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

51. 1601

Library of Heaven's Path #Chapter 1601 - The Emergence of the Celestial Amulet of Legacy - Read Library of Heaven's Path Chapter 1601 - The Emergence of the Celestial Amulet of Legacy Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1601: The Emergence of the Celestial Amulet of Legacy

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The first group of people whom Zhang Xuan managed to process consisted of Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen. They had grim looks on their faces.

On the opposite side were the four young men who emanated a vicious killing aura. Even before making a move, their auras had already permeated the entire room, as if signaling their dominance.

They were the four Otherworldly Demons who they had tailed here.

At close proximity, Zhang Xuan was finally able to get a clear look of the appearances of the four of them. Donned in a black robe, they had tall hats and a little stubble beneath their chins.

"These are the culprits who have kidnapped Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao..." Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes menacingly as he casually placed his hand on his waist, ready to make a move at any moment.

"The final candidate has finally cleared the trial as well."

In this moment, a calm voice sounded in the air, breaking the heavy tension in the air. The adolescent boy sculpture walked over and faced the crowd.

"Since you have successfully cleared your respective trials, you are qualified to inherit the treasure that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu has left here."

Huala!

Right after those words were spoken, radiant light shimmered all around the room as a stone platform slowly rose from the ground. At the very center of the stone platform was an amulet the size of a palm.

Ancient inscriptions were carved on the amulet. While it appeared to hold no extraordinary prowess at all, if one attempt to peer into it through one's consciousness, one would immediately experience a searing sensation in the mind.

Is that the Celestial Amulet of Legacy? Zhang Xuan wondered with a frown as he hurried over to Luo Ruoxin's side.

The Prime Amulet was the very reason for their visit there. Since it had already emerged, it seemed like a fight could not be avoided anymore. Not only did they have to secure the amulet, they also had to capture those four and force them to reveal the whereabouts of Zhao Ya and the others!

"It has finally appeared!"

The four young men could not conceal the agitation from surfacing on their faces when they saw the Prime Amulet, and an excited gleam shone from their eyes.

Paying no heed to the group of four, Zhang Xuan discreetly looked at the young lady beside him and asked, "Are you fine?"

Since he had gone through so much danger in his trial, it was likely that Luo Ruoxin had encountered quite a bit of trouble as well.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Luo Ruoxin shook his head as she glanced at the belt around Zhang Xuan's waist and nodded in approval. "It seems like you have gained quite a lot from your trial!"

Not expecting to be found out so quickly, Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly. "Haha, I guess so!"

Really, it felt as if there was nothing that he could do that could escape from her sight!

"The Dragonbone Divine Spear is powerful. With your current strength, you won't be able to draw out even a hundredth of its full prowess, but even so, it's already more than sufficient!" Luo Ruoxin remarked with a smile.

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He was just about to continue speaking when the voice of adolescent boy sculpture sounded once more.

"I can tell that both sides desire to obtain this Celestial Amulet of Legacy... Since that's the case, let's decide the allocation through your strength then! Feel free to use any means at your disposal, and whoever manages to acquire it shall be the new owner of this Celestial Amulet of Legacy!" The adolescent boy sculpture chuckled softly as he addressed the crowd.

"Since the elder has already said such words, we shan't stand on ceremony then!"

The scholarly young man of the group of four immediately dashed right toward the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, intending to swipe possession of it.

Weng!

However, before his hand could reach the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, it suddenly struck something hard. No matter how much might he exerted, he was unable to push his hand any closer toward the amulet.

It was an isolation barrier.

"You want to take away the amulet? Have you asked for my permission yet?" Wu Chen smirked disdainfully as he dashed forward as well.

Unlike the scholarly young man, his target was not the amulet. Devastating might rumbled in his hand as he directed it toward the back of the scholarly young man.

"Audacious!"

Seeing that Wu Chen was intending to make a move on one of their comrades, a fragile looking young man leaped forth, and with a furious roar, an ancient zither appeared at his fingertips. He stroked his fingers gracefully across the strings, and a ferocious melody burst forth.

Triiingg tingg!

"It's indeed an artifact of Ancient Sage Yan Yan!" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

This zither was not the strongest of Ancient Sage Yan Yan's artifacts, but it had been personally refined by him. Even the slightest stroke could produce the most imposing of notes, as if an army of thousands charging forward with an unstoppable momentum!

Any Ancient Sage artifacts that could be preserved to this very day, even the simplest of them, were tools that could not be underestimated.

"Heh!"

Under the assault of the fragile young man, Wu Chen retracted his attack toward the scholarly young man and redirected his might to clash with the demonic tune. In the clash, ripples of shockwaves diffused into the surroundings.

