mind that there's no way mere offspring of the side family like you will be able to stand against core members like us!" Zhang Quanyi smirked as he continued his attack.

At this moment, Zhang Jiuxiao was still fumbling around, unable to find an opportunity to counterattack.

"Aren't you good at making breakthroughs? Why don't you make a breakthrough right now?" Seeing the awful complexion on the young man's face, Zhang Quanyi burst into laughter.

You had your fun making breakthroughs earlier, didn't you?

Why don't you do it again?

Zhang Jiuxiao patted his forehead in realization. "Oh, you're right. I could just make a breakthrough, right? How silly of me!"

Following which, before Zhang Quanyi could even process what was going on, the aura of the fellow trapped at the center suddenly surged once more, and in just half a breath, he had already overcome his bottleneck and reached Grand Dominion realm pinnacle.

The next instant, Zhang Quanyi suddenly felt a powerful force grabbing his neck. Like a rabbit, he was lifted up into the air.

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Chapter 1457: Breakthroughs Are as Easy as Drinking a Cup of Water (1)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Not expecting the other party to be able to continue achieving breakthroughs and even grab his neck in a single move, Zhang Quanyi struggled with all of his might, as if a fish being pulled onto the shore.

He had just mocked Zhang Linqing and sworn to defeat Zhang Jiuxiao a moment ago, but everything had gone contrary to his expectations.

Was that man really a member of the side family?

Even the most talented members of the main family were not able to make breakthroughs so frighteningly fast!

"He made two consecutive breakthroughs in a match?" From beneath the stage, Zhang Linqing saw the sight and staggered in shock, nearly fainting in that instant.

He had thought that he had only lost to Zhang Jiuxiao by a hair's breadth, but who would have thought that the other party had much more in him? Before he knew it, the other party was already of the same cultivation realm as him!

To make the breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm, Zhang Linqing had prepared for two whole years and paid a hefty price, but the other party did the same within just a short hour.

Was he still a human?

An uproar broke out amid the crowd below, and even the supervising Elder Fengchen found his throat turning dry.

He had been in the clan for many years, and he had seen plenty of outstanding geniuses. There had also been quite a few who had made breakthroughs in their cultivation during crucial moments in a battle and successfully turned the tables on their opponents, but... to achieve a breakthrough on a whim, and not to mention, in short intervals one after another, this was really the first one that he had seen!

This was not talent anymore but absurdity!

"That dimwit! If he had followed my instructions, he should have already reached the Phantasmal Space realm by now. To still be at Grand Dominion realm pinnacle... just how did I manage to get myself this fool of a disciple?"

In contrast to the shocked crowd, Zhang Xuan was berating Zhang Jiuxiao beneath his breath, angered by his latest disciple's slow progress.

Given the enhancement in Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline, its partial awakening in the Blood Reservoir, and the impartation of the simplified version of the Heaven's Path Divine Art, he was bound to be able to make consecutive breakthroughs one after another. But an hour had already passed, and he had only raised his cultivation by three stages. This was too freaking slow!

Had he known that the fellow was actually such a dunce, he never would have accepted him as his direct disciple!

This was an embarrassment, a permanent smirch on his clean record!

...

On the highest platform erected on the sparring grounds, the First Elder was currently stroking his beard calmly while overlooking the duels when an elder suddenly rushed in and whispered something into his ears.

"You said that... an offspring of the side family has managed to advance into the third round?"

"That's right, First Elder!" The elder nodded. "That person is Zhang Jiuxiao. His first opponent was Zhang Linqing, a Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivator from the main family. At the start of the match, Zhang Jiuxiao was only at Grand Dominion realm primary stage, but in the course of the battle, he managed to overcome his limits and make a breakthrough, thus defeating the latter in a single move!"

"The fact that he's able to make a breakthrough in the midst of a battle shows that he's a person of incredible mental resilience. There aren't too many members in the Zhang Clan who are able to do that. It seems that even though Zhang Jiuxiao is from the side family, he's a talent that we should keep our eyes on." The First Elder nodded in approval.

It was a consolation to him to see how outstanding the younger generation of the Zhang Clan was.

The elder continued his explanation. "You're right, First Elder. In the second round, Zhang Jiuxiao was faced with Zhang Quanyi, a Half-Phantasmal Space realm cultivator from the main family. He made a breakthrough once more to Grand Dominion realm advanced stage, eventually forcing Zhang Quanyi to execute the Saint high-tier battle technique, Dragon Revolving Art..."

The First Elder nodded again. "The Dragon Revolving Art can be considered one of the stronger Saint high-tier battle techniques. I have seen Zhang Quanyi before; he's a decently talented individual who will become a valuable asset to the Zhang Clan in the future."

A moment later, he glanced at the elder with a look of confusion. "If Zhang Quanyi used the technique while activating his bloodline ability, while its offensive power might be a little lacking, it should have been able to reach a speed far beyond Zhang Jiuxiao's ability to deal with, especially given the significant gap between both of their cultivation. How did Zhang Jiuxiao manage to emerge victorious?"

"This... It's just as you've said, Zhang Jiuxiao was cornered by the technique... so he made another breakthrough and rose to Grand Dominion realm pinnacle," the elder said with a bitter smile.

"He made another breakthrough?" The First Elder was stunned. "You mean to say that Zhang Jiuxiao was at Grand Dominion realm primary stage early in the morning, and he managed to make three consecutive breakthroughs and is currently a Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivator right now?"

"Not only so... Based on what we've heard, he was only at Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle a few days back," the elder said.

"To be able to rise to Grand Dominion realm pinnacle that swiftly... that's one whole cultivation realm! Where's that lad?" the First Elder asked anxiously.

"He's on Dueling Ring D, in the midst of fighting against Zhang Ningxin!"

"Zhang Ningxin? The talented grandson of Elder Wuxiao? He should have reached Phantasmal Space realm primary stage, right?" the First Elder asked as he turned his gaze over to Dueling Ring D.

"Indeed. The person standing opposite to him is Zhang Jiuxiao," the elder said.

The First Elder took a closer look and saw that the person facing Zhang Ningxin was a young man in his mid-twenties.

The young man's cultivation was only at Grand Dominion realm pinnacle, and it did not seem that he had practiced any particularly profound battle techniques either, causing his fighting prowess to be slightly lacking. However, his combat sense and ability to adapt in battle were formidable. Zhang Ningxin's attacks were sharp and powerful, such that any other Grand Dominion pinnacle cultivator facing him would have succumbed by now, but the young man was always able to dodge at his attacks at the critical moment in inconceivable ways.

After watching for a while, a deep frown appeared on the First Elder's forehead as he asked, "Don't you find it weird? Given how he's able to dodge Zhang Ningxin's attacks with ease, he must have already seen through his attacks. Since that's the case, why doesn't he try to counterattack?"

So far, the two of them had already traded more than a dozen blows, but despite possessing the higher cultivation, Zhang Ningxin did not appear to be in an advantageous position in this duel. It was as if he was being read like a book; the weaker Zhang Jiuxiao would always move according to whatever attack he was planning to make and dodge it in advance. But since Zhang Jiuxiao had the ability to read Zhang Ningxin's moves, why did he not attempt to counterattack?

It would be foolish to take a constant defensive stance in a battle; defense should only be considered a temporary approach in order to find the perfect opportunity to counterattack. No matter how well Zhang Jiuxiao was dodging Zhang Ningxin's attacks, it was only a matter of time before he slipped up.

Noticing the same problem, the elder pondered for a moment before replying, "I think... he probably has no way to counterattack. After all, there's a huge disparity in their strength."

"No way to counterattack..." the First Elder repeated those words before a thought suddenly came to his mind, and he narrowed his eyes in shock. "No, you're wrong. It isn't that he has no way to counterattack but that... that..."

At this point, the First Elder found himself unable to continue speaking anymore, as if he could hardly believe the thought in his mind.

"What?" The elder looked over with a doubtful look.

"The reason he isn't exerting any strength is so as to conserve it to push for a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm!" the First Elder exclaimed with tightly-clenched fists.

"He's conserving his strength?" The elder was stunned. "Didn't he just make a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm pinnacle?"

"It's precisely because he has just made a breakthrough and depleted his energy that he has to save up as much of it as possible in order to build up the momentum required to push for a breakthrough to higher realms," the First Elder said hoarsely. "Look at his left hand. From the very start of the battle, he has not opened his grip even once!"

"You're right!" The elder nodded in realization.

Zhang Jiuxiao had been placed in several seemingly precarious situations under Zhang Ningxin's relentless offense, but even so, he had still kept his left hand firmly by his side, not releasing his grip at all.

He had thought that this was a battle plan that Zhang Jiuxiao was using, so he did not pay much heed to it then.

"What he's holding in his palm is a pinnacle spirit stone," the First Elder said.

The elder was stunned for a moment before quickly activating his Spiritual Perception. Upon clearly seeing what was in Zhang Jiuxiao's hand, he widened his eyes in disbelief and said, "Does this mean to say that while coping against Zhang Ningxin's offense, he's still absorbing energy from the spirit stone and raising his cultivation?"

"Isn't that obvious?" the First Elder said with a quivering voice.

He had seen plenty of formidable geniuses in his time, but he had never seen one who was that confident in himself!

To be cultivating in the midst of a battle against an opponent far stronger than him... Was he not afraid of death, or did he simply have that much confidence in his strength?

"You are courting death! I was still planning on hiding it, but you are forcing my hand!"

While the two old men were still in shock, on the dueling ring, Zhang Ningxin suddenly bellowed furiously, and his aura began surging up.

"Zhang Ningxin is going to make a breakthrough, too?" the elder exclaimed hoarsely.

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Chapter 1458: Breakthroughs Are as Easy as Drinking a Cup of Water (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

They had expected Zhang Jiuxiao to make a breakthrough first after learning that he was cultivating in the midst of the battle, but who would have thought that Zhang Ningxin would beat him to it?

A powerful might rippled through the dueling ring as massive spurts of spiritual energy descended from the sky, diving into Zhang Ningxin's glabella. His strength swiftly grew stronger and stronger, to the point where his aura felt reminiscent of a titan.

"Zhang Ningxin reached Phantasmal Space realm primary stage quite some time ago. He should have been able to achieve a breakthrough three months ago, but he chose to suppress it till now!"

"The more a cultivator tries to suppress their breakthrough, the greater the momentum and strength they will gain right after the breakthrough. Given that Zhang Jiuxiao has barely been coping with Zhang Ningxin's attacks all this while, after his breakthrough, he will stand even less of a chance."

"The gap between Grand Dominion realm pinnacle and Phantasmal Space realm intermediate stage is simply too huge. There's no way Zhang Jiuxiao can win now!"

"Heh, isn't that fellow good at making breakthroughs? Try to match that then!"

Such words could be heard from the crowd below.

The news of Zhang Jiuxiao's consecutive breakthroughs had already spread far and wide among the core members of the Zhang Clan, causing the attention on Dueling Ring D to far exceed that of the other dueling rings. It was no joke to say that everyone's eyes were currently on this battle.

Everyone had been to see if the offspring of the side family would be able to continue his miraculous breakthroughs, but no one had ever thought that Zhang Ningxin would beat him to it!

A powerful gush of zhenqi flowed through Zhang Ningxin's body, causing a sound reminiscent of the rapid tides of a river to fill the air. Standing at the very center of the dueling ring, Zhang Ningxin looked at Zhang Jiuxiao with coldness in his eyes. "You must be proud. Despite being a mere offspring of the side family, you were able to force me into using my trump card."

Hula!

Without waiting for Zhang Jiuxiao's response, his claws flew forth, launching another round of offense.

With his cultivation reaching Phantasmal Space intermediate stage, his fighting prowess had almost been doubled. Even as the claw was still making its way to him, Zhang Jiuxiao felt like a massive hand was holding his body in place, and no matter how he struggled, he was unable to break free from it.

In his current state, even if he was still able to see through the flaws in Zhang Ningxin's attacks, he was no longer able to evade them in advance.

Jiya!

Zhang Jiuxiao's body was slowly lifted into the air.

"Aren't you good at making breakthroughs? Come on, make a breakthrough for me, won't you?" Zhang Ningxin sneered.

It was one thing for Zhang Jiuxiao to be able to achieve successive breakthroughs within the Grand Dominion realm, but a breakthrough to the Phantasmal Space realm would require a much higher command of the spatial laws, so how could it possibly be that easy?

If it was that easy, the number of clan members who had successfully reached Phantasmal Space realm beneath thirty would be far more than fifty!

Despite being trapped in place, there was not the slightest sign of panic to be seen on Zhang Jiuxiao's face. Instead, he shook his head with a frustrated frown on his face. "I would love to make a breakthrough to, but I just haven't fixed some of the details yet."

"Fixed? What details do you need to fix for a breakthrough?" Zhang Ningxin burst into laughter. "Hilarious! Stop putting up that fake bravado of yours. It's clear that you have already lost the momentum required for a breakthrough. If you had accumulated enough, a breakthrough would come easily to you."

A breakthrough was something that came naturally once a person's cultivation had reached a certain point. As long as a cultivator's accumulation and comprehension had surpassed a certain point, they would be able to make a breakthrough.

If one could achieve a breakthrough by fixing details as you have said, everyone would be an expert!

Zhang Jiuxiao shrugged nonchalantly at Zhang Ningxin's questioning. "I really am fixing some details. I can't help it if you don't believe me."

"Humph, try fixing all you want then. If you have the ability to make a breakthrough, I suggest you do it now. Otherwise, this match will have to end right here..." Zhang Ningxin could not be bothered to waste his breath anymore, so he began tightening the force of his grip.

JIya! Jiya!

A loud creaking sound reverberated in the air as the pressure on Zhang Jiuxiao's bones intensified.

"Sigh, I intended to find a way for me to achieve a breakthrough silently so that I wouldn't draw too much attention, but you just had to force me to make a breakthrough like that..."

"Silently?"

"Catch too much attention?"

"Is that fellow's head still fine?"

"He's currently only at Grand Dominion realm pinnacle; what would be so eye-catching about him achieving a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm?"

The crowd was rendered dumbstruck by those ridiculous words.

As expected of an offspring of the side family, he sure was lacking in worldly experience! There would be several dozen members of the Zhang Clan who made a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm each year; that fellow was simply making a big fuss out of nothing!

On the erected platform, the elder asked, "First Elder, do you think that he'll really be able to make a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm?"

It had not even been an hour since the young man had raised his cultivation from Grand Dominion realm primary stage to pinnacle. To be honest, it seemed a little too convenient for him to be able to make a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm right now.

"I can't tell. Under normal circumstances, rising to a new realm would require a massive amount of accumulation and familiarization ahead of the breakthrough. Considering how Zhang Jiuxiao made several breakthroughs not too long ago, I don't think that it's very likely for him to be able to push his cultivation up any further," the First Elder analyzed contemplatively.

It was no wonder the First Elder would think as such. Such a rate of breakthrough was simply completely unheard of!

Hong long long!

"Forget it, I can't lose the tournament just over something like that!"

Before the First Elder could finish his words, on the dueling ring, Zhang Jiuxiao shook his head in regret as he opened his arms wide, and all of a sudden, his body jolted. Following which, a resounding buzz echoed as an immense surge of energy exploded.

His aura began surging swiftly, rising at an unstoppable pace as if a raging storm.

Huhuhu!

In this moment, even the sky above the sparring ground seemed to have darkened, and a huge congregation of dark clouds swiftly gathered above.

"T-this..." Seeing the gathering of the clouds, the First Elder's face paled in shock. "He isn't making a breakthrough to Half-Phantasmal Space realm but... straight to Phantasmal Space realm primary stage?"

Only a breakthrough from Half-Phantasmal Space realm to Phantasmal Space realm primary stage would draw in a lightning tribulation! The fact that the dark clouds had started settling in meant that Zhang Jiuxiao had completely circumvented the Half-Phantasmal Space realm to make a breakthrough to Phantasmal Space realm primary stage directly!

It was no wonder he said that he needed to fix some details.

A breakthrough to the Phantasmal Space realm meant that he had to face the Phantasmal Space Ordeal, so of course, he would need to fix some details and make some preparation!

Boom!

In his moment of shock, lightning had already started gathering in the sky, ready to fall at any moment.

"You..." Zhang Ningxin did not expect the other party to actually make a breakthrough to the Phantasmal Space realm and draw in a lightning tribulation. His palm trembled in fright, and he nearly lost control of his zhenqi.

"Even if you have made a breakthrough, I'll just have to defeat you before you face your lightning tribulation!" Forcefully calming himself down, a cold glint flickered across Zhang Ningxin's eyes.

Boom!

He gathered all of the strength in his palm and struck down on Zhang Jiuxiao.

At that moment, the lightning tribulation had yet to fully gather. He wanted to make use of this opening where Zhang Jiuxiao was in a vulnerable position to subdue him, and victory would be his to claim!

Kacha!

But before Zhang Ningxin's palm strike could even reach its target, a streak of lightning fell on his head, causing smoke to rise from his head.

Pu!

Fresh blood spurted out of his mouth as his body swayed weakly from side to side. Disbelief could be seen reflected in his eyes as he gasped. "How could the lightning bolt be so powerful when the lightning tribulation hasn't fully formed yet? There's no way the Phantasmal Space Ordeal could be this powerful!"

"Who told you that this is the Phantasmal Space Ordeal?" Zhang Jiuxiao shook his head.

Following which, a sound reminiscent of snapping bamboo echoed from his body.

Phantasmal Space realm primary stage!

Phantasmal Space realm intermediate stage!

Phantasmal Space realm advanced stage!

Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle!

Half-Dimension Sundering realm!

In an instant, he had already reached Half-Dimension Sundering realm, and he was on his way to making a breakthrough to the Dimension Sundering realm!

In other words, this lightning tribulation was actually the Dimension Sundering Ordeal!