Over the course of the clash, Zhang Xuan could tell that both the scholarly young man and the fragile young man wielded fighting prowess that could match Yang shi! They had reached the pinnacle of Great Sage, the Sempiternal realm!

It was no wonder they could take Zhao Ya and the others away so easily! With their strength and the Ancient Sage artifacts in their possession, they were indeed a force that would be hard to stand against!

"Ruoxin, I'll be counting on you to stop the fellow attempting to snatch the Celestial Amulet of Legacy. If possible, try to find a way to snatch the amulet yourself. As for the rest, leave them to Wu Chen and me!" Zhang Xuan said.

Taking a deep breath, he touched the blood droplet in his palm, and a powerful surge of energy swiftly swept through his body.

Since the culprits who had kidnapped Zhao Ya and his other students were there, there was no need for him to stand on ceremony. He would pry open their mouths and get their locations out of them!

"Un." Knowing that the current Zhang Xuan had the ability to deal with those four young men, Luo Ruoxin nodded before dashing toward the Celestial Amulet of Legacy.

"Heh, how can I possibly allow you take the amulet so easily?"

With a deafening roar, a dark-skinned young man dashed forth, intending to hinder Luo Ruoxin. But barely after he took a step forward, he felt an immense pressure crushing down on him, forcing him to stop in his tracks. The next moment, he saw that Zhang Xuan was already standing right before him with a cold smile on his face.

"Get your facts right! Your opponent is me!"

Astonished by Zhang Xuan's sudden appearance, the dark-skinned young man instinctively realized that he would not be able to get past the other party easily, so he quickly barked an order to the last young man in the group. "What are you dawdling around for? Stop her!"

The last young man finally recovered from his daze and hurriedly nodded. "Alright!"

Following which, he stretched his hand forth to grab Luo Ruoxin.

This last young man was the tallest among the group of four, and his body was slightly bloated as well, giving an impression that he was not too nimble. However, the fighting prowess that he displayed was extraordinary, not losing out to the other three at all!

A powerful might rumbled from the last young man's hand, as if he wielded strength comparable to a devastating bolt of lightning.

"Hahaha, don't waste your effort! The two of you are mine!"

But before the last young man could get too far, a cold chuckle echoed in the air. Following which, a ferocious pressure pressed down on the last young man, dissipating whatever might he wielded in his hand.

Astonished, the four young men could not help but shoot a glance at Zhang Xuan, who was holding a pitch-black spear in his hand, emanating a cold and lofty aura.

Realizing that Zhang Xuan's strength was far beyond what they could deal with individually, the dark-skinned young man yelled anxiously, "Let's make a move together!"

Huala!

Thus, the dark-skinned young man and the last young man whipped out their swords and flicked two bolts of sword qi over simultaneously. Even space itself seemed to moan under the tremendous force of their sword qi, and it appeared as if the bolts would rip Zhang Xuan apart if they struck him.

"Let me show you just how frightening an existence you have provoked when you chose to kidnap Zhao Ya and my other students!"

With a flick of his wrist, a sound reminiscent of a dragon's roar sounded from Zhang Xuan's spear as it bolted forward.

Kacha! Kacha!

A black hole appeared in the point of collision between the spear and the two bolts of sword qi, causing the entire atrium to shake intensely.

Even though the folded space that they were in was extraordinary stable, it was ultimately still an artificial space. It could not possibly withstand such frightening might!

Peng! Peng!

The faces of the dark-skinned young man and the last young man warped in horror as their bodies were sent flying into the distance, as if they had been struck squarely by a hammer. They crashed heavily into the wall, creating a massive hole behind them as blood seeped down from the corners of their mouths.

With just a single flick of his spear, Zhang Xuan had successfully suppressed a coordinated attack from two Sempiternal realm experts.

For the first time, the ultimate fighting prowess derived from Kong shi's blood droplet and the Dragonbone Divine Spear was shown to the world!

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Chapter 1602: Otherworldly Demons Indeed!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Where are Zhao Ya and my other students?"

After sending the two young men flying, Zhang Xuan continued walking toward them as a cold glint shone from the tip of his spear. In that instant, it felt as if he was a War God who had descended from the heavens.

Tringg tingggggg!

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to capture one of the young men for interrogation, a sonic wave swept in his direction, piercing toward his soul. Turning his head over, he saw the fragile young man wielding Ancient Sage Yan Yan's artifact stroking his zither in his direction.

He immediately turned his sight to Wu Chen, only to see that the latter was currently bogged down by three Golden Warriors. These Golden Warriors wielded incredible strength that left the space around them crumbling with their punches. Even with Wu Chen's strength, he was still unable to subdue them within a short period of time.

"They sure do have plenty of artifacts..."

These three Golden Warriors were similar to the ones that they had encountered when they entered the Ran Zi Hall. They were also the soldiers created by the personal writing of an Ancient Sage expert, harnessing his spirit and psyche.

However, unlike the Golden Warriors that had materialized previously, these three did not suppress their cultivation at all, and their coordination was impeccable. As a result, even Wu Chen was having some difficulty dealing with them!

A doubt arose in Zhang Xuan's mind. Golden Warriors of Mentor's Calligraphy, the ancient zither used by Ancient Sage Yan Yan... Are they really Otherworldly Demons?

Not even the Master Teacher Pavilion was able to whip out so many precious treasures at once. Yet, these Otherworldly Demons actually had so many in their possession, and they used them as if they were not worth much at all.

Could they possibly not be from the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe but from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers?

However, if those four young men were truly from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, who were Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen?

After all, Luo Ruoxin had told him personally that she was not an Otherworldly Demon, and he really wanted to trust her.

Flaws!

With such a doubt in mind, Zhang Xuan decisively activated the Library of Heaven's Path on them in hopes of uncovering their identity.

Weng!

The Library of Heaven's Path jolted, but no books were compiled.

What's going on? It can't be that they possess the Discarnate Constitution of Divination as well, right? There can't possibly be so many people who have that constitution in the world! Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

He could still accept not being able to read Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen, but why was he unable to read these young men? Just what was going on?

Those young men were currently executing their battle techniques, so he should have been able to read them easily!

Could it be... Yes, that seems to be very likely! Even if they don't possess the Discarnate Constitution of Divination, there's a very high chance that they might still have some artifacts on them that allow them to conceal themselves from the heavens... Otherwise, there's no way the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters and the Zhang Clan could have been unaware that they were going to kidnap Zhao Ya and the others! Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

Given the importance of Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao in the expedition to the Temple of Confucius, the Master Teacher Pavilion had their most skillful seers keeping close tabs on them. If they were going to be captured, those seers definitely would have divined it, but that did not happen. The only reason for that was that the four young men were in possession of some method of concealing themselves from the view of the heavens!

In a sense, this was similar to how the Sage Xi's Tortoiseshell was concealed from the detection of the heavens under the isolation barrier of the Shrine of Seers back then.

It seems like I really should journey around the Shrine of Seers after leaving this ancient domain... Zhang Xuan thought.

If this went on, it felt like his Library of Heaven's Path would be rendered obsolete in no time!

It was really high time for him to upgrade his Library of Heaven's Path. If that did not work either, the least he could do was learn about the various means to avoid the detection of the heavens so that he would be able to deal with them in the future!

Forget it! Even if I can't see through them, I'll know after trying them out! Zhang Xuan thought as he glanced at the three men before him coldly.

Just because the Library of Heaven's Path could not see through them did not mean that he did not have any other ways of finding out!

Even if Otherworldly Demons were able to disguise themselves as humans, they were still unable to alter the fundamental nature of their zhenqi. In times of danger, their instinctive responses would immediately kick in, thus exposing their true identity.

Unless they were so powerful that they could deal with his attacks with ease...

However, considering the strength of the four young men, the possibility of such a situation happening was nonexistent. In any case, Zhang Xuan did not believe that anyone beneath Ancient Sage would be able to hide their true forms from him!

"The three of you should come at me together!" Zhang Xuan roared in laughter as he flicked his wrist and thrust the spear forth.

Weng!

The sonic waves produced by the fragile young man were kept at bay by the spear tip, and taking a huge stride forward, Zhang Xuan swept his spear in a horizontal arc in front of him.

Huala!

The spear flew toward the dark-skinned young man closest to him.

"Humph!" With his flick of his wrist, the dark-skinned young man took out a brush to defend against Zhang Xuan's spear sweep.

Ding ding ding ding ding!

The brush swiftly chipped away at the might of the Dragonbone Divine Spear with multiple strikes. While the dark-skinned young man was still forced to retreat eight steps in the end, he managed to walk out of this encounter relatively unscathed.

Is that brush another Ancient Sage artifact, too? Zhang Xuan wondered in astonishment.

However, knowing that this was not the time to allow his mind to wander, he smoothly maneuvered his spear into an upward flick to pierce the last young man.

Tzzzzzzzz!

A furious storm swept through the air like a hurricane, and the last young man's face immediately paled in the face of the spear.

Trriiing ting!

Just as the spear was about to strike the last young man, the fragile young man's zither started playing once more.

This time, Zhang Xuan did not resist the demonic tune. Instead, he drew the entire soul attack into his body.

Kacha!