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Chapter 1459: Irreplicable

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"The Dimension Sundering Ordeal?"

"How could that be possible?"

"Leaping two cultivation realms in a single breath..."

Everyone was stunned.

Even the First Elder was shocked beyond words. His cheeks were puffed crimson in agitation, and he opened and closed his mouth several times, but he was still unable to find his voice.

It was just a moment ago that he had said that it was not too likely for the young man to make a breakthrough to the Phantasmal Space realm, but who would have thought that the other party would actually rocket right up to the Dimension Sundering realm!

It was a common saying in the Master Teacher Continent that formidable geniuses were able to achieve breakthroughs as easily as drinking water... but not even drinking water would be as fast as this!

Was the young man really an offspring of the side family and not the young prodigy in disguise?

"This is... This can't be... This is impossible!" Zhang Ningxin's face had turned completely pale in shock, and he retreated several steps while shaking his head in disbelief.

For a Grand Dominion realm pinnacle cultivator to charge straight toward the Dimension Sundering realm... It was no wonder the other party said that he had to fix some of the details so as to avoid drawing too much attention. This was no longer at the level of drawing attention; this was at the level of stroke-inducing!

To actually step across an entire realm... How in the world did he manage to do that?

In order to advance from Phantasmal Space realm primary stage to intermediate stage, Zhang Ningxin had spent many long months cultivating, and he had paid a hefty price to obtain the resources needed for him to hasten his cultivation. Yet, the other party had actually managed to make the breakthrough in an instant.

The frustration he felt left him on the verge of spurting blood.

At this point, it seemed more like he was the one from the side family whereas the other party was from the main family!

While the crowd was shocked beyond words, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

This is more like it.

Back when Zhang Jiuxiao was cultivating, he had noticed that there was a tremendous surge of energy lying dormant within Zhang Jiuxiao, ready to burst forth at any moment.

During the previous break, Zhang Xuan had used the Library of Heaven's Path to analyze the surge of energy before telling Zhang Jiuxiao the way in which he could draw out that surge of energy. However, he had not thought that Zhang Jiuxiao would be able to push right for the Dimension Sundering realm.

If I'm not mistaken, this surge of energy was left in him after his bloodline was purified and partially awakened in the Blood Reservoir last night, Zhang Xuan thought.

Previously, he had used the golden page to enhance Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline, and at this moment, the purity of his bloodline was likely to exceed even that of the legendary young prodigy.

With the current level of purity of his bloodline, not only would he be able to effectively absorb the Time Quintessence in the Blood Reservoir and activate it, he would also be able to raise his cultivation explosively, just like how Zhao Ya and Yuan Tao had done in the past.

As the time that he had spent in the Blood Reservoir was severely limited, not to mention that he had spent most of the time going through the Saint 6-dan and Saint 7-dan cultivation techniques from Saint 6-dan to Saint 7-dan, he had not noticed the presence of the energy lying dormant in his body.

It was only after he achieved a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm pinnacle that Zhang Xuan noticed it. Thus, he had told Zhang Jiuxiao to use a special method to activate it, but he did not think that it would be so effective.

In the blink of an eye, he had broken through the bottleneck of the Phantasmal Space realm and rushed right for the Dimension Sundering realm.

Most geniuses of the Sage Clans would have their bloodlines activated from a young age, and they would slowly use the energy to raise their cultivation. On the other hand, Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline had only been activated after he reached the Grand Dominion realm, so the sheer scale of the energy that he had in there was not too difficult to imagine.

As expected of the bloodline of the strongest Sage Clan... Zhang Xuan thought in envy.

But of course, what's more important is that he has simulated the cultivation to the Phantasmal Space realm in his consciousness prior to his breakthrough, thus allowing him to control the energy within his body effectively. Otherwise, such swift successive breakthroughs would have been extremely hard to achieve, and in the worst-case scenario, his energy might even have run amok, causing him to literally explode.

While the energy from his bloodline was a reason behind his swift breakthrough, equally important was how familiar he had become with the Phantasmal Space realm Heaven's Path Divine Art.

Otherwise, tapping on this huge reserve of energy all of a sudden could really pose to be a great danger. In the worst-case scenario, he might have blown himself to dust.

It could be said that this swift breakthrough was really dependent on luck and timing, and it was irreplicable. Not even Zhang Xuan himself would be able to do the same.

I need to quickly make a breakthrough, too. Otherwise, it will be too embarrassing if I can't even match up to my own students, Zhang Xuan thought awkwardly.

Even a student whom he had just taken in was stronger than him. Could it be that he was more suited to be an educator than a cultivator?

Seeing the people around him overtake him had really left with a deep feeling of defeat.

If not for Sun Qiang serving as a counter-benchmark for him, he really would have thought that he was not suited for cultivation.

However, there's still a flaw in my Phantasmal Space realm Heaven's Path Divine Art.

Recalling the cultivation technique that was still incomplete despite all of his efforts to perfect it, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He would have loved to make a breakthrough if he could, but until his cultivation technique was impeccable, he was too disgusted by the flaws in it to cultivate it.

Given how many experts there are around here, as long as I can access their collection of cultivation technique manuals, it shouldn't be too difficult for me to fill in that one last flaw. Given so, I should be able to reach Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle within the next few days! Zhang Xuan tossed aside his concerns and turned his gaze back to the dueling ring.

More and more storm clouds were gathering in the area, ready to fall at any moment.

In this moment, everyone in the sparring grounds was already panicking. No one was fighting anymore, and they had all fled out of the radius of the lightning tribulation, assessing the situation warily from a distance away. Even the First Elder had backed out of the area with a livid expression.

Watching as the storm clouds grew larger and larger, Zhang Jiuxiao was starting to panic. He anxiously sent telepathic messages over to Zhang Xuan. "Teacher, what should I do?"

"You are my direct disciple. You have to overcome this lightning tribulation with your own strength!" Zhang Xuan replied sternly with a wave of his hand.

He would not mind helping others tide through their lightning tribulation but not his own direct disciples.

As dangerous as lightning tribulations were, they could be considered a trial to the cultivator. This was an experience that was crucial to make cultivators mature and grow. After all, Zhang Xuan could not always be around to cover his students from their lightning tribulations, so he could not allow them to become dependent on him.

"I understand!" Seeing the determined look on his teacher's face, Zhang Jiuxiao realized that there was no room for negotiation on this matter. Thus, he gritted his teeth and turned his gaze back to the sky.

"Follow what I have taught you, and you should be able to overcome the lightning tribulation with ease!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

Back when they were in the Blood Reservoir, he had imparted not only the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art but also a way to deal with the lightning tribulation.

While Zhang Xuan's method of dealing with lightning tribulations was something that others could not learn, he was still able to tally the insights of predecessors to devise a set of strategies that a cultivator could use to minimize the risk of the lightning tribulation.

"I understand." Knowing that he only had himself to count on, Zhang Jiuxiao took in a deep breath and roared loudly before dashing right into the sky.

From how he was willing to venture alone to the Qingyuan Empire just to vie for the slot to the Sanctum of Sages, it was not too hard to tell that he was a tenacious person full of grit.

His teacher had already handed him all the tools that he needed; what he needed to do now was take the last step forward with his own strength!

Tzla tzla!

Seemingly provoked by Zhang Jiuxiao's actions, the lightning tribulation crackled in fury. An eight-meter thick lightning bolt descended from the heavens.

Gritting his teeth tightly together, Zhang Jiuxiao dashed fearlessly toward it.

Boom!

By the time the lightning bolt dissipated, Zhang Jiuxiao was already lying on the ground, his body scorched with severe burns. His body was convulsing slightly, seemingly having sustained severe injuries.

Seeing this, Zhang Xuan felt compelled to dash forward to support his student, but at the last moment, he forced himself to stay put and averted his gaze.

He must survive this with his own strength. Only then will he mature and become independent.

Zhang Xuan believed that grooming a student was similar to raising a child. It was fine to guide them on every step of their journey when they were still younger and unprepared, but eventually, they had to learn to face the world on their own.

While he had only taken in Zhang Jiuxiao a day ago, he believed that Zhang Jiuxiao was already ready for it. If anything, this trial was what he needed in order for him to affirm his own strength and gain confidence in his capability. It would sever the inferiority complex that he had always felt as an offspring from the side family, allowing him to stand on his own two feet.

It was also with similar reasons that he had sent his other students out to venture out and find their own paths and reasons to fight.

Parents love their children by planning ahead for them.

Teachers love their students by creating opportunities for self-discovery so that they can learn and mature.

Currently, Zhang Jiuxiao had reached this important juncture in this life. Charge through it, and he would be like a fish morphing into a divine dragon, soaring into the boundless heavens where the sky was the limit.

On the other hand, if he failed, naturally, Zhang Xuan would step in and save him, but by then... he would no longer be worthy of remaining as his direct disciple.

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Chapter 1460: Zhang Xuan Disappeared

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"If Zhang Jiuxiao is able to survive this lightning tribulation, there will be no need to hold the tournament anymore," Zhang Wuchen mumbled as he looked at the overcast sky above crackling with lightning currents.

"Indeed." The First Elder nodded in agreement. "This lightning tribulation is clearly far stronger than that of ordinary Dimension Sundering Ordeals, such that even Saint 8-dan intermediate stage cultivators would find it hard to survive it. If he can emerge from it alive, he will indubitably be the number one figure of the younger generation!"

At their level of cultivation, they could already gauge the prowess of a lightning tribulation with just a glance.

Zhang Jiuxiao's lightning tribulation was as vast as an ocean, spanning a ridiculous size. Just the sheer prowess that was harnessed within the storm clouds was enough to leave goosebumps rising on their arms.

If the young man could survive something of this tier, it would effectively mean that even the currently speculated strongest individual of the younger generation, Zhang Chun, would not be close to being a match for him, thus placing him firmly in the top seat.

"How did an offspring of the side family like him manage to grow so quickly?" Zhang Wuchen was still unable to accept the sudden turn of events.

The First Elder shook his head and said, "That is a question we'll have to ask him once he overcomes the lightning tribulation."

While the two of them were speaking, the second streak of lightning was gradually forming.

Kacha!

This time, it was not just an ordinary lightning bolt. There was the cold glint of a weapon harnessed within it as it streaked downward, tearing through the space that stood in its way, leaving behind a dark gash in its wake.

"That's the Lightning Warrior of the lightning tribulation..." One of the elders amid the crowd gulped in horror.

If lightning tribulations were considered to be a simple punch, the emergence of a Lightning Warrior would be equivalent to the usage of a weapon.

Though they were both lightning bolts, there was a vast difference in their prowess.

"Come!" Swallowing a pill that his teacher had given to him, Zhang Jiuxiao's injuries swiftly recovered. With a furious roar, he whipped out a Saint high-tier weapon and drove it straight toward the lightning tribulation.

The strongest weapon that he had previously was only at Saint intermediate-tier, but for successfully getting into the Sanctum of Sages, the clan had gifted him with a Saint high-tier artifact, and in this crucial moment, he decided to take it out without any hesitation.

Kacha!

As the Saint artifact collided with the Lightning Warrior, it was split in two in an instant. Despite that, the might of the lightning bolt did not seem to weaken in the slightest.

Zhang Jiuxiao did not seem to be surprised by that at all. He spread open his fingers and formed a semispherical barrier of zhenqi above him.

When the lightning struck the barrier, a deafening explosion erupted, and a powerful shockwave burst through the sparring grounds, shaking the dueling rings intensely.

It was very fortunate that they were in the sparring grounds, so many Reinforcement Formations were in place. Otherwise, everything could have reduced to rubble from that single lightning bolt.

Peng!

Eventually, Zhang Jiuxiao managed to fend off the Lightning Warrior, but the sheer intensity of the lightning still seared his arms black. At the same time, He was pushed deep into the ground like a heavy cannonball, creating a huge pit above him.

"Could he have been electrocuted to death?"

"He shouldn't have, right?"

"This lightning is simply too fearsome. Even the managerial elders of the clan wouldn't be able to survive something of this scale! Considering how he has just barely made a breakthrough, not to mention that he even leaped an entire realm without reinforcing his cultivation at all... things really don't look too optimistic."

"Let's hope that he's fine. Even though he might be from the side family, it's still a blessing for the clan to have someone as talented as him in our ranks. Nothing can happen to him!"

Such words could be heard from the clan members all around as apprehension and nervousness colored their faces.

While there was significant internal rivalry within the Zhang Clan, the individual members still celebrated the rise of new geniuses instead of suppressing them. This was because they knew full well that the prosperity of the clan was dependent on the number and quality of the talents that they had, and only when the clan remained strong would there be good days ahead for them.

Hu!

While everyone was staring intently in worry, Zhang Jiuxiao leisurely flew up from the bottom of the pit.

The current him was charred black from head to toe. Nevertheless, resolve still could be seen reflected on his face. It seemed like he was devoid of any fear toward the lightning in the sky.

Hong long long!

The third lightning bolt was about to fall very soon.

The Dimension Sundering Ordeal consisted of three lightning bolts, and each of them was stronger than the last. Countless experts had fallen to it in history.

"The third lightning bolt is not only powerful—it also harnesses a Heart Ordeal in it. Being from the side family, Zhang Jiuxiao has never undergone proper training to temper his mental resilience before, so it won't be easy for him to overcome his inner demons," the First Elder remarked worriedly.

"Indeed. To overcome this hurdle, on top of possessing great strength, he must have an unwavering will. I fear that he might not be ready for this yet," Zhang Wuchen replied apprehensively.

If this genius who had just barely emerged through the ranks were to fall to the lightning tribulation, it would really be a huge loss to the Zhang Clan.

"However, a lightning tribulation of this scale is no longer something that we can interfere in. Let's do this then. Go and look for Zhang Xuan, and if he can help us settle the lightning tribulation and save Zhang Jiuxiao... we can let everything that he has done previously go," the First Elder said.

Based on what Zhang Wuchen had told him, he realized that Zhang Xuan was indeed Yang shi's student. Considering how he was able to resolve even the devastating Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast with ease, as large as Zhang Jiuxiao's Dimension Sundering Ordeal was, it should not be too difficult for him to chase it away as well.

"Very well!" Knowing how important this matter was, Zhang Wuchen quickly flew toward Zhang Xuan's accommodation, and it did not take long for him to arrive at his destination.

"Hmm? He isn't around?" Zhang Wuchen swiftly swept through the accommodation with his Spiritual Perception, but Zhang Xuan was nowhere to be seen.

With a frown, he pushed open the door and walked in.

"Elder Wuchen." Jian Qinsheng stood up.

"Do you know where Zhang shi is?" Zhang Wuchen got straight to the topic at hand.

Back then, he had brought Jian Qinsheng and Zhang Xuan here together, and after taking the latter to the Blood Reservoir, Zhang Wuchen had left him to return here alone. Under normal circumstances, he should have obediently stayed put in his residence or at least stayed within the vicinity, so why was he nowhere to be seen?

Jian Qinsheng pondered for a moment before saying, "Zhang shi was taken away by you last night, and I heard that he met Zhang Jiuxiao later on and went out with the latter."

Zhang Jiuxiao had come here to look for Zhang Xuan, and later on, the two of them had left and never come back. For Zhang Wuchen to be looking for Zhang Xuan at this moment, could something have happened?

"Wait a moment, are you saying that Zhang Jiuxiao... came to look for Zhang Xuan last night?" Zhang Wuchen narrowed his eyes at this surprising information. "Just to verify, are you speaking of the offspring of the Zhang Clan's side family who has gotten into the Sanctum of Sages, Zhang Jiuxiao?"

"Of course, it's not a habit of mine to memorize the names of the offspring of the Zhang Clan otherwise!" Jian Qinsheng harrumphed.

"How does Zhang Jiuxiao know Zhang Xuan?" Zhang Wuchen could hardly believe what he was hearing.

The new, rising genius of the Zhang Clan was actually acquainted with the dastardly Zhang Xuan?

"How am I supposed to know that? In any case, they are very close to one another!" Jian Qinsheng replied impatiently.

"Alright, I understand. Sorry for imposing on you." With a look of disbelief on his face, Zhang Wuchen quickly flew back to the sparring grounds.

In the time that he had spent looking for Zhang Xuan, the lightning bolt in the sky had already finished charging up, and it surged down with a deafening rumble.

In an instant, Zhang Jiuxiao suddenly found himself standing confusedly in the midst of a junction, and his soul flickered weakly in uncertainty, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment.

He was just an ordinary member of the side family. In the behemoth known as the Zhang Clan, he did not have the slightest shred of standing, dignity, or even presence. Even if he had died in the Qingyuan Empire, it would not have caused the slightest ripple in the Zhang Clan.

Just like how he had been born a nobody, he would have died a nobody as well.

It was his teacher who had placed control of his life back in his hands.

His teacher had helped him get into the Sanctum of Sages as a student, and after which, he had even bestowed him with the strongest bloodline.

Since my teacher said that I can overcome the Dimension Sundering Ordeal, I'll be able to do it. No, I must do it! Even if it costs me my life, I cannot disappoint him!

Such was the strong will that burned in Zhang Jiuxiao's heart, and it brought unimaginable strength to his body. Astonishingly, it actually caused the lightning ordeal to simply slip right past his body, unable to cause the slightest harm at all.

The First Elder narrowed his eyes. "This is... the power of the bloodline? And it's even purer than mine? But... this is impossible!"

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Chapter 1461: Surviving the Lightning Ordeal

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The activation of Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline happened so silently that it was hard for anyone to discern anything. However, due to the purity of the First Elder's bloodline, he immediately felt a faint resonance with Zhang Jiuxiao.

And to his shock, he found that the bloodline that Zhang Jiuxiao possessed was even stronger than his!

In the entire Zhang Clan, his bloodline was only second to the deputy clan head, the Xing Sword Saint. For an offspring of the side family to be able to suppress his bloodline... even after double checking it multiple times, he still found the matter inconceivable.

The First Elder's body stiffened in astonishment. I have only seen this level of purity in the young prodigy before. Could it possibly be him?

The young prodigy had been born with a bloodline comparable to the founder of the Zhang Clan, and due to that, he had directly been chosen as the next clan head, and a life of greatness lay ahead of him.

However, it was a pity that a certain incident had occurred, and shortly after... he had gone missing!

Given how pure Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline was, could it possibly be him?

No, that's not right. Zhang Jiuxiao is already in his late twenties whereas the young prodigy should only be twenty this year. There's a huge difference in their age, so they can't be the same person. Also, it doesn't make sense for us to have missed the high purity of his bloodline in the past!

Offspring of the Zhang Clan, regardless of whether they were from the main family or the side family, would have their bloodline checked at birth. In fact, there were some top geniuses whose bloodline purity could be checked through a unique method even while they were in their mother's womb. Naturally, Zhang Jiuxiao would have gone through such a check, and it would have been detailed in the records.

If the young man really possessed such a pure bloodline, there was no way that he could have been overlooked!

Or could the First Elder have remembered incorrectly and unintentionally overlooked this genius of the Zhang Clan?

"Wuzhen, head to the Hall of Rituals and bring Zhang Jiuxiao's record over to me," instructed the First Elder as turned his head.

"Yes!" Hearing the First Elder's command, Elder Wuzhen hurriedly left the area.

It did not take long for him to return with a book in hand.

Zhang Jiuxiao's record was stored in the archive room for the side family in the Hall of Rituals, so it had not been too difficult for him to find it. The First Elder hurriedly took the record and flipped it open. "The age indeed doesn't tally. His soul is stable, perfectly fused with his body, so the possibility of him being possessed by another person is zero. During the previous check, he only possessed the lowest bloodline that isn't even worth mentioning. How is there such a huge difference now?"

The First Elder swiftly finished looking through the record, and he could not help but shake his head in incomprehension.

A unique artifact was employed in order to check the bloodline of the Zhang Clan members so as to avoid human error and oversight. As such, the chances of any errors occurring were as good as zero. Besides, if someone with such a pure bloodline had been born, the Hall of Rituals would have responded through some kind of phenomenon, such as how the entire hall rattled and Kong shi's sculpture rose when the young prodigy was born.

All in all, there was simply no way that an offspring with a bloodline that pure could have been born without them realizing, lying low for more than twenty years before suddenly dazzling their eyes with his brilliance!

"I want you to investigate Zhang Jiuxiao's complete history, compile it into a report, and bring it to me!" the First Elder instructed.

The Zhang Clan's intelligence network was not to be scoffed at, and the fact that Zhang Jiuxiao was a master teacher made it even easier to look into his affairs. Thus, it did not take long before Elder Wuzhen returned once more with a book in hand.

The First Elder swiftly browsed through the content within, and he could not help but fall into deeper confusion.

It did seem like Zhang Jiuxiao was quite a talented individual, but to put it in Zhang Clan's standards, it was still rather lackluster. The turning point seemed to be around three to four months ago, when his rate of cultivation suddenly quickened. Nevertheless, it still had not reached a level where the Zhang Clan would need to pay much attention to him..

Zhang Wuchen walked up and worriedly reported, "First Elder, I found out that just last night, Zhang Jiuxiao went to look for Zhang Xuan. Not only so, Zhang Xuan is currently not in the accommodation that we have assigned him."

"Zhang Jiuxiao met Zhang Xuan last night?" The First Elder was bewildered to learn of the association between the two. He stroked his lower jaw and pondered for a moment before remarking, "Zhang Xuan seems to have come from the Qingyuan Empire as well..."

He had looked through the intelligence that the Zhang Clan had acquired on Zhang Xuan as well, and considering how Zhang Xuan also hailed from the Qingyuan Empire, it was likely that the both of them had gotten acquainted with one another then. Thinking about it, they did enter the Sanctum of Sages together, so it was impossible for the both of them not to know about one another.

The First Elder pondered for a while longer, but he was still unable to figure out what was happening. He rubbed his glabella and instructed, "Don't tell anyone about this matter yet. For the time being, dispatch some personnel to continue looking for Zhang Xuan—don't let him cause any trouble in the clan!"

To be honest, even he had to admit that the fellow named Zhang Xuan was a top genius, be it in terms of his mastery as a master teacher or the skills that he had displayed in his supporting occupations. Alas, it was a huge pity that he simply loved causing damage everywhere he went!

In less than a day after arriving at the Zhang Clan, he had already induced a huge commotion. Countless buildings had already fallen victim to his tyranny. No one would be able to take it if he was allowed to continue wreaking havoc in the clan!

"Understood!" Zhang Wuchen nodded before swiftly leaving the area.

After handling these issues, the First Elder turned his gaze to the lightning tribulation once more and saw that Zhang Jiuxiao had already survived the final streak of lightning. Gradually, the ominous clouds were starting to clear up.

The Dimension Sundering Ordeal had left Zhang Jiuxiao in a battered condition. Whether it was his physical body or his soul, they were in an unprecedentedly fragile condition. Despite so, his aura was quickly surging toward a greater height, and at the same time, a mysterious bundle of energy seemed to be manifesting within his body, ready to burst forth at any moment to cause great destruction.

"That's the power of Dimension Sundering... He has successfully made a breakthrough!" the First Elder exclaimed in agitation.

To be able to reach such a level below the age of thirty, Zhang Jiuxiao was indubitably the most talented offspring of the entire Zhang Clan.

Hu!

The First Elder quickly flitted down from the platform that he was on to stand before Zhang Jiuxiao. He whipped out a pill and said, "Hurry up and swallow this. It'll help you recover swiftly from your injuries."

"Thank you, First Elder!" Zhang Jiuxiao took the pill.

It was a grade-9 pill that had tremendous effectiveness in recovering the wounds sustained by the body and soul.

However, Zhang Jiuxiao did not rush into consuming it. He quickly thanked the First Elder before fumbling his way over to a middle-aged man, and with an excited look on his face, he said telepathically, "Teacher, I have succeeded!"

"Yes, I saw it. Swallow the pill that the First Elder has given you and quickly recover from your injuries. Its effects are so-so, but it's exactly what you need in your current state," Zhang Xuan replied telepathically with a nod. "Also, given how huge a commotion you have caused, the First Elder is bound to ask about the matter. As you know, I like to be low profile and don't wish to reveal my identity, so think well before you speak, got it?"

"Yes, Teacher!" Zhang Jiuxiao hurriedly nodded.

Following that, he swallowed the pill, and the fatigue and aching pain he was suffering significantly lessened. He quickly sat down and channeled the medicinal energy within the pill throughout his body. In less than an hour, he had already recovered from most of his injuries.

Seeing that Zhang Jiuxiao was done recuperating, Elder Wuzhen flew over and said, "Zhang Jiuxiao, the First Elder is looking for you."

"Understood!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

He shot an inconspicuous glance toward his teacher behind, only to see the latter looking focused at the ground, seemingly dazing off.

Knowing that his teacher did not want to attract too much attention to himself, he turned around and instructed, "You should return to the accommodation first. I'll head over after meeting the First Elder."

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist politely.

He was acting as Zhang Jiuxiao's subordinate at this moment, so naturally, his actions had to be fitting of one as well.

As every offspring that had come to the tournament had brought some of their subordinates along, Zhang Wuchen did not think much of their interaction. He led the way forward, and Zhang Jiuxiao followed closely behind him.

They left the sparring grounds and headed toward the center of the city.

In that moment, Zhang Jiuxiao was feeling deeply nervous inside.

As an offspring of the side family, he had never been in such close proximity to the main family before.

Putting everything aside, just the formations set up around the area were enough to trap those who did not know their way around for life.

Zhang Wuchen came to a stop before a hall. "The First Elder is right inside."

"Understood." Zhang Jiuxiao assessed the building before him. It was a vast hall, reminiscent of a guest lounge of some sort.

Without much hesitation, he made his way inside.

Barely after stepping through the door, just as he wanted to scan his surroundings, he suddenly felt a powerful pressure crushing down on his body.

Boom!

It was an aura filled with malicious intent, reminiscent of a vicious beast baring its fangs at someone. It engulfed his surroundings in an instant, leaving him feeling as if he would be torn to shreds.

"What?" Sensing a powerful force heading his way, Zhang Jiuxiao's body stiffened.

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Chapter 1462: Professionally Humble

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The force in the hall did not show the slightest hint of mercy. If Zhang Jiuxiao remained rooted to the spot, he could very well lose his life.

Knowing that there was no time to be lost, Zhang Jiuxiao took a deep breath and quickly retreated.

Peng!

He found his back pressed against the door. Only at that instant did he realize that the door behind him had been closed and sealed with multiple layers of formations. Even with his strength as a Dimension Sundering realm cultivator, he was still unable to inflict the slightest bit of damage to it.

"Darn it!" Knowing that it was too late for him to dodge, Zhang Jiuxiao flicked his wrist and retaliated with a palm strike of his own.

Boom!

His palm collided with the assailant's.

Kacha!

Zhang Jiuxiao immediately felt a crushing pressure on his chest that pushed out all of the oxygen in his lungs. The injuries that had barely recovered from the earlier lightning tribulation tore open once more, and a searing pain engulfed Zhang Jiuxiao's body.

"Dimension Sundering realm primary stage?"

However, this exchange of blows did give Zhang Jiuxiao an idea of the strength of the assailant—the other party was at Dimension Sundering realm primary stage as well.

"Humph!"

Since they were of the same cultivation realm, there was nothing for him to fear. With a forceful push against the ground, Zhang Jiuxiao leaped upward as he directed a barrage of palm strikes in the direction of the assailant.

Hula!

It took just an instant for raging air currents to fill the room completely, as if a brewing tornado. Powerful bursts of might were shot forth here and there, inducing ceaseless sonic booms.

Even though Zhang Jiuxiao had barely reached Dimension Sundering realm primary stage, the simulation that he had gone through in the Blood Reservoir had allowed him to fully grasp his strength up to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle. He had also tried to simulate a breakthrough several times then, and this had given him some experience in driving the power of Dimension Sundering. As such, his movements were still considerably fluid, devoid of the usual stiffness that a cultivator unaccustomed to their strength would have.

Boom boom boom!

Zhang Jiuxiao's counterattack was swift, but his assailant was even faster. The latter successfully fended off all of his palm strikes without sustaining the slightest bit of damage.

Nevertheless, while he was in the air, he was able to catch a good sight of the person who had assaulted him.

The other party was dressed in a rather loose-fitting robe, making it hard to gauge his exact physique. At the same time, he was wearing a mask, which blocked even Spiritual Perception from looking beneath it. All in all, that individual felt like a particularly enigmatic figure.

"Who are you? Why are you in the First Elder's residence?" Zhang Jiuxiao asked with narrowed eyes.

Hu!

Instead of answering his question, the assailant raised his palm and sent another palm strike over.

The other party's movements were rather gentle, thus making it appear as if his palm strike did not harness much force. However, the goosebumps that rose on Zhang Jiuxiao's arms in response to the palm strike told a very different story.

Knowing that the assailant would not give himself away that easily, Zhang Jiuxiao could not be bothered to ask anymore. Raising his hands, he charged forward to face his opponent directly.

While his talent might have been lacking in comparison to Zhang Xuan, no matter what, he had still been a famed genius back in the days when he was still in the Qingyuan Empire. Naturally, his aptitude for combat was decent.

Furthermore, the current him had already undergone one-to-one lessons with Zhang Xuan, and that had brought his proficiency in combat to a whole new level.

In the blink of an eye, he had already exchanged eight blows with the masked assailant. While there seemed to be many times where Zhang Jiuxiao was in peril, he was always able to slip out in the crucial juncture, thus averting the danger in the end.

Even though the battle was difficult for Zhang Jiuxiao, the masked man was not faring too well either. Zhang Jiuxiao had just made a breakthrough and was still injured, but no matter what, he had still received Zhang Xuan's individual tutelage.

It would be no exaggeration to say that Zhang Jiuxiao's current combat skills were ranked among the top in the Master Teacher Continent, even if they still came nowhere to Zhang Xuan's. As such, in just a few blows, the masked assailant was already struggling to keep up.

"Heh!" Knowing that he was getting cornered, the masked assailant suddenly sneered coldly.

Following which, a powerful aura burst forth from his body, and his silhouette suddenly blurred like a specter. The next instant, he was already standing before Zhang Jiuxiao with his palm thrusting forth at an incredible speed.

Peng!

Unprepared for this, Zhang Jiuxiao was sent flying by that palm strike, and he crashed into the wall behind him.

"Bloodline ability! You are from the Zhang Clan?" Zhang Jiuxiao exclaimed in shock.

He was certain that the ability that the masked assailant had just used was the unique ability of the Zhang Clan's bloodline!

"Humph!"

However, there was still no response from the masked assailant. Instead, the latter flitted forward again, and the surrounding time seemed to have slowed down in contrast to his movements. Before Zhang Jiuxiao could realize it, he had already been struck squarely once more, and a mouthful of blood escaped through his lips.

The Zhang Clan's bloodline allowed one to struggle free from the restraints of time and move at a speed faster than the limits of a human. To the eye of an outsider, it would appear as if Zhang Jiuxiao had slowed instead and was unable to keep up with the masked assailant.

This won't do. At this rate, I'll really be beaten to death by that fellow!

After sustaining a few more punches, Zhang Jiuxiao felt his body swiftly creeping toward its limits. He knew that he would not survive a few more punches, and his eyes reddened in agitation.

He had come here to meet the First Elder, but instead of finding the First Elder, he had found himself faced with a masked assailant. Every single move that the latter executed was deadly, aimed right at his vitals, and if this continued, he really might lose his life!

I can't afford to hold back anymore.

Knowing that this was no time for him to be holding back his strength, Zhang Jiuxiao took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He began driving his bloodline, and in an instant, everything before him suddenly seemed to have started playing in slow motion.

This was the ability of the Zhang Clan's bloodline!

He had been unable to use it in the past, but as his bloodline became purer, he found himself being able to activate the ability with just a simple thought.

As the surroundings slowed down, the movements of the charging masked man immediately came into sight. Everything that he had not been able to perceive previously appeared before him with the utmost clarity.

"Humph!" Zhang Jiuxiao raised his foot and sent a powerful kick over to the other party.

Peng peng peng peng!

Leg, palm, fist, finger... all sorts of attacks rained down on the masked assailant like a storm. The masked assailant never thought that Zhang Jiuxiao would be able to move even faster than him, and before he could even react, he had already been struck numerous times.

His body was forcefully pushed back, and with a spurt of blood, his back slammed heavily into the wall.

"Die!" Knowing that there was a time limit to how long he could keep his unique bloodline activated for, Zhang Jiuxiao had absolutely no intention of holding back.

If he showed mercy to the assailant now, he could very well lose his life once the duration of his unique bloodline went into cooldown.

He was not so kind as to give his life up for a stranger who wanted his life!

Peng peng peng peng!

A barrage of attacks fell on the masked assailant, completely overwhelming the latter, leaving him no room to counterattack at all. But just as Zhang Jiuxiao was about to launch the decisive move, a huge surge of power suddenly burst forth from the assailant before him, knocking him away.

Following which, Zhang Jiuxiao felt an unbelievably strong power holding his body in place, rendering him completely unable to move.

"W-what? How can you be so powerful?" Zhang Jiuxiao narrowed his eyes in horror.

He had already reached Dimension Sundering realm primary stage, but even so, the power emanating from the masked assailant was still able to render him completely helpless. This meant to say that the person was at least at Saint 9-dan... or perhaps even higher than that!

A person wielding such strength could be considered one of the strongest figures in the clan, but it was incomprehensible why such a powerful person would go to the extent of masking himself and attempting to assassinate him!

"Enough, let's stop here." The masked assailant's deep voice reverberated across the room.

Following which, the masked assailant's aura continued to surge, and in just the blink of an eye, it had already reached a level that Zhang Jiuxiao had never before dared fathom.

"This voice..." At that moment, what had caught Zhang Jiuxiao's attention was not the overwhelming strength of the masked assailant but the familiarity of his voice.

He raised his head, only to see the masked assailant taking off his mask, revealing a very familiar face.

"First Elder, you..." Zhang Jiuxiao was stunned.

How could the vicious assailant whose every move had been aimed at his vitals, determined to drag him down into the depths of hell, be the First Elder?

"Your bloodline is purer than even mine... Tell me, Zhang Jiuxiao, how did you do it?" the First Elder asked in a calm, inquisitive voice, devoid of any malice or hostility.

"You were... testing me out earlier?" Zhang Jiuxiao widened his eyes in astonishment as cold sweat trickled down his back.

It was just a moment ago that his teacher had reminded him to maintain a low profile, but he had already given himself away!

It seemed like he really had much more to learn from his teacher.

His teacher had been able to keep his identity as the Celestial Master Teacher under wraps from the rest of the world for such a long period of time, but he could not even keep his bloodline concealed for more than a day. Indeed, when it came to being humble and low profile, he still had a long way to go!

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Chapter 1463: I Have a Humble Teacher

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"I could already tell while you were facing your lightning tribulation that your bloodline is even purer than mine, but I simply found it too hard to believe then that I wanted to test it for myself to confirm the matter. To think that it would really be true!" the First Elder replied.

He stared deeply into Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes, seemingly trying to peer deep into the latter's soul as he said, "I have looked into your background. Your Zhang Clan bloodline should have been so thin that it's nearly negligible, so how did it become so pure?"

This was a matter that had been bugging his mind all this while.

Such a thing had never happened in the history of the Zhang Clan.