In an instant, the metamorphosis that he had started under the pressure of the Dragonbone Divine Spear was immediately completed, and his soul began undergoing a qualitative change.

Zhang Xuan could clearly feel his soul cultivation being raised to a whole new level. While it had not reached the level of Great Sage yet, it had become much purer, and the size of his soul was also reduced by almost half.

With the current state of his soul, he was already able to pull off Soul Traverse.

Refreshed from his breakthrough, Zhang Xuan could not help but burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you have my deepest gratitude!"

Then, he took a step forward.

Cold sweat immediately rained down from the last young man as alarm bells rang endlessly in his head. He hurriedly retreated, but Zhang Xuan's spear traced him relentlessly as if it was his shadow. No matter how the last young man maneuvered around the place, trying all kinds of movement techniques, he was unable to shake off the spear piercing toward him.

"Damn it!" the dark-skinned young man cursed beneath his breath as he poured ink all over the place and began painting swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, he had already painted a shield for the last young man to hide in.

Si la!

The Dragonbone Divine Spear collided with the painted shield and tore it apart with ease.

Nevertheless, the painted shield did manage to reduce the might of the spear's pierce significantly. The last young man swiftly turned around, and with all his might, he deflected the spear with his sword, thus surviving this ordeal.

Seeing how the last young man did not whip out any peculiar artifacts despite being driven to a corner, Zhang Xuan thought, It seems like this fellow doesn't have any Ancient Sage artifacts...

To be honest, while the combination of Kong shi's blood droplet and the Dragonbone Divine Spear did grant him incomparable fighting prowess, it would still take some time for him to capture those three young men alive.

Unfortunately, there was a time limit to Kong shi's blood droplet, so time was not a luxury that he could squander.

Since that was the case, it would be best for him to focus his attention on the weakest young man who did not have any Ancient Sage artifacts in possession!

Once one was down, it would be easier for him to take down the other two.

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan decisively launched his spear toward the last young man once more.

Tzzzzzzzz!

If the previous attack was just a maneuver to try the last young man's hand, this would be the true deadly strike. Before the spear could even reach the last young man, a deafening sonic boom had already permeated the entire atrium. As if a fragile sheet of paper, the space standing between the spear and the last young man was callously torn apart, causing multiple spatial ripples to diffuse into the surroundings.

Tiing trrrinnnng! Triiinnnng ding!

Not expecting Zhang Xuan to neglect the other two of them and focus his offense solely on the last young man, the fragile young man hurriedly stroked his zither. But even though the demonic tune that he played held fearsome might, it was kept at bay by the spatial ripples diffusing outward.

Spatial Interference!

"Damn it!"

The dark-skinned young man hurriedly rushed forward to protect the last young man as well, but with just a flick of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, his brush was sent flying.

"Let me kill one of you first to quell my rage first!" Zhang Xuan bellowed coldly as he drove his spear forth.

The last young man's face paled in fright. Knowing that he would be killed if he did not make a move, he raised his head and roared.

"Ahhh!"

Amid the deafening roar, his body swiftly increased in size. His already tall stature swiftly rose beyond two meters, and an overwhelming killing aura burst forth from his body, piercing into the heavens.

"You really are an Otherworldly Demon..." Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes menacingly.

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Chapter 1603: Escape

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

His conviction had wavered when he saw the group of young men whipping out Ancient Sage artifacts one after another before him, and he had wondered if he might have got it wrong once more. However, with the tall young man's transformation, it was apparent that the group of young men before him were not from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers but Otherworldly Demons!

To be honest, even though he really wanted to trust Luo Ruoxin, there had been just a hint of doubt at the back of his mind that he could not shake off. For that, he had even attempted to check on Wu Chen as well...

In an instant, his face reddened in embarrassment.

Luo Ruoxin had trusted him unreservedly, sharing any news that she had with him without any hesitation. She even gave something as precious as Kong shi's personal handwriting to him as if it was nothing more than dirt. Yet, he had actually doubted her...

The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt.

At the same time, Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen also swiftly noticed the last young man reverting back to its original form as an Otherworldly Demon, and they were visibly startled for a moment.

"Since you are an Otherworldly Demon, I shan't stand on ceremony!" Having verified the other party's identity, Zhang Xuan could not be bothered to waste his breath on words.

With a furious bellow, he thrust the spear toward the last young man once more.

Po!

Regaining his true strength after reverting to his true form, the last young man's fighting prowess became much stronger than before. Nevertheless, he was still far from a match for the Dragonbone Divine Spear-equipped Zhang Xuan.

Soon, he was pierced in his shoulder, and fresh blood gushed out from his gaping wound.