"I..." Zhang Jiuxiao stopped for a brief moment as he swiftly went through the excuse that he had prepared in advance before saying, "To be honest, I'm not too sure either. It simply happened shortly after I achieved a breakthrough to the Grand Dominion realm. All of a sudden, my bloodline just grew purer and purer..."

While Zhang Jiuxiao was indeed an offspring of the Zhang Clan, he was simply too far off from the main family, so he hardly knew anything about the bloodline. In any case, his understanding of the topic was bound to be beneath that of the First Elder. Instead of wracking his brain in search of a flawless story, he might as well feign ignorance and let the First Elder fill up the gaps on his own.

That would be more believable than any story that he could cook up.

"Are you saying that your bloodline was hidden too deep in your body, so it could only be awakened after you cultivated to a certain level?" the First Elder asked contemplatively with a deep frown.

Such a situation was not too uncommon with unique constitutions. Most unique constitutions lay dormant within the cultivator's body, awakened only when the cultivator finally reached a certain level of strength. Otherwise, it would be nigh impossible to detect the presence of the unique constitution within his body.

Zhang Jiuxiao ruminated deeply on the First Elder's words before nodding slowly in agreement. "That... I'm not too sure how it works, but that does seem to be the case!"

"That's impossible!" The First Elder abruptly shook his head. "The Zhang Clan's bloodline harnesses the Time Quintessence, so there's no way it could possibly circumvent the detection of our artifacts!"

As a clan specializing in the interpretation of Time Quintessence, the First Elder was certain that their means of measuring the purity of a Zhang Clan offspring's bloodline were infallible. In a sense, this was similar to how a person looking at the night sky would never miss a comet streaking across the darkness.

Besides, due to the unique nature of the Zhang Clan's bloodline, the possibility of it being awakened reduced exponentially as one advanced past his twenties. Considering how Zhang Jiuxiao was already nearing his thirties, even if the Zhang Clan were to devote all of its resources into helping him, it would still take a grueling amount of time and effort in order to awaken it. So, how could Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline possibly awaken within such a short span of time, not to mention, even achieving breakthroughs all the way to the Dimension Sundering realm?

"Besides, I can sense lingering traces of the Time Quintessence that should only have been in the Blood Reservoir infused in your bloodline. Clearly, you have been tempering your bloodline at the Blood Reservoir! An offspring of the side family like you shouldn't be qualified to enter the premises of the Blood Reservoir, and I haven't found any records approving your entry to the Blood Reservoir. So, tell me, Zhang Jiuxiao, how did you get into the Blood Reservoir?" the First Elder questioned in a sharp voice.

At the same time, the pressure that he exerted through his aura also grew significantly stronger, causing the air in the room to suddenly grow thinner.

Putting aside the fact that the Blood Reservoir only worked on offspring with sufficiently pure bloodlines, even offspring whose bloodlines had met the mark would have to absorb the Time Quintessence under the guidance of an elder, or else they would risk their cultivation going berserk.

It was in view of such dangers that access to the Blood Reservoir was limited to even the core members of the Zhang Clan. Yet, somehow, Zhang Jiuxiao had still managed to get in and even successfully tempered his bloodline!

"I..." Cold sweat began trickling down Zhang Jiuxiao's forehead as he fell silent.

It felt almost as if the First Elder's eyes were able to see right through all of his deception and falsehood. He knew that he could not give away his teacher's participation in this matter, but at this moment, he felt as if he had already been cornered.

"I have also looked into your performance after entering the Sanctum of Sages. Your cultivation did grow faster a little, but it was still within a normal range, not too different from the average genius of our Zhang Clan. The anomaly only started last night! You left your accommodation and disappeared for the entire night, and when you appeared once more, you suddenly started pushing for consecutive breakthroughs, reaching your current realm in the blink of an eye."

At this point, the First Elder looked at Zhang Jiuxiao with perfectly calm eyes as he spoke particularly unnerving words to the latter. "There are very few people in this world who are able to blatantly lie to my face, so I suggest you think carefully about how you should speak in order for me to believe you."

A shudder ran through Zhang Jiuxiao's back.

The discerning eyes of a high-ranked master teacher were not to be underestimated. The old man standing before him was a true 9-star master teacher, a person who stood at the very zenith of the Master Teacher Continent.

One had to weather countless storms and survive multiple catastrophes in order to reach that position of power, and it would have been nigh impossible for one to do so without learning how to read into the hearts of others.

Zhang Jiuxiao fell into deep panic as he realized the quandary that he was in. However, at the same time, he could not help but feel a little awe for his teacher. How did Teacher manage to do it?

His teacher had come a long way without revealing his identity as a Celestial Master Teacher to anyone. Through this, one could see how well he was able to reel in his thoughts and conceal himself.

On the other hand, when he attempted to hide his bloodline, all it took was half a day for him to be caught.

"I only want to hear the truth. You need not fear me; I don't mean any harm to you. However, I need to know what's going on within the Zhang Clan in order to ensure that no harm comes to it. I know that you have your own secrets that you have to keep, so the least I can promise you is that what you say to me today will not be heard by a third person, and I'll make no attempts to dig this matter up any further after this." Seeing that Zhang Jiuxiao's will was wavering, the First Elder pushed a little more.

"Alright then..." After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Jiuxiao finally caved in. He realized that there was no other way out of this, so he swiftly sorted out what he should and should not reveal before saying, "To tell you the truth, First Elder, the reason I have been able to come this far today is because I have found myself a good teacher!"

"Found yourself a good teacher?" The First Elder frowned.

"Indeed. My teacher is a highly talented man who is unmatched by any other that I have seen in this world. It might seem like I am exaggerating when I say this, but I believe that his capabilities would even match Kong shi's back then! It was he who taught me how to fight and purified my bloodline, allowing me to rise to the top. Without him, I would be naught but an ordinary man!"

As Zhang Jiuxiao began speaking, the pressure that had been weighing on his mind gradually dissipated as his words grew more and more impassioned, clearly reflecting the respect and awe that he had for his teacher.

"You believe that the capabilities of your teacher are comparable to Kong shi's?" Hearing those words, the First Elder could not help but shake his head.

There was no one in this world who could match Kong shi—there was no questioning this fact.

But from the earnest emotions tinged within Zhang Jiuxiao's words, the First Elder could see that the young man indeed believed that to be the case.

Nevertheless, this did make perfect sense. Without a good teacher, how could an ordinary side family member possibly be able to overpower even him when the two of them were fighting at the same cultivation level.

The First Elder pondered for a brief moment before saying, "I know of all of the 9-star master teachers on the Master Teacher Continent. May I know which friend of mine your teacher is?"

In his view, in order to bring about such a massive change in Zhang Jiuxiao, at the bare minimum, the teacher whom the latter had spoken of had to at least be a 9-star master teacher.

And there were only so many 9-star master teachers on the Master Teacher Continent. Even if he did not know Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher in person, he should have heard of that person's name at the very least. Just who in the world possessed such great ability to be able to achieve what even he would be unable to accomplish?

"I beg of the First Elder's pardon. My teacher is an extremely low-profile individual, and he doesn't wish for me to speak of his name to others. As his student, I am deeply reluctant to go against his will!" Zhang Jiuxiao clasped his fist.

He was not really lying when he said this.

Even if the conflict between his teacher and the Zhang Clan had not occurred, his teacher still would not have wanted to see his name being tossed around. After all, his teacher had always been a low-profile person, so such ostentatious actions would only draw his ire.

"Low-profile individual..." The First Elder swiftly went through all of the 9-star master teachers, and there were none that fit that requirement. He shook his head and said, "Since that's your teacher's will, it would be inappropriate of me to ask you to reveal his identity. Nevertheless, the fact that your teacher possesses the ability to purify your bloodline to this extent and bring about such tremendous growth in your cultivation is more than sufficient to show that he's a person of great capabilities, very possibly ranking amid the top of the Master Teacher Continent!"

Even he, despite being the First Elder of the Zhang Clan, did not possess the ability to induce such massive changes in a seemingly average talented individual. In fact, not even Yang shi would be capable of doing so!

But Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher had managed to do it, and that was more than enough proof of his capabilities!

The true experts lurked in the shadows. While Yang shi was reputed as the number one expert of the world, the First Elder knew that there were definitely other experts in the Master Teacher Continent who could stand on par with or even above him!

The Master Teacher Pavilion might have been the largest and most powerful organization on the Master Teacher Continent, but not even it had the ability or resources to keep track of every single expert on the continent!

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Chapter 1464: Marry Her!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Yes, I have no doubt that my teacher is the number one teacher in the world!" Hearing the First Elder's compliment, Zhang Jiuxiao nodded readily in agreement.

Putting him aside, even his seven seniors were figures who would rattle the entire continent in the near future!

Considering how each and every one of his teacher's students was so outstanding, who could dare claim to be able to rival him?

Listening to Zhang Jiuxiao's response, the First Elder naturally attributed it to the innate respect that a student would have toward their teacher, and he simply smiled politely at those words, not bothering to refute them. He flicked his wrist and passed a token over. "Since your teacher wishes not for his identity to be revealed, I won't question you any further on the matter either. However, the fact still remains that he has helped us groom such an outstanding offspring in our Zhang Clan, so there's no questioning that he's a great benefactor of our Zhang Clan!

"This is our highest honorary guest token of our Zhang Clan; I hope that you can pass it over to him in my stead. As long as he holds this token in hand, any member of the Zhang Clan who encounters him will have to accord him the utmost respect and fulfill his demands to the best of their ability!"

"Thank you, First Elder!" Seeing that the other party had chosen not to pursue this issue, Zhang Jiuxiao heaved a sigh of relief and took the token.

Despite the small size of the token, it was actually much heavier than it looked. It carried an air of history to it, reminiscent of an ancient artifact. With just a glance, it was apparent that it was an extremely valuable item.

"In the entire history of the Zhang Clan, we have only given out this honorary guest token thrice. It's in view of the fact that he's your teacher and his ability to groom you to be such an outstanding individual that we have decided to show the utmost goodwill of our clan," the First Elder said grimly.

In terms of the sheer purity of bloodline, Zhang Jiuxiao could be said to nearly be on par with the young prodigy back then. With such a figure amid their ranks, it seemed like the Zhang Clan's greatness would be secured for the next millennium to come. Not only so, the issue that they had been worrying about all along would also be successfully resolved!

On this in itself, Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was indeed a benefactor of the Zhang Clan.

Putting aside an honorary guest token, as long as the other party's demands were not too overboard, the Zhang Clan would surely try their best to fulfill his needs.

"I understand!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

Considering that his teacher was a Celestial Master Teacher, he was bound to be a figure who would stand at the very top of the Master Teacher Continent in the end. Naturally, it was only right for the Zhang Clan to fawn over him.

"I won't pursue the matter concerning the identity of your teacher, but there's one matter that I need you to explain to me." The First Elder looked at Zhang Jiuxiao sternly before continuing on. "I heard that you were with the Sanctum of Sages' Zhang Xuan last night. Do you know where he is at the moment? Also, what were the both of you doing?"

That Zhang Xuan was truly the herald of catastrophe. The Zhang Clan had to tread carefully around him, or else, before they knew it, everything around them would be turned to rubble. Naturally, they had to keep a close eye on his whereabouts so as to guard against him.

As for associating Zhang Xuan together with Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher... honestly speaking, such a thought had never flashed across the First Elder's mind.

In his view, Zhang Xuan could only be considered a slightly more talented youngster. How could he possibly be able to achieve something that even he and Yang shi were incapable of pulling off?

Not to mention, considering how talented Zhang Jiuxiao was, he surely did not have to take someone younger and weaker than him as his teacher!

"Te... Zhang shi is a close friend of mine. I visited him last night in order to ask him about some matters, but we went our separate ways shortly after. I'm not too sure about where he went afterward," Zhang Jiuxiao replied.

"You aren't too sure?" the First Elder asked with a frown. He was just about to continue questioning Zhang Jiuxiao when he suddenly raised his eyebrows. Following which, he whipped out his token and took a swift glance at it before turning his gaze back to Zhang Jiuxiao. "You have just undergone the lightning tribulation and utilized your unique bloodline, so your body is currently quite frail. For the time being, you can use this room to recuperate from your injuries. I have some matters to attend to at the moment, so I'll have to take my leave for a short while."

After which, the First Elder took out a pill and passed it over to Zhang Jiuxiao. "This is a pill specially forged for our clan members. It has the effect of allowing one to quickly recover from the side effects of activating one's unique bloodline. Under normal circumstances, a Zhang Clan member who has activated their bloodline would have to recuperate for an entire month before they regain their fighting prowess and are able to continue cultivating, but this medicine allows one to make a full recovery within just ten days! Of course, given the higher purity of your bloodline, you should be able to recover fully within just three days!"

Just like the Luo Clan, the activation of the Zhang Clan's bloodline would require at least a whole month's rest before one was able to make a full recovery.

In view of this problem, for many generations, the Sage Clans had been trying to formulate a medicine that could alleviate this problem, and after much research, they had finally managed to create this pill. It could allow one to swiftly recover from the side effects of the activation of their unique bloodline, but unfortunately, the medicinal herbs required to forge the pill were simply too valuable, such that, unless it was an extremely important situation, not even core members of the Zhang Clan like Zhang Chun were allowed to use one.

Only the older generation of the Zhang Clan had access to the pill.

It was only upon hearing those words that Zhang Jiuxiao finally realized how exhausted and fatigued he was. He had been so preoccupied with dealing with the First Elder that he had not realized that his body was completely sapped of energy. Thus, he swallowed the pill without any hesitation.

As soon as the pill melted within his body, a warm and powerful surge of medicinal energy suffused his entire body, slowly replenishing his depleted energy. Gradually, his withered aura recovered.

"What a fine medicine!" Zhang Jiuxiao could not help but exclaim as he felt his injured body and depleted bloodline recovering at a visible pace.

"It indeed is!" Seeing how fast Zhang Jiuxiao was recovering, the First Elder nodded in satisfaction. After which, he turned around and left the room.

Not too long later, he encountered Zhang Wuchen, who was heading in his direction, and he immediately asked severely, "Has Zhang Xuan returned to his accommodation?"

"Yes, I have just checked on it," Zhang Wuchen said. "Has Zhang Jiuxiao explained the reason behind his sudden surge in cultivation?"

"It seems like he has acknowledged a formidable expert as his teacher," the First Elder said.

"An expert?"

"Yes. I have no idea what means that person used, but he was actually able to alter the purity of Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline. I can't say for sure at the moment, but I suspect that there's a spy in our clan!" The First Elder harrumphed coldly.

"Someone discreetly took Zhang Jiuxiao into the Blood Reservoir in order to temper Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline... This means that there's someone on the inside liaising with Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher!"

There were currently two possibilities. Either Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was an elder of the Zhang Clan, or Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was liaising with someone within the Zhang Clan to access the Blood Reservoir.

Furthermore, since Zhang Jiuxiao did not leave the clan last night, his teacher was likely to currently be in the clan as well.

Regardless of which of the two possibilities it was, it meant that there was someone in the Zhang Clan working behind their backs.

"The art of removing a unique bloodline and grafting it over to another individual is an ability that very few people in the clan know of. Do you suspect that it's one of them?" Zhang Wuchen exclaimed in shock.

"It's hard to say for sure. This art has been passed down since ancient times, so even I can't say for sure whether the art has been leaked out to others or not. However, I have already prepared countermeasures against the matter. In the honorary guest token that I have passed to Zhang Jiuxiao, I have hidden just a tinge of my will. If a foreign hand comes into contact with it, I'll be alerted of the matter immediately," the First Elder said with a wave of his hand.

"Then... how should we deal with Zhang Jiuxiao?" Zhang Wuchen asked.

"I have checked his bloodline, and there's no doubt that he possesses the purest bloodline in the Zhang Clan at the very moment. Regardless of how he obtained his bloodline, he is already one of the top geniuses of our clan. From this day onward, the Zhang Clan shall devote its resources into grooming him so as to push him toward a breakthrough to Saint 9-dan or even higher before the end of the year. Afterward, we shall have him take the young prodigy's place in the engagement," the First Elder said.

"Given his strength, there's probably no one in the younger generation who's able to match him. He's indeed the best choice we have to complete the engagement we have with the Luo Clan," Zhang Wuchen said with a nod. "Then, what about his relationship with Zhang Xuan?"

"Based on what I've gathered so far, it seems like the both of them are only acquaintances, so there's no need to be too concerned about that. Bring me to meet him! If he's willing to pledge loyalty to the Zhang Clan and support Zhang Jiuxiao, he will indeed become an invaluable asset to our Zhang Clan. Otherwise, we'll have to send him on his way as soon as possible so that he doesn't cause any more damage!"

At this point, the First Elder's eyes turned cold as he continued. "Even if he's Yang shi's student, I have no mercy whatsoever toward those who intend to harm the Zhang Clan!"

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Chapter 1465: A Challenge from Zhang Xuan

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Oblivious to the huge commotion that his disappearance had caused to the upper echelons of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan reverted to his original appearance and returned to his accommodation.

He had not been out for too long, just from the previous night till the morning, but out of fear that Zhang Jiuxiao would err in his cultivation, he had been watching over the latter very intently. As a result, he was feeling rather spent at the moment.

"Zhang shi, one of the genius sword practitioners of the Zhang Clan has come to visit, and he has been waiting for you for quite a while now!"

As soon as Zhang Xuan walked into the main hall, Jian Qinsheng immediately walked over to inform him.

"A challenger has come knocking? Got it." Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

With Zhang Jiuxiao's abrupt breakthrough to the Dimension Sundering realm, there was no longer any meaning in continuing with the tournament—its goal had already been met. Given so, it was indeed about time to move on to the next activity.

Zhang Xuan followed Jian Qinsheng into a room and saw three young men standing within it. Their taut backs and sharp auras made it feel as if they were three swords towering on the spot, biding their time for the correct moment to reveal their sharp edges.

As soon as Zhang Xuan walked in, the three young men immediately turned their heads over, and one of them stepped forward. "Are you Zhang Xuan? I heard that you are here to challenge our Zhang Clan's swordsmanship."

This young man had a thin frame, slightly resembling a sickly young man. There was a red mole at the side of his lips that gave his face a rather incongruous feeling on the whole.

"Indeed," Zhang Xuan said as he leisurely walked to the main seat and sat down. He glanced at the trio before him casually as he discreetly drove his zhenqi to recover his strength.

"I am Zhang Xu, and these two beside me are Zhang Hen and Zhang Qin. We have spent several years studying swordsmanship together, and we would like to challenge you to a fair duel!" the red mole young man, Zhang Xu, said.

"Fine by me!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Are you all intending to come at me one at a time, or do you want to save some time and come at once?"

When Zhang Xuan agreed to follow Jian Qinsheng to the Zhang Clan, other than to cause the Zhang Clan some trouble so as to get back at them for making light of Luo Ruoxin, he had also been interested to see just what level their swordsmanship had reached and just what was so special about the Speed Sword Quintessence.

"Arrogant!" Zhang Xu spat coldly.

It was one thing for the young man to ignore them when he came in, walking straight to the main seat as if they did not exist at all, but now, he was even claiming that he could deal with all three of them at once! This was a huge blow to their pride, and displeased looks appeared on the faces of the trio.

"Considering how you are Yang shi's direct disciple and the successor of the Flowing Water Swordsmanship, your swordsmanship shouldn't be too bad. Allow me, Zhang Qin, to challenge you first!"

Unable to take on any longer, Zhang Qin took a step forward and flicked his sword, which produced a metallic reverberation in the air.

"Before we fight, do you dare accept my bet?"

"Bet? What do you want to bet on?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I do know some things regarding you. From the moment you came to the Zhang Clan, you have been causing great damage here and there," Zhang Qin said. "The Defense Formation that protects the entrance of the Zhang Clan and the guest area has been completely ruined by you.

"While the First Elder and the other seniors are magnanimous enough to let those matters pass, I'm not so kind as to simply let someone who wreaked havoc in the Zhang Clan get away scot-free.

"Thus, what I propose is very simple. We'll have a duel on our swordsmanship, and if our Zhang Clan's swordsmanship proves to be superior to yours, you'll have to vow to devote your life to the Zhang Clan, never to betray it. On the other hand, if you emerge victorious, our lives will be yours to deal with. At the same time, we'll also forget about the damage that you have caused the Zhang Clan so far!"

"You want me to vow to devote my life to the Zhang Clan?" Zhang Xuan nearly burst into laughter.

From those words, it was apparent that the duel was merely a cover. In truth, the Zhang Clan was just using it as an excuse to force him to swear loyalty to them.

Otherwise, how could those three of the younger generation possibly be qualified to make a call on such an important matter?

"Do you accept the bet or not?" Zhang Qin sneered.

"I'm fine with it, but I'm afraid that your lives mean nothing at all to me. So, I want you to fulfill two of my demands if I win instead," Zhang Xuan said nonchalantly.

Zhang Qin immediately shot a glance at Zhang Xu to seek his opinion on the matter, and the latter raised his hand and said with a frown, "Speak."

Clearly, Zhang Xu was the de facto leader of the trio.

"Firstly, I wish to browse through the manuals of your Zhang Clan's swordsmanship!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Our Zhang Clan's swordsmanship was created by our founder, and those who doesn't possess the Zhang Clan bloodline won't be able to practice it. If you wish to see it, I can show you the manuals. However, how much you manage to comprehend will be up to your own aptitude," Zhang Xu said with a nod.

It would be nigh impossible to practice the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship if one did not possess the bloodline required for it. Even if they showed it all to the young man, it was unlikely that the young man would be able to make sense of it. As such, there were no qualms about showing the young man the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship's manuals.

"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "As for the second point, I want to challenge your clan head, the Xing Sword Saint, to a sword duel with his cultivation suppressed to my level!"

Even if he could not challenge the young prodigy, the least he could do was challenge the Xing Sword Saint and help Jian Qinsheng vent his frustrations.

Even though he was not too sure how proficient the Xing Sword Saint was in swordsmanship, he did not think that the latter would still be a match for him after he browsed through the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship manuals and comprehended three different types of Sword Quintessence.

"You wish to challenge our clan head?"

The second request placed the trio on a spot as they glanced at one another with uncertainty.

They were only members of the Zhang Clan; they could not possibly make a decision on behalf of their clan head.

"If you need to, go ahead and contact the person who sent you here to see if that can be done. If you are able to accept my second demand, I'll take you up on your bet. Otherwise, I don't think that there's any reason I should waste my time here with you all!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand casually.

Those words made the trio gnash their teeth together in anger. Zhang Xu suppressed his rage and spat out, "Very well, wait here a moment."

Zhang Xu walked out of the room, and as soon as he was outside, he immediately took out his Communication Jade Token to send a message over.

"Zhang shi, you mustn't agree to their duel!" During this period of silence, Jian Qinsheng anxiously sent a telepathic message over.

"Didn't you invite me here to compete against their swordsmanship?" Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

"There's a trap with their words. They said 'if our Zhang Clan's swordsmanship proves to be superior to yours' rather than that if they were to defeat you. If they dispatch the First Elder against you and defeat you using the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship, won't that still count as their victory?" Jian Qinsheng remarked anxiously.

While Zhang Qin might have appeared a little reckless, his words had been carefully crafted to corner Zhang Xuan.

Based on what he had said, it meant that Zhang Xuan would only be victorious if no one was able to defeat him using the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship. Their defeat would only represent their individual loss, and they could bring in more proficient sword practitioners to challenge him. As long as one of their members defeated him eventually, it would mean that it was their victory!

Clearly, those were terms that were deeply unfair to Zhang Xuan!

"It's fine. I only worry that they dare not challenge me," Zhang Xuan replied nonchalantly.

How could he possibly miss such an obvious verbal trap himself? The reason he had gone along with it was because he wanted to see just how formidable the Zhang Clan's swordsmanship was!

Besides, if he was going to make a move, he might as well go all the way and grind fear deep into their minds!

While he was exchanging messages with Jian Qinsheng, Zhang Wuchen seemed to have received a reply on his end too.

...

"Competing with the clan head? Does he really think that he will be able to defeat Zhang Xu and the others?" Zhang Wuchen shook his head.

"Regardless of who wins, this matter concerns the clan head, and it would be inappropriate for us to speak on his behalf. I'll send a message to the clan head and have him decide on the matter," the First Elder said.

He might have been the First Elder of the Zhang Clan, but he would be overstepping his boundaries if he made a promise on behalf of the clan head. No matter what, he still had to consult the clan head on this matter

"That's a good decision. Given that it has been less than two days since our clan head left, he shouldn't be too far away. If we send a message over right now, he should be able to receive it easily," Zhang Wuchen said with a nod of his head.

...

In the skies countless li away from the Zhang Clan, an aerial saint beast was surging ahead. Two figures could be seen standing on its back, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged lady. The middle-aged man seemed to have sensed something and took out a jade token.

The beautiful middle-aged lady standing beside him turned her gaze over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing much. The Third Elder sent a message to me, saying that Jian Qinsheng has brought a talented sword practitioner this time around, and that fellow demanded to challenge me if he manages to emerge victorious over Zhang Xu and the others." The middle-aged man shook his head with a light chuckle.

"Zhang Xu has received both our impartation, so there are very few sword practitioners of the same cultivation level who will be a match for him," the middle-aged lady remarked. "It's already questionable whether he's able to defeat Zhang Xu, but he still dares challenge you. It seems like the person whom Jian Qinsheng has brought over this time around is quite a haughty individual!"

"Hahaha, it's good for youngsters to have such gusto!" The middle-aged man chuckled heartily, not offended by the fact that a junior had brazenly challenged him to a duel.

"That being said, Jian Qinsheng isn't a reckless individual. Since the sword practitioner whom he brought over dared to issue such a challenge, that person might just possess the skills to back those words. Ask him what the name of the sword practitioner is. The both of us know most of the outstanding sword practitioners of the younger generation, so I'm really quite curious about just who is so confident as to challenge you to a battle," the middle-aged lady said.

"Let me ask!"

The middle-aged man sent a message back, and a moment later, his jade token trembled. A name surfaced on the jade token, and upon seeing it, the middle-aged man's body froze on the spot.

"What's wrong?" the middle-aged lady asked, bewildered by her companion's response.

With a hoarse voice, the middle-aged man replied, "The Third Elder said that the person who seeks to challenge me... goes by the name of Zhang Xuan!"

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Chapter 1466: Next!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Zhang Xuan?" The middle-aged lady was taken aback by that name as well, and her body stiffened. "Is it the same person whom Hu Yiwei spoke of?"

"Jian Qinsheng came from the Sanctum of Sages as well, so the person he brought is most likely him. To think that we missed each other by such a close shot!" the middle-aged man exclaimed with a bitter smile.

The reason why they had ignored the objections of the elders within the clan to head to the Sanctum of Sages was to find Zhang Xuan and see if he was the person whom they had missed for twenty whole years... But who could have thought that the person they were looking for would actually head to their clan instead!

If they hadn't chosen to willfully leave the clan back then, they might have already met him by now!

More importantly, on their way here, they even encountered Jian Qinsheng's aerial saint beast, but as if fate was playing a trick on them, they missed him just like that.

Had they known this would happen, they should have paid a greeting to Jian Qinsheng when they heard that he was in the vicinity.

"Since he's in the Zhang Clan, let's hurry back now!" the middle-aged lady urged anxiously.

It was fortunate that they had found out early, or else it would be too late for tears once they reached the Sanctum of Sages, only to find out that the person they were looking for wasn't there.

Hula!

Hearing the order, the aerial saint beast they were riding on hurriedly made a u-turn and flew its way back to the Zhang Clan.

"Quick, ask the Third Elder what kind of person Zhang Xuan is, what he looks like, and how his personality is!"

Seeing that the saint beast was swiftly making its way back, the middle-aged lady heaved a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze back to the middle-aged man and asked anxiously.

As if having guessed what his wife was worrying over, the middle-aged man took her hand and squeezed it tightly before saying, "Rest assured. Since Hu Yiwei has confirmed it, there's a good chance that it's the real one this time around."

The middle-aged lady looked at her husband, but she couldn't help but shake her head, "I know, but I still can't help but worry..."

"In the past two decades that we have spent looking for him, we have been disappointed so many times, so what does one more count as? Besides, even if it isn't him, he's bound to have some kind of relationship with our child!" the middle-aged man said.

"Not to mention, the chances are pretty high this time around. Otherwise, how could he be so formidable as to astound even Hu Yiwei if he hasn't inherited my genes?"

"Pfft!" Hearing those words, the middle-aged lady's worried frown collapsed into laughter, and she patted her husband's chest and said, "Stop getting narcissistic over here!"

Hu!

The Communication Jade Token flickered once more as information was sent over. The middle-aged man tapped on it lightly, and a video slowly played out before the duo.

The video showed a young man walking majestically into the Zhang Clan's Defense Formation, and shortly afterward, the Dragon Spirit submitted to him, and the Tiger Spirit dissipated into nothing. A short moment later, countless buildings collapsed behind him.

At this point, the young man slowly turned his body around, revealing what that would have been considered as a nonchalant face if not for the slight hint of haughtiness and glee in his eyes.

"It's him! It must be him!" Upon seeing the young man's appearance, the middle-aged lady's body jerked in astonishment. She clasped her mouth with her hands, seemingly unable to control her rampaging emotions.

"But his appearance looks neither like yours nor mine. I don't think..." the middle-aged man said with a deep frown.

But before he could finish his words, the middle-aged lady had already interjected in agitation, "His appearance might not bear much resemblance to yours and mine, but his eyes are the exact same as how I remembered them to be when he was younger. I am certain of it, there's no way I can be wrong about this!"

For the past twenty years, she had seen that pair of eyes thousands of times in her dreams, to the point that they were carved right in her mind. His appearance might have changed drastically over the years, but she was certain that those pair of eyes definitely belonged to her son!

Not only so, there was also an instinctive jolt in her heart when she first caught sight of him, and she believed that her feeling wouldn't lie to her.

Perhaps this was the natural bond between a parent and a child, a connection that couldn't be severed even with time.

"But... the Third Elder has brought him over to the Blood Reservoir, and it was shown that not only does he not possess our Zhang Clan bloodline, but even his soul showed no signs of resonating with the Time Quintessence as well. It's almost certain that he has nothing to do with our Zhang Clan!" the middle-aged man was comparatively more rational as he tried reasoning with his wife.

"Blood Reservoir?" the middle-aged lady scoffed in utmost derision. "Those bastards actually still have the cheek to talk about that? Have they forgotten how they have treated my ill-fated child back then? Even if he has survived the ordeal, there's no way he would have any Zhang Clan bloodline in him, so it goes without saying he has nothing to do with your Zhang Clan anymore! But my blood still flows in his body, and I know for sure that he's my child!"

"Since you are certain about it, that should probably be the case then. However, it appears that Zhang Xuan is a particularly worrisome individual. In less than a day since he has arrived in the Zhang Clan, he has already raised a couple of incidents, resulting in many buildings being torn to the ground!" Seeing how adamant his wife was on the matter, the middle-aged man wisely decided not to argue with her on this matter.

He continued to browse through the remaining content on the token and shook his head, "It seems like the First Elder has decided to have Zhang Xu and the others teach him a lesson so as to make him learn that the prowess of our Zhang Clan."

"The prowess of your Zhang Clan? How dare that Zhang Wuheng lay his hands on my son? If a strand of hair were to fall from my son, I swear on my name, Wang Mengya, that I'm going to tear down your Zhang Clan's ancestral hall!" the middle-aged lady narrowed her eyes menacingly as a domineering aura burst forth from her body.

Under the tremendous pressure of her aura, the aerial saint beast stiffened in fright, and it ended up plummeting for several hundred meters before it finally managed to find the strength within itself to remain afloat.

"I understand your feelings, but there's no meaning in us arguing about all this right now. We have to see with our own eyes to confirm whether Zhang Xuan is truly our son or not!" the middle-aged man said as he patted his wife's back to calm her down.

After which, he instructed the aerial saint beast beneath him to speed up back to the Zhang Clan before falling silent.

...

"Our clan head has already agreed to your demand! As long as you are able to defeat us, he'll face you in a swordsmanship duel!"

Zhang Xu and the others walked back into the room.

"Good! Let's not waste any time and get on with it then!" A smile crept on Zhan Xuan's lips as he stood up and walked to the center of the room. He beckoned toward the trio with his finger as he asked, "Who's going first?"

"Me!" Zhang Qin stepped forward with a powerful bellow.

With a simple flick of his wrist, a white trail was dragged out along with the motion of his sword.

"Formidable..."

Even though the battle hadn't started at all, Jian Qinsheng could tell from Zhang Qin's simple gesture that none of his students would be able to match up with the latter,

"I'll suppress my cultivation down to your level right now." Zhang Qin took in a deep breath and suppressed his cultivation down to the same level as Zhang Xuan, Grand Dominion realm pinnacle.

"Draw your sword!" Zhang Qin said as he pointed his sword toward Zhang Xuan.

"There's no need for me to use my sword to deal with you. My fingers will suffice!" Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he raised his forefinger and middle finger up.

A surge of zhenqi flowed in between his fingers, forming a projection of roughly three chi 1 long, around the same length as a sword.

"You're courting death!" Seeing how Zhang Xuan dared to underestimate him, Zhang Qin harrumphed in anger.

He unhesitatingly drove his sword right toward Zhang Xuan.

Tzla!

In an instant, it seemed like time had frozen. Both Zhang Qin's silhouette and his sword seemed to vanish from sight, undetectable through both sight and Spiritual Perception.

"Zhang shi, be careful!" Jian Qinsheng could immediately tell that Zhang Qin had already executed the Speed Sword Quintessence, and he swiftly sent a telepathic message over to warn Zhang Xuan.

Most of his students had lost to this very sword move. In fact, most of them didn't even have time to put up their defenses before they were defeated.

And to make things worse, Zhang Qin had used his strongest move right from the start. There was a good chance that Zhang Xuan would be caught off guard and wounded by the move...

If that were to happen, things could get really troublesome!

Peng!

Just as Jian Qinsheng was panicking, a dull thud suddenly sounded. Following which, the vanished Zhang Qin was suddenly sent flying out of the battlegrounds, and he fell headfirst into a nearby wall. On the other hand, Zhang Xuan appeared as if he hadn't moved at all, and a calm expression could be seen on his face.

"Easier than I thought. Next!"

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Chapter 1467: The Zhang Clan's Swordsmanship

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"You..."

Seeing the upside-down, already fainted Zhang Qin, the looks of Zhang Xu and Zhang Hen's face froze in place. In this moment, they found themselves unable to utter even a single word.

All along, they felt that no matter how talented Zhang Xuan was in swordsmanship, there wouldn't be too much of a disparity between his skills and theirs. After all, they were also renowned swordsmanship geniuses themselves too!

Yet, who could have thought that despite Zhang Qin using his full strength right from the start, he would still be defeated in just a single move! Not to mention, the other party didn't even use his sword qi—he simply sent a kick right over... and it was all over!

"Let me try your skills!" Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xu bucked up his courage and walked forward.

He knew Zhang Qin's fighting prowess very well. While the latter paled in comparison to him in swordsmanship, he could still be considered as a top-notch expert. Despite so, Zhang Xuan still managed to defeat him without drawing his sword. Given so, there was no way Zhang Hen would stand a match against him.

Thus, he decided to step forward and face the other party.