At the same time, the fragile young man and the dark-skinned young man also had their hands full with the powerful attacks that Zhang Xuan sent their way from time to time. They could hardly find any time to catch their breath, let alone assist the last young man!

Knowing that they would be defeated if this went on, the fragile young man bellowed anxiously, "Quick, grab the Celestial Amulet of Legacy!"

"Alright!" the scholarly young man before the amulet quickly replied.

He was currently in the midst of battling Luo Ruoxin.

The young lady's attacks were neither fast nor powerful, but every strike carried some kind of unpredictable danger that would kill him the moment that he let his guard down. After trading a few blows, the scholarly young man found his arms becoming numb, and his face paled from the damage that he had accumulated thus far.

They were all Sempiternal realm cultivators, but for some reason, the members of trio before them were each more frightening than the last!

The tides were simply not in their favor. If this went on, they might really lose their lives. Thus, the scholarly young man gritted his teeth and tossed a book out.

Boom!

As soon as the book appeared, it warped into a cloth that could conceal even the heavens. It fell right upon Luo Ruoxin, isolating her from the rest of the world.

"The writings of an Ancient Sage?" Luo Ruoxin's face darkened as she hurriedly raised her palm to strike the cloth around her.

However, all of the force that she exerted was completely absorbed by the cloth, preventing her from breaking out.

The writings of an Ancient Sage harnessed immense powers, such that even Half-Ancient Sage experts would be unable to break free, let alone Sempiternal realm cultivators!

"Hu!" Heaving a sigh of relief, the scholarly young man turned his sight toward the Celestial Amulet of Legacy.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out a token and pressed the token against the seal around the amulet lightly.

Weng!

As soon as the token came into contact with the seal, the latter began dissipating at a visible rate.

Huala!

With a swipe of his hands, the Celestial Amulet of Legacy was already in his grasp.

"Let's go!" Having acquired the item that they had come for, the scholarly young man quickly beckoned to his comrades as he whipped out another jade token.

He crushed the jade token forcefully, and a spatial rift swiftly appeared around him and swallowed him whole.

Huala!

"Let's go!"

Seeing that they had achieved their objective in the ancient domain, the fragile young man and dark-skinned young man quickly grabbed the exposed Otherworldly Demon before retrieving a similar-looking jade token and crushing it as well.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Not expecting the young man to actually have such a method of escape, Zhang Xuan quickly tapped his finger ahead.

Weng!

The space around the three young men froze in place.

The Spatial Quintessence of Sealing had the ability to seal all energy disturbances within a given space. The jade tokens that the young men were using were probably some sort of Teleportation Formation, so by sealing the space, he would be able to prevent them from escaping!

As expected, the three young men who were just about to escape through the spatial rift abruptly froze in midair, unable to move or escape.

"Speak! Where did you take Zhao Ya and my other students?" Zhang Xuan roared with wintry killing intent.

"Zhao Ya? Do you mean the host of the Pure Yin Constitution?" the fragile young man asked.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan eyed the three of them with a threatening gaze.

"If you want to find them, meet us at the Temple of Confucius!"

With a cold sneer, the fragile young man crushed an amulet that had appeared in his hand at some point in time.

Huala!

A calamitous surge of sword qi suddenly burst forth from the crushed amulet, tearing the sealed space in an instant.

Weng!

With the disappearance of the sealed space, the silhouettes of the trio immediately became illusory, signaling that their teleportation would be successful the next instant.

"Since you aren't willing to speak, you can die now!" With crimson eyes, Zhang Xuan drove his spear right toward the three.

He had gone easy on the trio in order to acquire news regarding Zhao Ya from them. However, since it was confirmed that they had taken her away, and they were already on the verge of escaping, he could not hold back his killing intent against them anymore.

Those three young men might be powerful, but against the current Zhang Xuan, they were not even close to being a match at all.

Huala!

With raging might, the spear thrust forth.

"Humph!"

With a cold harrumph, the fragile young man flicked his finger, and another surge of sword qi burst toward Zhang Xuan once more.

Zhang Xuan was intending to use his spear to crush right through the sword qi, but a force behind him suddenly tugged him away.

Hula!

Wherever the sword qi passed, the annihilation of space could be seen, leaving a long gorge of dark destruction.

Seeing such a sight, cold sweat dripped down Zhang Xuan's head.

If someone had not pulled him back, he would have been sliced in two back there!

But in the moment that he dodged the attack, the three young men also successfully slipped through the spatial rift and vanished.

A myriad of emotions bottled up in Zhang Xuan—helplessness, frustration, and anger—culminated into a deep, long sigh. Turning around, he saw Luo Ruoxin standing right behind him with a disapproving frown on her forehead.