But in this moment, Zhang Hen stepped forward as well and said, "Allow me to fight him first. Even if I can't defeat him, I'll at least force him to execute his swordsmanship. This way, you'll stand a better chance at victory!"

"Don't bother. The both of you can come at me together!" Seeing how the two young men were bickering with one another as to who should go first, Zhang Xuan waved his hand impatiently. "I still have to cultivate, so I don't have the leisure to be spending my time fooling around with you two!"

As he spoke, he opened up his acupoints to absorb the rich spiritual energy in the surroundings.

"Hmph! Since that's what you asked for, don't blame us for not going easy on you then!" Knowing the limitations of their strength, Zhang Xu and Zhang Hen didn't turn down Zhang Xuan's offer due to their pride.

They shot a glance at one another before walking up to the middle of the room together.

"Considering your earlier move, it would indeed be difficult for us to defeat you individually. Just to avoid any contention later on, while the both of us will be coordinating with one another against you, the moves we will use would still be in the scope of the Zhang Clan swordsmanship, so there won't be any breach in the rules!" Zhang Xu said.

After which, he clasped his fist and bowed slightly as a show of courtesy toward his opponent.

"Let's start!" Zhang Xuan said impatiently.

He had known all along that the Zhang Clan was shameless, so they were bound to find all kinds of excuses to put a righteous name to whatever they did. As such, he couldn't be bothered to argue with Zhang Xu on what constituted as fair play.

Zhang Xu and Zhang Hen swiftly suppressed their cultivation down to Grand Dominion realm pinnacle, and with a powerful push, they dashed forward in diverging directions and flanked Zhang Xuan from both sides. A screeching moan echoed loudly in the air as they slashed their swords viciously down upon Zhang Xuan.

On the surface, it might appear as if there was nothing unique about their swordsmanship, perhaps a little slow even, but their attacks were ingeniously directed right at Zhang Xuan's blind spots. No matter how he attempted to maneuver out of the situation, they would still be able to swiftly alter their moves accordingly and continue cornering him further.

True speed wasn't just about swinging one's sword in the fastest way possible but launching effective attacks in rapid succession.

"This is... the Xingmeng Swordsmanship!" Qin Jiansheng exclaimed in astonishment.

The Xingmeng couple were known for their astounding expertise in swordsmanship. Just the fact that even Yang shi was full of praises for them was sufficient to show just how powerful they were.

The swordsmanship that Zhang Xu and Zhang Hen were pulling off at the moment was a sword art that the two of them had come up with. While this sword art wasn't as fast as the other moves in the Zhang Clan swordsmanship, its sharp movements and flexibility in adapting to any situation made it a frightening adversary to face.

Putting everything aside, if the two of them were of the same cultivation realm as him, even he would have no choice but to admit defeat to them!

The Xingmeng Swordsmanship was named after its two creators, and its conception was centered around the capricious nature of life, an endless series of ups and downs, as if a mere dreamy illusion. If executed well, putting aside its astounding physical prowess, it had the ability to sway one's Primordial Spirit and place one into an unstable state of mind. Just on this basis, those of weak minds would stand no chance against it at all!

"Your swordsmanship is not too bad!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head slightly in approval.

The swordsmanship of the duo left Zhang Xuan with a disoriented feeling as if he was transcending through history, watching as countless dynasties rose and fell before his eyes. Countless grand buildings ascended and collapsed before his eyes... Wealth and power, these were things that humans had always been fixated with, but in the face of time, it seemed like none of these mattered at all. Even the greatest of splendor would eventually be buried under the sands of time.

Had it been anyone else facing such an attack, no matter how resilient their mental fortitude was, they would still find themselves in a distraught state under the attack. However, Zhang Xuan was an exception to the rule.

Not even inner demons were able to faze him, let alone an attack of this caliber!

He remained perfectly conscious before the attack of the duo. As if a mere spectator of those passing sights, he calmly tore his sword through facade after facade, seemingly tearing down dynasty after dynasty.

Pu! Pu!

Zhang Xu and Zhang Hen's faces paled as blood spewed from their lips. They found that their swords had, at some point in time, flown out of their grip and plunged into the wall behind them, trembling ceaselessly from the impact.

As powerful as their collaborative swordsmanship was, it was simply still too weak before Zhang Xuan. He was able to easily destroy their conceptualization and inflict grievous damage on them.

"We have lost..." Zhang Xu muttered despondently as he retreated several steps back.

At this point, it was clear that they didn't stand a chance against the young man before him at all.

He thought that after comprehending the Speed Sword Quintessence and inheriting the clan head's swordsmanship, he would be matchless amidst the younger generation. But before this young man, all of his strength that he had taken pride in just seemed so laughable, as if he was just a small kid playing house.

The young man's comprehension of the sword had exceeded them by far too much, to the point where he didn't how he could start breaching the gap between them.

"You have lost," Zhang Xuan said. "I hope that you will carry out your end of the bet and bring me to browse through your Zhang Clan swordsmanship manuals."

While he did manage to get some insight as to what the Speed Sword Quintessence consisted of from his brief clash with Zhang Xu and the others, he would still have to browse through the books in question in order to compile a Heaven's Path Sword Art and learn it.

"Don't worry, I'm not one to break my promises," Zhang Xu shook his head and said. "However, you are only allowed to browse through our books for at most two hours. I'm afraid that this is the longest duration I can buy for you given the limitations of my authority!"

While it was indeed impossible for those who didn't have the Zhang Clan bloodline to learn the Zhang Clan swordsmanship, no matter what, they couldn't have outsiders browse their manuals so casually and spread it around. From the very start, Zhang Xu had already decided to grant Zhang Xuan only two hours at most when he promised the latter's request.

Within such a short period of time, it would be impossible for anyone to make sense of something as profound as the Zhang Clan swordsmanship.

"It's fine." Knowing Zhang Xu's intentions, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to say anything more.

In any case, he only needed to sweep his gaze past a book in order to collect it into his Library of Heaven's Path. Two hours should be more than enough for him to take everything away.

"This way, please."

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had agreed to it, Zhang Xu and the others swiftly led him over to a vast hall. Within the hall was a room which bore some resemblance to the one which Jian Qinsheng had brought him to back in his residence. At the very center of the room as a massive '剑 (Sword)' character.

This '剑 (Sword)' character had a vastly different aura from the ones left behind by the Old Sword Maestro and Jian Liushui. It was a sensation a little like a flitting surge of light, somewhat similar to that of lightning, and it felt as if it would slip away as soon as one averted one's gaze away from it.

"Here are the manuals which our founder has left behind. If you possess the aptitude to our Zhang Clan swordsmanship, you'll be able to naturally grasp it. Otherwise, there's nothing I can do to help you either," Zhang Xu said.

"Un." Zhang Xuan waved his hand perfunctorily in response.

The more profound a school of swordsmanship was, the greater the importance a sword practitioner's aptitude played in comprehending it. For something of the level of the Zhang Clan swordsmanship, without a certain level of disposition toward it, it would be impossible for one to comprehend it.

Similar to that of the Sword Lagoon, beneath the '剑 (Sword)' character, there were many texts detailing the insights that preceding sword practitioners had grasped while practicing the swordsmanship so as to inspire the later generations.

With a swift sweeping glance, Zhang Xuan collected all of these texts into a book into the Library of Heaven's Path.

He lightly flipped the compiled book open and began browsing through it.

"He can't really be trying to learn our Zhang Clan swordsmanship, can he?" Seeing the serious look on Zhang Xuan's face, Zhang Qin turned to Zhang Hen and whispered worriedly.

The current Zhang Qin had already awoken from the blow he had sustained in the duel he had with Zhang Xuan previously. While his head was still hurting a little from the impact, he was already able to function as per normal.

"Our clan head is famed to be the most talented swordmaster in our clan over the past few millenniums, but nevertheless, it still took him three months before he could comprehend the Speed Sword Quintessence. There's no way that fellow will be able to make sense out of our profound Zhang Clan swordsmanship in just two hours!" Zhang Hen replied calmly, completely unworried about this matter.

"Besides, he doesn't possess our Zhang Clan bloodline, so there's no way he'll be able to comprehend the conceptualization of time in our swordsmanship!"

Zhang Xu also joined the conversation and analyzed, "Most likely, he just wants to browse through our books so as to uncover the flaws in our swordsmanship and gain an advantage in future duels!"

"Flaws? Our Zhang Clan swordsmanship has been practiced by many generations of predecessors, but no one has ever been able to truly curb our swordsmanship before. How can there possibly be flaws in our swordsmanship?" Zhang Qin scoffed.

Kacha!

Barely after those words were spoken, a crisp echo sounded. The alarmed crowd quickly raised their heads to search for the source of the sound, and very swiftly, they noticed a slight crack in the '剑 (Sword)' character in the middle of the room.

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Chapter 1468: Fusion of Quintessences

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

As soon as that crack appeared, the destruction could no longer be curbed. It swiftly grew larger and larger, and in less than two breath, it had already covered the entire character with a weblike pattern.

"This... What's going on?" Zhang Xu and the others leaped in fright.

It was still doing fine just a moment ago, so why would the character be ruined all of a sudden?

"It's you?"

The first one who came to be was Zhang Qin, and he hurriedly turned his head over to Zhang Xuan.

That fellow had been causing damage wherever he went, so there was no one else other than him! But still, to be able to reduce the '剑 (Sword)' character to such a state just by looking at it... It seemed like they had really been underestimating that fellow!

In this very moment, Zhang Xuan's eyes were tightly shut. A powerful burst of imposing Sword Intent shot forth from his body into the sky, reminiscent of a powerful sword ascending toward the heavens. The Sword Intent he was releasing grew stronger and stronger at the moment, almost as if he was going to slice the heavens into two.

Weng weng weng!

The swords hanging on the wall began trembling non-stop, as if some kind of pressure was pressing down heavily on them, inducing the deepest of fears in them.

Not only so, Zhang Hen and the other also felt themselves losing control over the sword qi in their bodies, drawn toward the young man standing before them. It was as if there was some kind of massive magnet within the young man's body, wielding naturally command over all of the sword qi surrounding him.

"That is... Sword Quintessence?" Zhang Hen's face paled.

"That can't be! We have all comprehended Sword Quintessences, and there's no way it could be so powerful!" Zhang Hen exclaimed in disbelief.

To be able to stand out amidst the Zhang Clan offspring in the field of swordsmanship, it went without saying that they had already comprehended Sword Quintessences. Even against the seniors of the Zhang Clan, they would still be able to stand their grounds.

But back when they were comprehending their respective Sword Quintessence, they didn't induce such a frightening phenomenon either!

It was one thing to command the servitude of all swords, but to overpower their command over their sword qi and even induce cracks in the '剑 (Sword)' character... One must know that they had comprehended Sword Quintessence themselves, and the '剑 (Sword)' character was left behind by the founder of the Zhang Clan!

This was already far beyond what an ordinary Sword Quintessence could do.

"Wait a moment! Could this be... Fusion of Quintessences?" Zhang Xu suddenly thought of something, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes in astonishment.

"Fusion of Quintessences?"

The other two turned their heads over, unable to comprehend the term which Zhang Xu had just used.

"I believe you should have also heard that there are five categories of Sword Quintessences," Zhang Xu said.

The other two nodded their heads.

Sword Quintessences could mainly be divided into Strength, Defense, Dexterity, Speed, and Void. This was something which all swordmasters, which had comprehended at least a Sword Quintessence, would know of.

"It's not too difficult for those who possess particular aptitude toward swordsmanship to comprehend a Sword Quintessence, but progressing beyond that would be of great difficulty, such that there are hardly any cases in the world. It's rumored that both our clan head and Sword Saint Meng have comprehended two Sword Quintessences," Zhang Xu continued with a slight hoarseness in his voice.

"However, there are also a few astoundingly talented swordmaster who has managed to advance beyond that... As long as one comprehends three Sword Quintessences, the individual Sword Quintessences would begin to fuse with one another, and the phenomenon is known as the Fusion of Quintessences! Any expert who manages to pull off this feat would find their mastery of swordsmanship progressing by leaps and bounds, reaching a level unimaginable by any sword practitioner..."

Hearing those words, Zhang Hen and Zhang Qin's bodies quivered intensely as a look of disbelief surfaced on their faces, "Do you mean to say that... Zhang Xuan has managed to comprehend three Sword Quintessences?"

"How is that possible? He's only twenty this year! Even if he were to start learning swordsmanship back in his mother's womb, there's no way he could possibly be able to pull this off!"

Even grasping a single Sword Quintessence had already taken them many years, and picking up a second Sword Quintessence would only be manyfold of that difficulty because one would have to consciously cast away one's habits and fighting style in order to pull off a different style. Yet, for a twenty-year-old lad to master three Sword Quintessences and even pull off the Fusion of Quintessences... How could there be someone that monstrously talented in the world?

This was terrifying!

"Other than that, I can't think of any other reason as to what is happening anymore!" Zhang Xu shook his head. At this point, he pondered for a moment before continuing on, "If it's really Fusion of Quintessences, the '剑 (Sword)' character should reform very soon after it absorbs the further refined Sword Intent that Zhang Xuan is emanating..."

"Reform?"

The two of them were slightly surprised to hear those words.

"Even though our founder has already comprehended the Speed Sword Quintessence when he left behind this character, he knew that his mastery of swordsmanship wasn't any close to perfection. Thus, he designed this character to fall apart automatically when an offspring of the Zhang Clan reaches a higher level of mastery than him in Speed Sword Quintessence, and it would be replaced with the other party's deeper comprehension... I have heard of this matter directly from the clan head, so it should be true," Zhang Xu said.

The reason why the founder had left behind the '剑 (Sword)' character was so as to aid his descendants to be able to better grasp the Speed Sword Quintessence that he had passed down... But would his comprehension really be the best way to comprehend the Speed Sword Quintessence?

Of course not!

To put it plainly, this character only showed a path that a sword practitioner could take to comprehending the Speed Sword Quintessence. There was nothing to say that this path was the shortest or even the best one for one to take, and the founder recognized the limitations of his own comprehension too.

And the fact that the '剑 (Sword)' character was cracking at this instant also proved that point as well.

If the power of the world was the greatest treasure that every man sought for, Quintessences could be considered as the pathway leading to the treasure. There were countless paths that one could take to the treasure, and as long as one knew the general direction, one would eventually reach the destination by pushing forth...

But every path was unique, and the amount of treasure one could toil back would depend on the path one had taken as well. Some paths were narrower than the others, so the amount of treasure they would able to bring back home would be lesser. If a more convenient and wider path were to be found, wasn't the most natural thing to do was to make the switch over?

Huala!

While the three of them were speaking, the '剑 (Sword)' character finally reached its limits and shattered apart.

Weng!

In the moment that the character shattered, another new surge of Sword Intent gushed into the clouds, and the overwhelming pressure held them perfectly in place. Following which, the Sword Intent that suffused the room began swiftly gathering on the wall, where the shattered '剑 (Sword)' character previously was.

Tzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

In the blink of an eye, a new, massive character had already appeared on the wall.

From afar, the character, be it its shape, size, or form, was perfectly identical to the one before it. There was no discernible difference at all.

"What's going on?" Zhang Qin turned to Zhang Xu and asked, a little taken aback by the situation.

The replacing '剑 (Sword)' character turned out to be perfectly identical to the previous one... Did this character really surpass the one that their founder had left behind?

"Don't use your eyes to see it. Use your Sword Intent to perceive it!" Seeing the uncomprehending look on Zhang Qin's face, Zhang Xu shook his head and explained.

"Use my Sword Intent to perceive it?"

Zhang Qin and Zhang Hen glanced at one another in confusion. They still weren't able to understand what Zhang Xu was saying.

"In other words, look inward into your Sword Intent to feel the character on the wall!" Zhang Xu explained patiently.

"I see... I'll give it a try." With still a slightly perplexed look, Zhang Qin turned to the Sword Intent in his body and slowly extended it outward into his surroundings.

Very soon, his Sword Intent came into contact with the character on the wall, and in that instant, he froze on the spot.

It was almost as if the character had imprinted itself in his head as soon as he perceived it. Even though it appeared to be identical to the one before on the surface, the imposing air that it commanded previously had alleviated significantly.

In fact, it felt far simpler and purer than before, and the reduced complexity of the intent behind the character seemed to be more in harmony with the world.

Harnessing the very same concept of speed, but the reformed '剑 (Sword)' character before him guided him right toward the core of the Speed Sword Quintessence.

It was almost as if he had turned into the concept itself, swimming amidst an ocean of sword qi.

Unknowingly, tears began trickling down Zhang Qin's eyes as his body quivered from agitation. "I have actually erred so much in my comprehension of the Speed Sword Quintessence..."

To be able to perceive the crux of the Speed Sword Quintessence with his senses, he would have no regrets in life even if he were to drop dead in this instant!

This was what he was feeling in this instant.

It was only upon perceiving the character before him did he realize how laughable the diligence he had put into refining his swordsmanship over the years was.

If their founder's comprehension of the Speed Sword Quintessence were to be described as a small hole barely big enough for a human to pass through, the one before him would be the same as a vast passageway big enough for multiple horse carriages to charge their way through side by side!

If he were to use this feeling to practice his swordsmanship, he would definitely be able to improve at least two times faster than before!

For a twenty-year-old young man to be able to achieve a higher level of understanding of the Speed Sword Quintessence than them and even their founder within less than ten minutes...

This was inconceivable!

At this point, Zhang Qin couldn't help but turn his gaze toward the young man, only to see that the latter had finally lifted his head. He couldn't tell what was in the young man's mind, but an air of solitude, as if an expert who would never find an equal to converse with, seemed to flow from his body.

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Chapter 1469: Phantasmal Space Realm Pinnacle

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"It's too simple..." Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed.