"Do you want to die? That's an amulet left behind by an Ancient Sage, and it harnesses a tenth of an Ancient Sage's strength... There's no way you could have stood against something like that!"

"A tenth of an Ancient Sage's strength?" Zhang Xuan's face paled in realization of what he had just faced.

It was no wonder that surge of sword qi was so powerful! Even if it was just a tenth of an Ancient Sage's might, it was not something that the current him could stand against.

"Humph! I didn't think that they would have an Inscripted Amulet of an Ancient Sage and even a Dimension Flit Amulet!" Wu Chen walked over with a complicated look on his face, seemingly pondering deeply over something.

"Dimension Flit Amulet?"

"It's a special type of amulet inscripted by an Ancient Sage specializing in spatial arts. It works similar to a Teleportation Formation when crushed, transporting the user over a distance of a million li 1 . To even have such an artifact in their possession, it seems like they must have spent a very long time preparing for this operation," Luo Ruoxin explained grimly.

"It can transport a person over a million li away?" Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.

If only he had known that those young men had such artifacts in their possession, he would have killed them right from the start!

Had he just crushed their cultivation, they would not have been able to use the Dimension Flit Amulet!

Even though the Dimension Flit Amulet allowed them to travel through space, if their cultivation was too low, they would not have been able to survive the spatial turbulence from the travel!

"After all the effort we have put into this, the Celestial Amulet of Legacy still ended up falling in their hands..." Wu Chen shook his head bitterly.

"It's fine. No matter who obtains the amulet, they will have to unlock the seal at the Temple of Confucius eventually. As long as we camp there, we'll be able to get in as well."

It was a huge disappointment that the Celestial Amulet of Legacy had slipped through their fingers, so they could only console themselves as such.

"Fret not. They might have gotten away, but they didn't manage to take the Celestial Amulet of Legacy away with them!" Zhang Xuan said.

"They didn't manage to take the amulet away with them?"

Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen glanced at one another, unable to comprehend the young man's words.

"Hehe!"

Instead of answering the doubts of the duo, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze toward the adolescent boy sculpture not too far away and asked, "May I ask if my words are correct... Celestial Amulet of Legacy?"

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Chapter 1604: Prime Amulet

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The adolescent boy sculpture was taken aback for an instant before he chuckled awkwardly. "W-what are you saying? I'm just an artifact spirit left here by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu to guide the visitors around!"

Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen also had perplexed looks on their faces.

This adolescent boy sculpture had been accompanying them around the Ran Zi Hall from the moment that they arrived there. They had always thought of the other party as an enchanted sculpture, so how did he turn out to be the Celestial Amulet of Legacy?

If that was really the case, how could the four young men before them not realize it despite the number of Ancient Sage artifacts that they possessed?

"Artifact spirit? May I know what kind of artifact spirit you are then? Would you care to share it with me?" Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

"I am the artifact spirit birthed from this stone sculpture!" the adolescent boy sculpture exclaimed.

"An artifact spirit birthed from this stone sculpture?" Zhang Xuan's lips curved up as he placed his hands behind his back and circled around the sculpture. "The material that you are made of is known as the Magi Rock. It's found in the far northeastern Luxu Mountain of the continent, slowly tempered over an unimaginably long period of time through the grinding of tectonic plates, the currents of the ocean, and the searing heat of the underground lava. There aren't many of these rocks in the continent, definitely numbering no more than ten!

"The greatest property of the Magi Rock lies in its ability to nourish a soul. Souls that are deposited into it will grow more resilient and powerful. Ironically, due to the overwhelming soul energy that is harnessed within the Magi Rocks, it's impossible to gather the huge bulk of soul energy together to give birth to a conscious spirit. In other words... no matter how skilled a spirit awakener is, it's impossible to successfully enchant a Magi Rock! You mentioned that you are the artifact spirit of this stone sculpture. Why don't you tell me who the person that granted you life is then?"

"I..." The adolescent boy sculpture was visibly stunned by those words. He did not think that the young man before him would actually be able to identify a rock as rare as him, and he subconsciously took a step back out of apprehension as he replied, "It's Ancient Sage Ran Qiu... The capabilities of an Ancient Sage go far beyond your imagination! Just because you aren't able to do it doesn't mean that others aren't able to do so!"

"Hahaha!"

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's lips curled into a smile, as if he had managed to corner his prey. "Ancient Sage Ran Qiu is one of the Ten Apostles, and I am indeed incapable of fathoming the full extent of his capabilities. However, enchanted artifacts tend to have deep feelings for the spirit awakener that granted them life, thus making it extremely easily for the spirit awakener to tame them. Since Ancient Sage Ran Qiu left the Ran Zi Hall in your hands and entrusted you the mission of bringing the visitors around, I don't see why he wouldn't tame you. After all, there would be a risk that you could betray him otherwise... Yet, since meeting you, I've noticed that you have been addressing him as 'Ancient Sage Ran Qiu' instead of... master."