Usually, even with the insights of many predecessors serving as a foundation, it would still take some time for him to achieve a breakthrough. However, this time around, everything had gone so smoothly that he had achieved a breakthrough within a few minutes without even realizing it. This was really at odds with his humble and low-profile personality.

He had been planning on holding it off for at least an entire hour so that the others would not be surprised—after all, it would not do for him to be too eye-catching. But who would have thought that it would be so easy, that just by swiftly browsing through the compiled book, he would somehow achieve a breakthrough?

Nothing seemed to be going his way that day.

Was it really that difficult for the world to just allow him to achieve a breakthrough a little slower so that he could maintain a low profile?

Was it really that difficult to be ordinary?

More importantly... why in the world did that '剑 (Sword)' character shatter while he was practicing his swordsmanship? What if the Zhang Clan demanded compensation?

Forget it! Since it has already come to this, there's no point keeping a low profile anymore! Zhang Xuan thought with a shake of his head. Breakthrough!

Without any hesitation, he released the overwhelming energy that had been generated from the fusion of his Speed Sword Quintessence and the other Quintessences.

Hong long!

As his aura gushed into the sky, a furious gale whipped up in the surroundings as ominous clouds began gathering above. At the same time, Zhang Xuan's cultivation, which had remained stagnant for quite some time, began to surge forth, reminiscent of grass rising in the early spring or a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon.

"This is... the Phantasmal Space Ordeal? He's going to make a breakthrough?"

Zhang Xu and the others could hardly believe what they were seeing.

Not only did that fellow manage to master the Zhang Clan swordsmanship, he was even going to break his Grand Dominion realm bottleneck!

"This is a disaster! We are currently at the very center of the Zhang Clan; we can't allow his cultivation ordeal to fall here!"

Recovering from his shock, Zhang Xu suddenly realized the implications of Zhang Xuan's breakthrough and yelled in horror.

There was no doubt that lightning tribulations were among the most frightening forces on the Master Teacher Continent. While the devastation that they brought differed according to the cultivation realm, the main headache lay in that it was nigh impossible for an external party to control the damage—any attempts to interfere in the cultivation ordeal would only cause it to grow stronger!

It was already bad enough that the fellow had induced a Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal in the outer perimeters of the city, but they were currently in the clan vault, where countless secret manuals and heritages were stored!

Buildings could still be rebuilt, but these secret manuals and heritages could very well disappear for good once destroyed!

If Zhang Xuan failed to deal with the lightning tribulation carefully, this could pose a heavy, irreversible blow to the entire Zhang Clan!

Kacha!

The ominous clouds above their heads continued to grow denser at a terrifying pace, and a suffocating pressure crushed down on them, stifling them.

In the face of such stupendously great power, Zhang Xu could not help but tremble in fear.

He had seen plenty of Phantasmal Space Ordeals in the past—not to mention that he had even undergone one himself—but the storm clouds gathered before him were on a completely different level from what he had seen before. The wild lightning energy that crackled within them carried power that not even the Dimension Sundering Ordeal could compare to. In fact, in terms of the intensity of the lightning energy, it was already on par with the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal!

There was little doubt that the entire area would be reduced to dust if it really fell!

And the worst thing was that the lightning tribulation was still growing stronger!

Was this really just a Phantasmal Space Ordeal?

"How can it be so powerful?"

Watching the sight from the corners, the First Elder and Zhang Wuchen were stupefied by what they were seeing as well.

The power that the storm clouds harnessed was so great that it had already exceeded what they could cope with. At the same time, the formations protecting the vault were also creaking in protest under the pressure, on the verge of dissipation.

They quickly turned their gazes to the young man, but they did not see fear in the young man's eyes. Instead, what they saw was intense excitement.

"He should be able to deal with it, right?" Zhang Wuchen asked worriedly.

"The cultivation ordeal that the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast underwent was slightly weaker than this, but he did manage to resolve it quite easily, so I don't think this will be too much of a problem for him," the First Elder replied uncertainly.

While the lightning tribulation drawn by the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's breakthrough had been powerful, it had still been slightly lacking compared to what was currently before them. Nevertheless, since the young man had been able to resolve the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal so easily, this should not pose a problem either.

Otherwise, he would not have been so confident.

"That would be for the best." Zhang Wuchen nodded hesitantly.

He had heard that the young man had resolved quite a few lightning ordeals to date, but he still could not help but feel a little worried. However, there was nothing that they could do, so they could only watch helplessly by the side and pray for the best.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was looking at the dense storm clouds above him as he scoffed in his mind. It seems like that fellow knows that it's my lightning tribulation, so he called everyone that's available over to join the party!

His recent absorption of the lightning tribulations seemed to have really angered the other party, such that the other party had been biding its time for this very day. Seeing that he had finally achieved a breakthrough, it immediately summoned everything that it had to put together something that was even more powerful than the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal.

However, this just so happened to work in Zhang Xuan's favor. The more lightning energy there was for him to absorb, the better it would be for him. With the sheer amount of lightning energy in the storm clouds, he should be able to push for a breakthrough straight to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle!

There had still been a flaw in the Phantasmal Space realm Heaven's Path Divine Art previously, but the comprehension of the Speed Sword Quintessence happened to hold the key to resolving the flaw, allowing him to cultivate it without any worries.

"Come!" Zhang Xuan roared excitedly as he pushed himself off the ground to dive right into the storm clouds.

With a wave of his hand, his clone, the gourd, and the vine appeared around him. At the same time, he also separated his Primordial Spirit from his physical body, and together, they began digging into the feast of lightning energy around them.

Geji! Geji!

Zhang Xuan's cultivation sprinted ahead, rising furiously to Phantasmal Space realm primary stage.

Phantasmal Space realm intermediate stage!

Phantasmal Space realm advanced stage!

In less than two minutes, he had already reached Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle, a mere step away from reaching Half-Dimension Sundering realm.

At the same time, his Primordial Spirit also grew more wholesome. Even without cultivating the Phantasmal Space realm Heaven's Path Soul Art, the sheer amount of energy that his Primordial Spirit had absorbed had already granted it strength equal to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle.

Furthermore, under the tempering of the lightning energy, his physical body had gained a brilliant glow, as if it was made out of the toughest metal in the world. In terms of resilience, he would definitely be on par with any Saint pinnacle artifact.

But I have barely absorbed only a fifth of the energy in the lightning tribulation...

Zhang Xuan's cultivation surged at an unprecedented rate, but the lightning energy around him was still showing no signs of declining. He could not help but frown in apprehension.

In the past, the lightning tribulation would swiftly flee in fear after realizing that it was being rapidly absorbed, not daring to fight back at all. But now... his cultivation had already risen by an entire realm, but there were still four-fifths of the lightning tribulation left. It appeared that the lightning tribulation was going to go to the very ends with him today.

Of course, his clone, the gourd, and the vine were absorbing the surrounding lightning energy furiously as well, but their efforts did not seem to pose too much of a threat to the lightning tribulation.

If it comes down to it, I might have to find a way to push for a breakthrough to the Dimension Sundering realm!

Making a rough estimate, a breakthrough to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle would have taken him at least a hundred pinnacle spirit stones ordinarily, but the scale of the lightning tribulation before him had far exceeded what he had seen in the past.

At the current rate that they were absorbing its energy at, they would not be able to scare the lightning tribulation away.

To make matters worse, his body and Primordial Spirit were already reaching their absorption limits. Unless he made a breakthrough, he would not be able to absorb any more lightning energy.

However, the problem was that he had not read any Dimension Sundering realm cultivation techniques yet, so he had absolutely no idea how he should cultivate and push for a breakthrough.

With this, Zhang Xuan was caught in a dilemma.

In the past, his problem had always been a lack of spirit stones to fuel his cultivation, but at this moment, the problem was that he had too much spiritual energy to absorb. To make matters worse, as this was his cultivation ordeal, he could not simply stop absorbing and take his leave.

...

Beneath the storm clouds, the First Elder and the others heaved a sigh of relief after watching Zhang Xuan dive into the midst of the lightning tribulation as he had done during the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast's Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal.

Since he had been able to send the lightning tribulation fleeing the previous time around with this move, he should not have too much trouble doing the same.

"That fellow's aptitude toward swordsmanship is formidable, and it seems like his mastery in his other supporting occupations isn't too bad either. It's no wonder he was able to catch Yang shi's eye and become his direct disciple. However, this bad habit of his of inducing cultivation ordeals wherever he goes really needs some changing!" The First Elder sighed with a shake of his head.

Other cultivators would slowly take their time to prepare for their cultivation ordeal before summoning it. They would go around borrowing artifacts and buying pills before searching for a fitting location where they could face their lightning tribulation quietly. Nevertheless, they would still proceed very warily, fearing that something would go wrong. On the other hand, that fellow simply achieved a breakthrough wherever and whenever he wanted to, paying completely no heed to the time, place, and occasion at all.

It was really a wonder to him how someone with that fellow's personality had managed to live for so many years without being beaten to death!

While the First Elder's thoughts were wandering, a rift suddenly appeared in the midst of the storm clouds above. Following which, a head popped out.

With a smile, the head asked, "First Elder, may I know where your Zhang Clan's library is?"

"Library?" The First Elder was slightly taken aback by the abrupt question before replying with a deep frown. "Why do you want to know that? The Zhang Clan's library is a place that only members of the Zhang Clan are allowed to enter."

Why would that fellow ask that question in the midst of dealing with his cultivation ordeal?

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Chapter 1470: Sprouting of Killing Intent

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"This lightning tribulation is simply too huge. I don't think that I'll be able to deal with it at my current strength. So, I was hoping to borrow some Dimension Sundering realm cultivation technique manuals from the Zhang Clan to push for a breakthrough... or else, I fear that your Zhang Clan might be destroyed if the lightning tribulation falls as it is!" Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly.

"Are you threatening me?" the First Elder asked lividly.

"Of course not!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "However, the lightning tribulation is simply too huge. I fear that I won't be able to keep it under control!"

At this moment, the storm clouds seemed to have finished charging up their energy and sent a bolt of lightning down on Zhang Xuan's popped out head.

Alarmed, Zhang Xuan hurriedly retracted his head back into the storm clouds.

Kacha!

The lightning bolt streaked all the way down to the ground, tearing through the formations to strike down on the '剑 (Sword)' character in the vault.

The lightning tribulation would only strike the cultivator who was undergoing his cultivation ordeal. While Zhang Xuan was hiding inside, there would be very little that it could do. Naturally, when Zhang Xuan emerged from the storm clouds, it tried to attack him as furiously as it could.

The First Elder clenched his fists tightly together in frustration.

Had it been anyone else, he surely would have dashed right up to crush that person to death. However, he knew that if he charged into the lightning tribulation, it would cause it to intensify, and perhaps, he might even become a target of the lightning tribulation as well, thus placing him in a worse position.

Thus, he gritted his teeth and harrumphed coldly. "I can make an exception for you if you really want to browse through our Zhang Clan's secret manuals. However, my condition for you is that you have to become a member of our Zhang Clan. Take it or leave it!"

His voice reverberated all the way up to the clouds.

"You want me to become a member of the Zhang Clan?" Zhang Xuan's head popped out from the storm clouds once more. "Forget what I just said then. I'll find a way to deal with the lightning tribulation myself!"

Considering how shameless the Zhang Clan was, there was no way that he would demean himself by joining their ranks!

Kacha!

Another bolt of lightning zapped down, and Zhang Xuan hurriedly pulled his head back into the storm clouds, dodging it by just a hair's breadth.

Boom!

Another cluster of buildings was destroyed.

"Y-you! If you have guts, face your own lightning tribulation yourself! Stop hiding cowardly inside the storm clouds!" the First Elder roared frenziedly.

"Face my own lightning tribulation? Very well then!" Zhang Xuan replied calmly as he dashed out of the clouds and took a position right beneath the storm clouds.

He could not absorb any more lightning energy, so there was no point in him remaining in the storm clouds. Since that was the case, it was indeed worth a try for him to face it head on like an ordinary cultivator. Perhaps, he just might be able to tide through it like that.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As soon as Zhang Xuan came down, the lightning tribulation seemed to have found an outlet for its rage, and many bolts of lightning immediately streaked down furiously.

As dozens of lightning bolts, each roughly the width of a water vat, gathered together, the devastating force that they commanded was so great that a massive, pitch-black spatial rift was torn in the surroundings.

"This is too much!" Not expecting the lightning tribulation to come at him with such zeal, Zhang Xuan leaped in fright.

He hurriedly raised his hands to fend against the lightning bolts.

Boom!

The two forces collided, but Zhang Xuan swiftly found himself being overwhelmed and knocked into the mud from the formidable force of the lightning. However, that was not the end of it yet.

Many more streaks of lightning continued to fall, causing the earth to tremble as formations and buildings collapsed one after another.

In terms of the devastation, it was much worse than when Zhang Xuan had just popped out his head.

"Damn it!" the First Elder cursed furiously. His teeth were gnashed so tightly together that they would chip at any moment.

If the lightning tribulation was allowed to continue as it was, in less than five minutes, the entire city would cease to exist.

To think that the number one Sage Clan in the Master Teacher Continent would be threatened by a mere Phantasmal Space realm lad like that but still be completely helpless to retaliate... Raging fury bubbled within him as he glared at the young man in cold hostility.

"First Elder, what should we do now? He's currently in the midst of his lightning tribulation, so it's inconvenient for us to interfere, but if it gets out that our Zhang Clan was destroyed by a Phantasmal Space Ordeal..." Zhang Wuchen exclaimed, panicking.

If it was a true Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal or something even stronger that had destroyed Zhang Clan, that would have been more acceptable, but it was a mere Phantasmal Space Ordeal. If it became known that the Zhang Clan had been destroyed by something of this caliber, the clan would lose the trust and confidence of its subordinate powers!

"We only have two options at the moment!" the First Elder spat as he stared at Zhang Xuan with a wintry look.

"One, we could grant him entry to the library and have him deal with the lightning tribulation."

"But the library contains all of the precious secret manuals that the Zhang Clan has accrued over the years! If he enters those grounds, the lightning tribulation will surely follow him, and by then, everything will be destroyed! That would be equivalent to ruining the very foundation that built up the Zhang Clan! This won't do..." Zhang Wuchen anxiously rejected the First Elder's words.

They could indeed make an exception to the young man considering the dire circumstances, but the problem was that the lightning tribulation would follow him no matter where he went! If they allowed him into the library, there was little doubt that the library would be completely wrecked! If so, how could they face their ancestors and everyone that was in the Zhang Clan?

If they lost even their cultivation technique manuals, the Zhang Clan would be crippled for good!

"We only have the second option then," the First Elder mumbled with his eyes narrowed coldly. "Kill Zhang Xuan! That's his cultivation ordeal, so it will surely dissipate once he's dead!"

"Kill Zhang Xuan?" Zhang Wuchen was slightly astonished at the start, but he soon fell into deep contemplation.

Making light of a master teacher's life was a taboo to the Master Teacher Pavilion, but it had to be said that it was the best solution available to them.

Since the lightning tribulation had come due to the young man, as long as the young man died, the lightning tribulation would swiftly scatter as well.

"But... Zhang Xuan is Yang shi's student! If we kill him just like that, I fear that we will incur Yang shi's wrath!" Zhang Wuchen said worriedly.

They were well aware of Yang shi's strength. Killing his direct disciple would be infringing on his bottom line, and a falling out with him could result in massive losses for the Zhang Clan. Even as elders of the Zhang Clan, that was something that they could not take responsibility for.

"Are we to let that fellow fool around just out of fear of Yang shi's wrath? Do you have any better ideas?" The First Elder flung his sleeves furiously.

"This..." Zhang Wuchen fell silent.

To be honest, there were no other solutions that he could come up with.

"Didn't he say earlier that he requires Dimension Sundering realm cultivation technique manuals? Since that's the case, why don't we give them to him first and get back at him after the lightning tribulation passes? Since he has made such a demand, he probably has an idea in mind," Zhang Wuchen said hesitantly after some thought.

To be honest, be it taking the young man to their library or killing him, both were rather bad options. In any case, their main goal at the moment was to resolve the lightning tribulation. As for the problem of their secret manuals leaking out, they could always find some way to force the young man to join their Zhang Clan afterward as long as they successfully overcame the crisis right before them.

"What's the use of bringing him Dimension Sundering realm cultivation techniques? Is he going to make a breakthrough to the Dimension Sundering realm on the spot? Besides, what if he brings in the Dimension Sundering Ordeal after his breakthrough? Wouldn't the lightning tribulation simply grow even larger and more uncontrollable?" the First Elder hissed furiously.

He did not think that providing the young man with Dimension Sundering realm cultivation technique manuals would resolve the problem.

Even if the young man managed to achieve a breakthrough to the Dimension Sundering realm by some chance, that could potentially place them in greater danger.

Perhaps, the young man might even be thinking that the Phantasmal Space realm was not strong enough to destroy them and wanted to give them an even bigger one!

If they agreed to his request, they might just bring about the Zhang Clan's demise!

Hong long long!

While the two of them were speaking, lightning bolts continued streaking down with increasing intensity, and many more formations and buildings collapsed around them.

Fortunately, the storm clouds in the sky seemed to have dissipated slightly.

At that moment, the young man standing in the midst of this disaster, Zhang Xuan, was still completely charred black, and a look of exhaustion could be seen on his face.

Even though he had successfully made a breakthrough to Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle and absorbed a fair portion of the lightning tribulation, it was still much too powerful for him to deal with.

"We should do it now. There are many cultivators that succumb to their cultivation ordeal each year. Considering the sheer strength of this cultivation ordeal, surely Yang shi will be unable to say anything if his direct disciple falls to it," the First Elder said with a cold glint in his eyes.