All enchanted artifacts harbored deep feelings for the spirit awakeners that enchanted them, and it was such a property that allowed spirit awakeners to easily control the artifacts that they had enchanted.

This was similar to how the golems that he had enchanted before had only been willing to listen to him and no one else.

Even a hatchling would view the very first life it saw as its parent, let alone an enchanted spirit.

Since Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had left the important Ran Zi Hall, which even contained his personal weapon, to the care of the adolescent boy sculpture, there was no reason why he would not tame the latter, especially since he should have been able to do so easily. Yet, ever since they had entered the Ran Zi Hall, the adolescent boy sculpture had never once addressed Ancient Sage Ran Qiu as 'master'.

In fact, his attitude toward Ancient Sage Ran Qiu could not even be said to be respectful!

"I..." The adolescent boy sculpture was unable to refute Zhang Xuan's words. Silence loomed for a moment before he anxiously rebutted, "Even if I didn't acknowledge him as my master, I can't possibly be the Celestial Amulet of Legacy either! Your deduction has no strong reasoning behind it at all!"

"It seems like you won't admit it unless I spell it out clearly!" A glint flashed through Zhang Xuan's eyes as he shook his head with a smile. "When we arrived at the Ran Zi Hall, I challenged two Golden Warriors simultaneously and sealed the space around them. You mentioned that I was the successor of Qiu Wu Zi and asked me to show mercy!"

"Indeed. What's wrong with that?" The adolescent boy sculpture harrumphed doubtfully.

He did recall saying such words, and he did not see any problem with them.

"While Ancient Sage Qiu Wu might have been Kong shi's subordinate, he was much older than Kong shi, and Kong shi addressed him as a peer. Considering how Ancient Sage Ran Qiu is a disciple of Kong shi, even he would have to address Ancient Sage Qiu Wu with the utmost respect, not daring to overstep his bounds at all!" Zhang Xuan said.

In a sense, this was similar to how even though Sun Qiang was his subordinate, Zheng Yang and the others still addressed him respectfully as 'Uncle Sun'.

This was even more so for Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, who was much more aged than Kong shi. Even Kong shi regarded him with much respect, so how could Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, as a student, dare to address him casually?

"On the other hand, you addressed Ancient Sage Qiu Wu directly as 'Qiu Wu Zi', and that's an address that peers use to address one another!" Zhang Xuan continued. "As an artifact enchanted by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, don't you think it's inappropriate for you to speak in such a manner?"

"Y-you..." Taken aback, the adolescent boy sculpture backed away several steps as he stared at Zhang Xuan with a horrified expression.

To be able to deduce that he was the Celestial Amulet of Legacy just by the method of address... The young man was frighteningly sharp!

Realizing that there was no longer any point in him concealing his true identity, the adolescent boy sculpture raised his head and asked, "When did you see through me?"

He was confident in his disguise. Even if an Ancient Sage stood before him, the other party would not necessarily be able to see through his disguise. So, when did the young man see through him?

"Earlier, before entering the passageway, I noticed the peculiarity in your material when I patted your shoulder, and that was when I began suspecting you," Zhang Xuan replied.

When he entered the granite door previously, he had walked up to the adolescent boy sculpture and patted his shoulder so as to use the Library of Heaven's Path on him.

Through the compiled book, he had learned that the material of the sculpture was not suitable for enchantment, but even so, he did not think too much about it. Or rather, with the danger that came right after, he did not have any time to think too much about it.

However, with the escape of the four young men, he had suddenly recalled this matter, and putting it together with the peculiar address that the adolescent boy sculpture used for Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, he would have to be really dense not to figure it out!

Considering how the Celestial Amulets of Legacy were artifacts that Kong shi had forged, it would not be inappropriate for them to address Ancient Sage Qiu Wu informally as Qiu Wu Zi. Even if they showed a lack of respect for Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, the latter would not say anything.

The true conclusive evidence was that he could feel a very familiar aura coming from the adolescent boy sculpture.

The other six Subordinate Amulets were forged using the blood essences of those possessing unique constitutions, but as for the Prime Amulet, if he was not mistaken, it was likely to have been forged using Kong shi's blood essence! In other words, the familiar aura that he was feeling was that of a fellow Celestial Master Teacher!

With such a feeling guiding him, it would not be too difficult for him to figure out who the adolescent boy sculpture truly was!