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Chapter 1471: Exposed Identity

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Just like there were those who successfully cleared their cultivation ordeal, there were also those who fell to it. While the Phantasmal Space Ordeal was not the most frightening of the various cultivation ordeals, there were still plenty of cultivators who would fall to it each year. Besides, given the monstrous scale of the cultivation ordeal there, even if the young man was zapped to death, Yang shi would only be able to blame his beloved disciple for acting too arrogantly.

Of course, they would also have to make sure to put on a convincing act so as to not give themselves away!

Zhang Wuchen was silent for a moment before softly asking, "What should we do?"

While the First Elder's actions infringed on the values that master teachers embraced, in order to protect the Zhang Clan, there was no other choice.

Zhang Xuan had only been in the Zhang Clan for a day so far, but he had brought great losses to them. If they allowed him to continue acting as he pleased, their entire heritage could very well be wiped cleanly away, and they would soon become a thing of the past.

"Seal his movements and render him incapable of dodging the lightning bolts. Given the current state he's in, he won't be able to withstand the might of the lightning tribulation," the First Elder said coldly.

While Zhang Xuan wielded extraordinary prowess for a cultivator of his level, he was still far too weak to be dealing with such a powerful lightning tribulation. As long as they were to bind his movements and allow the lightning to ravage him, he would surely drop dead soon enough!

"We have to move quickly. If he summons the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast and Inferno Qilin, we'll lose our chance to strike!"

Those two saint beasts were both Saint 9-dan Macrocosm Ascendancy realm experts. Once those two noticed that something was amiss, they would surely cook up a huge commotion. While they would not have any problem suppressing them eventually, such an incident would surely produce doubts in Yang shi's mind.

"I understand!" Zhang Wuchen nodded.

"I want you to operate our clan formation and grant the lightning tribulation greater power. Meanwhile, I'll seal the space around Zhang Xuan so as to prevent him from fleeing!" the First Elder instructed grimly.

Zhang Wuchen shot a sweeping glance at the widespread destruction around him and heaved a deep sigh before slowly nodding his head.

As long as that young man remained alive, their Zhang Clan would not survive this calamity. Instead of waiting for their own doom, they might as well make the first move!

It's been twenty years since our clan has faced such a catastrophe, Zhang Wuchen thought grimly as he flitted toward the central tower of the clan.

Twenty years ago, the wife of their clan head, the Meng Sword Saint, had gone on a rampage and destroyed innumerable buildings, and more than half of the elders had been injured while attempting to subdue her. While the scale was much smaller this time around, and no elders had been harmed yet, there was no question that this incident had brought great shame to the Zhang Clan.

Boom!

Controlling the formation, Zhang Wuchen channeled the surrounding spiritual energy toward the storm clouds, and in just a few moments, the weakening storm clouds abruptly buffed up once more.

What's going on? The charred Zhang Xuan noticed the anomaly with the storm clouds as well, and his eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

It was already difficult enough for him to cope with the lightning tribulation as it was, but why would abruptly buff up at this point once more?

Activating his Eye of Insight, he quickly scanned his surroundings and saw that the formation of the Zhang Clan was focusing its spiritual energy toward the storm clouds, causing the lightning tribulation to strengthen rapidly.

Is the Zhang Clan planning to make a move on me?

The truth was clear to Zhang Xuan, and his face immediately darkened. He hurriedly leaped up, hoping to dive into the lightning tribulation to avoid the lightning bolts, but in the next moment, he felt his body being held firmly in place. It was as if heavy chains were wrapped around him, binding him firmly on the spot, preventing him from making the slightest move.

Spatial Suppression... Zhang Xuan's eyes widened in horror as he realized what was going on.

A formidable expert had sealed the space around him completely. Even though he had reached Phantasmal Space realm pinnacle, and his comprehension of spatial laws surpassed even that of Dimension Sundering realm experts, he was still completely helpless before this power!

The gap in their absolute strength was simply too great for him to defy the Spatial Suppression.

Hong long long!

With his body bound in place, Zhang Xuan could only watch helplessly as rumbling thunder crescendoed amid the storm clouds above him, a sign that another powerful bolt of lightning about to descend upon him.

There's no way I'll be able to survive such a powerful force, Zhang Xuan thought as he desperately attempted to struggle free of his bindings. However, even as veins popped up on his temples and sweat drenched his clothes, his body still would not budge at all.

His body might have reached a level of resilience comparable to Saint pinnacle artifacts, but what he was facing was a lightning tribulation surpassing the might of a Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal. If it really fell on him, not even an immortal would be able to bring him back to life!

It's him... Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned his head around and saw the First Elder standing inconspicuously a distance away, looking at him with a frighteningly impassive expression.

There was no doubt about it—this First Elder of the Zhang Clan was prepared to kill him!

At this rate, I might really die here! I have to find some way to stall the lightning or at least slow down its charging! Zhang Xuan swiftly quelled the panic in his heart and began analyzing his situation calmly.

With his current strength, it would be impossible for him to free himself from the bindings of someone as powerful as the First Elder. The only thing he could do was slow down the buildup of lightning or possibly neutralize the main bulk of its force!

And there was only one way to go about doing that... frenziedly absorbing the lightning energy harnessed within the storm clouds!

My clone, gourd, and vine are currently still absorbing energy from the lightning tribulation, but they won't be able to keep up with how fast the Zhang Clan's formation is supplying energy to it, unless...

Knowing that there was no time to be wasted, Zhang Xuan could not care less about the consequences of his actions anymore. With a thought, he swiftly drew out his Primordial Spirit from his glabella.

Spatial Suppression was more effective on corporeal bodies than incorporeal ones. As such, his Primordial Spirit would likely able to gather sufficient strength to break free of the restraints that the First Elder had cast on his surroundings.

Hula!

As soon as Zhang Xuan drew out his Primordial Spirit, he immediately dived straight toward the storm clouds.

What's that? A Primordial Spirit?

Controlling the space around Zhang Xuan, he immediately noticed the emergence of a foreign object within his sphere of control. He swiftly extended his Spiritual Perception to the area, and his eyes narrowed in astonishment.

No, that's no ordinary Primordial Spirit. You... are a soul oracle?

Zhang Xuan had spent some time learning how to morph his Primordial Spirit to appear like that of an ordinary cultivator, but ultimately, there was still a fundamental difference between his soul and those of other cultivators due to him practicing soul cultivation techniques.

He might have been able to hide it from other cultivators without much of a problem, but to the First Elder, a 9-star master teacher, his disguise was clearly lacking.

Soul oracles had once betrayed humanity, and not even the Master Teacher Pavilion was able to tolerate their existence. Was that fellow not a master teacher, a direct disciple of Yang shi's?

How could he possess the means of a soul oracle?

"Hold it right there!" the First Elder bellowed as he thrust a palm strike forward, hoping to knock the Primordial Spirit out of the sky.

Si la!

A spatial rift was immediately ripped open as a powerful surge of searing yang energy burst forth toward the Primordial Spirit.

Due to the nature of their occupation, soul oracles were extremely vulnerable to yang energy. Just exposure to an environment rich in yang energy was enough to weaken them considerably, let alone the condensed surge of yang energy that the First Elder had shot out.

However, Zhang Xuan's Primordial Spirit was not even afraid of lightning, so how could it possibly fear yang energy? With just a slight shudder, he temporarily phased his Primordial Spirit out of existence, thus causing the burst of yang energy to shoot right past him.

Following which, he continued dashing straight for the storm clouds.

"This..." Not expecting that an attack of his full strength would fail to hurt the other party, the First Elder's complexion turned awful.

The reason he had been unwilling to openly make a move against Zhang Xuan previously was because he was Yang shi's student and a master teacher, but since it had been exposed that he was a soul oracle, there was no need for him to hold back anymore.

Si la!

With a tap of his finger, a surge of sword qi shot forth from his fingertip.

The space standing in its path was ripped apart as if it was just a flimsy sheet of paper. As if breaking through the barriers of time, the sword qi seemed to suddenly materialize right before Zhang Xuan's Primordial Spirit, leaving him with a burning sensation.

Seeing how persistently the First Elder was biting at him, refusing to let him go, Zhang Xuan's face darkened as well. Turning around, he used his finger as a sword to face the First Elder's sword qi.

Ding!

The two surges of sword qi clashed with one another. While Zhang Xuan's strength was far beneath that of the First Elder, he still barely managed to breach the gap through his deeper understanding of swordsmanship and redirected the opposing sword qi. As a result of the clash, the First Elder's sword qi ended up being deflected right into the storm clouds.

Hong long!

Coming under the aggression of another cultivator, the lightning tribulation immediately grew in size. Following which, a thick bolt of lightning flowed down the trajectory of the sword qi to strike the First Elder.

"What!" The First Elder's face twitched in horror.

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Chapter 1472: I'll Tame You Too

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The First Elder had thought that he would be able to kill the other party easily with his sword art, but who could have known that the other party would redirect his strength into the lightning tribulation instead?

It was a taboo to intervene in the cultivation ordeal of another cultivator. If someone did intervene, not only would it grow in size and intensity, it would even launch a barrage of destructive attacks on the aggressor.

It was for this reason that he did not dare stop the falling lightning bolts despite the devastating damage they had been causing to the city. He did not think that he would actually slip up just like that.

Knowing that he would be zapped to death if he did not defend against the bolt of lightning falling on him, the First Elder could not afford to focus his attention on dealing with Zhang Xuan anymore. He swiftly flicked his wrist and sent a powerful palm strike forward.

Kacha!

The clash between the ferocious bolt of lightning and the First Elder's mighty palm strike induced ripples of shockwaves to diffuse into the surroundings, resulting in the complete collapse of all buildings and formations in the vicinity.

As powerful as the lightning strike was, the First Elder was even stronger. As a 9-star master teacher, his cultivation had already surpassed the bottleneck of Saint 9-dan; there was no way a bolt of lightning of this caliber would be able to hurt him.

Hu!

While he was fending off the lightning, Zhang Xuan made use of this opportunity to slip his Primordial Spirit into the storm clouds and vanished from sight.

To slip into the lightning in his Primordial Spirit form... isn't he courting death?

The First Elder could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Previously, he had thought that the other party was dashing toward the storm clouds in order to conceal his true goal, but to think that he was really planning to get into the storm clouds!

Due to the strong yin attribute of a soul oracle's Primordial Spirit, soul oracles were deeply fearful of lightning. Was diving right into the storm clouds not as good as committing suicide?

Regardless of whether he's seeking his own death or not, since he's a soul oracle, the Master Teacher Pavilion will not fault me for killing him!

The First Elder harrumphed as he turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan's still-trapped physical body with his eyes filled with killing intent.

In the first place, it was his duty as a master teacher to slay all soul oracles that came his way!

He had still had some considerations about laying his hands on the young man in the past, but given the current situation, there was no need for him to hesitate anymore!

He swiftly gathered sword qi at his fingertip once more, preparing to reduce the young man's physical body into meat paste so that his Primordial Spirit would have nowhere to return to, but before he could make his move, another thick bolt of lightning zapped down in his direction.

"You..."

The First Elder's hair immediately stood on end, and he hurriedly used his sword qi to fend off the lightning bolt.

Boom!

The collision of the forces ended with the triumph of the First Elder's sword qi, but at the same time, it seemed like the lightning tribulation had determined him to be its primary target. It relentlessly sent bolts of lightning one after another toward him, leaving him a little flustered.

What a relief that everything worked out according to plan! Zhang Xuan thought as his Primordial Spirit gazed down at the situation.

Given his current strength, he was absolutely no match for the First Elder. Even if he hurled all of his means toward the latter, he still would not stand the slightest chance. Thus, he was left with no choice but to intentionally release a slight hint of his soul oracle aura in hopes of drawing the First Elder's attack toward him and redirecting it toward the lightning tribulation.

Once the First Elder got caught up with the lightning tribulation, even if he was one of the strongest experts in the world, it still would be no easy feat for him to struggle free of its pestering.

But this lightning tribulation is ultimately still a threat to me, so I'll have to deal with it as soon as possible. Given what's happened so far, there's no way I'll be able to deal with it face-on. I guess there's only that way then, Zhang Xuan analyzed.

Knowing that he had gotten the First Elder off his back for the time being, Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned his attention toward the storm clouds.

So far, he only knew of one feasible way to get rid of the storm clouds—absorb its energy furiously until it finally fled in fear.

However, his body and Primordial Spirit were already in a bloated state, and he had no cultivation technique that he could use for a breakthrough either. To make matters worse, time was not on his side. All it would take was a split second of freedom from the lightning tribulation for the First Elder to destroy his physical body.

"Absorb!" Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth viciously, and with a deep roar, he began devouring the surrounding lightning energy as if a massive whale swallowing water.

Geji! Geji!

As Zhang Xuan began absorbing the lightning energy unreservedly, his Primordial Spirit, which had already reached ten meters in height due to his reckless absorption of energy in the past, swiftly broke free of its bottleneck and began growing once more at an unprecedentedly rate.

It was only out of fear that his Primordial Spirit would grow too big and be unable to fuse back into his body properly, as had happened several times in the past, that he had not dared to absorb energy recklessly anymore. However, given the predicament that he was in, he could not care about that anymore. If he could not control the lightning tribulation soon, he would be the one to lose his life!

Tzzzzzzz!

Energy gathered around him at an ever-increasing rate, and very soon, a vortex appeared in the ocean of lightning energy with him at the very eye, supplying him with seemingly endless energy.

Eleven meters!

Twelve meters!

Thirteen meters!

...

In less than a minute, his Primordial Spirit had already grown to a size of twenty meters. Even amid the vast expanse of storm clouds, he still towered like a giant.

"I can still continue on, you know? At the very most, I'll just perish together with you!" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.

He could sense that the arrogant lightning tribulation, which had been determined to claim his life from a moment ago, had grown a little hesitant. The lightning energy in his surroundings had visibly grown quieter than before, and the storm clouds were trembling a little, seemingly out of fear.

It had thought that by gathering all of its kin and friends, it would be able to get rid of this fellow once and for all. However, not even in its wildest dreams could it have imagined that the young man would actually have such a trump card up his sleeve, allowing him to take in lightning energy endlessly, as if a black hole. At this rate, its entire tribe might just lose their life!

Hu!

Decisiveness is a mark of a true hero. Fully understanding this logic, the lightning tribulation did not spend too long hesitating before it decisively chose to turn around and flee.

Knowing that it would react in such a manner, Zhang Xuan swiftly sent a telepathic message to it.

"Do you think that I'll allow you to get away after everything that you've done? Mark my words, if you flee right now, I'll vow to sap you dry every time you appear in this world! If you don't want that to happen, you'd better listen to my instructions right now. I have some things that I want you to do for me!"

He had no idea whether the lightning tribulation was capable of comprehending his words or not, but he was certain that it possessed its own consciousness. Otherwise, it would not have been scared into fleeing each time it encountered him.

...

It has finally stopped its attacks...

Beneath the storm clouds, the First Elder finally managed to catch a breather from the relentless assault of the storm clouds.

As powerful as he was, it was still difficult to cope with the seemingly endless barrage of attacks from the lightning bolts, not to mention that each lightning bolt was by no means weak. Even at this moment, he could still feel his heart pounding in discomposure.

He might have succumbed to the lightning bolts if the lightning tribulation had continued striking him at that rate, but since it had stopped, it probably would not attack anymore. Thus, he quickly turned his gaze over to Zhang Xuan's physical body with animosity reflected in his eyes.

"From the moment you began practicing the arts of soul oracles, you should have known that this was the outcome that you would face!" The First Elder harrumphed as he thrust a palm strike toward the young man's motionless body.

The killing intent behind the First Elder's attack immediately triggered the Mind of Void, and Zhang Xuan's body instinctively attempted to move to dodge the attack. However, the First Elder's Spatial Suppression was still locking him firmly in place, rendering all of his struggling futile.

Kacha!

At this moment, once again, before the palm strike could reach Zhang Xuan, a streak of lightning bolted down toward the First Elder.

Unlike the ones that the First Elder had faced before, this very lightning bolt was several times larger and stronger, to the extent that it seemed as if it would combust the surrounding air. It was the kind of attack that fully displayed the overwhelming prowess of nature in subduing everything that dared defied it, leaving those standing against it feeling utterly helpless and despaired.

This...

Goosebumps rose all over the First Elder's body from the sheer danger he felt from the bolt of lightning.

I did attack you earlier, but I didn't do it on purpose! You also had your vengeance striking me again and again, so surely you don't have to be so perverse as to come after me again and again, right? Or will you only be happy after you send me down to my grave?

Furthermore... I can understand why you would want to strike me, but the person who has summoned you here is just over there, sleeping with his eyes closed. Shouldn't you strike him as well?

As stifled as the First Elder was, he knew that he would have to focus all of his strength into dealing with it, or else even with his cultivation realm, he would still sustain severe injuries from it. Thus, he swiftly redirected the might of his palm strike over to deal with the lightning bolt.

Si la!

As the two powers met one another, a devastating shockwave rippled into the surroundings, tearing open a massive spatial rift at the center and disintegrating everything that it came into contact with.

"Cough cough cough cough!"

Eventually, the First Elder did successfully withstand the lightning bolt, but he still sustained a certain degree of damage. Charred marks could be seen all over his body.

I have to kill that b*stard before this lightning tribulation dissipates!

Knowing that it would be dangerous if several more lightning bolts of this caliber fell on him, the First Elder clenched his jaw furiously and sent a punch toward Zhang Xuan.

But as if the lightning tribulation was intent to protect Zhang Xuan, it struck down rapidly on the First Elder once again before the punch could connect.

Kacha! Kacha!

Smoke rose from the First Elder's convulsing body. The frenzied elder turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan once more, only to see that the latter had opened his eyes at some point in time and was looking straight at the storm clouds.

"I'll leave him to you for the time being. I'm going to rest for a moment."

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan made use of the shockwave from one of the lightning bolts to break free of the Spatial Suppression before leisurely making his way down to the ground.

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