"I see... As expected of Qiu Wu Zi's successor! Not only have you mastered the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, you have also managed to tame the Dragonbone Divine Spear... Your eye of discernment is truly extraordinary..." Hearing Zhang Xuan's explanation, the adolescent boy sculpture confessed. "You're right, I am the Prime Amulet forged by Kong shi. What those young men have taken away is a mere imitation!"

Chuckling softly, a ray of light rose from the head of the adolescent boy sculpture and converged in the air. In just a few moments, he had already transformed into an amulet.

It was identical to the Celestial Amulet of Legacy that the scholarly young man had snatched earlier.

"I am the Prime Amulet that Kong shi forged. Only the one who holds me will be able to enter the Prime Hall in the Temple of Confucius! However, my one true master is Kong shi, and I won't bow down to just anyone. Putting aside the fact that you are Qiu Wu Zi's successor, even if Qiu Wu Zi stood before me this instant, there's no way he'd be able to make me submit to him!" the amulet declared regally.

In response to those words, Zhang Xuan simply chuckled softly. "You won't submit to me?"

"Of course not!" the amulet replied pridefully.

"Very well. I'll show you something first, and I'll accept any decision you make right after!" Zhang Xuan raised his finger and tapped the amulet lightly.

"There's nothing you can show me that will change my mind. As an artifact created by Kong shi, how can I possibly submit t-t-to..."

Just as the amulet was declaring its stand pridefully, it suddenly shuddered before frightfully crumpling together in the air. Following which, it hurriedly stood in front of Zhang Xuan like an erect card and said in a fawning voice, "Little Amulet pays respect to Master!"

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Chapter 1605: I Want to Go to the Luo Clan

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"That's more like it!" Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction as he held the amulet between his fingertips.

Since the other party had been forged using Kong shi's blood essence, he was confident a Celestial Master Teacher that he could get it to submit to him by revealing his true identity.

And everything did go according to his expectations.

"..." Wu Chen opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

He was a veteran who could be considered one of the most knowledgeable individuals on the Master Teacher Continent, but the shocks that he had encountered that day were far more than a lifetime's worth for him. At this point, he really had to bow down to the young man.

The amulet forged by Kong shi did not even regard Ancient Sage Qiu Wu or Ancient Sage Ran Qiu as much, and yet, with a light fondle, it actually submitted to the young man!

Is there nothing that you can't tame with those fingers of yours?

But what had truly left him shocked was not just that. Rather, after taming the Prime Amulet, which countless would murder to gain possession of, Zhang Xuan actually flicked it lightly into Luo Ruoxin's grasp!

"Ruoxin, I'll entrust this Prime Amulet to you. In any case, it won't be much use in my hands!"

Wu Chen's body froze in utter incredulity.

Those four young men before them had been willing to whip out Ancient Sage artifacts one after another in order to snatch it away, and that was more than enough to show how valuable the Prime Amulet truly was. Yet, the young man did not hesitate to give it away to Luo Ruoxin...

But what was even more shocking was soon to come...

"Since the Prime Amulet has acknowledged you as its master, it'll do for you to keep it. I have even less use for it here..." Luo Ruoxin shook her head coolly as she passed the Prime Amulet back to Zhang Xuan. "It'll suffice as long as you bring me in when the Temple of Confucius opens."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuan took the Prime Amulet back and nodded. "Alright then."

No matter how formidable the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was, as one who possessed the Library of Heaven's Path, Zhang Xuan did not think that it was something that he would necessarily require, let alone a mere Prime Amulet.

The reason he had gone to this ancient domain was solely because Luo Ruoxin had invited him there. He had intended to uncover the identity of the culprits who had taken Zhao Ya and his other students away, as well as to clarify the misunderstanding of the engagement to her...

As long as she would not use it to harm mankind, he did not mind giving away the precious Prime Amulet to her!

But who could have thought that the young lady would have little regard for it as well.

Seeing that it was pushed and shoved around, the Prime Amulet was on the verge of bursting into tears.

As an artifact forged personally by Kong shi, not even Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was qualified to tame it, and yet, there it was, tossed around from person to person as if it was useless trash that no one wanted...

Don't stop me, let me bang my head on the pillar and die!

Oh right, I am just a sheet of paper. Even if I bang my head against the wall, I can't die...

Just as it was feeling deeply stifled, its new master suddenly turned his gaze to it with a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Little Amulet. Since you have already acknowledged me as your master, shouldn't you show me some sincerity? There should be other treasures in the ancient domain, right? Come, bring me to them!"

"..." The Prime Amulet twitched upon hearing those words. "There aren't any treasures left in here..."

"How can there be no treasures in here? Aren't there ninety-nine doors? Since the door that I went through has the Dragonbone Divine Spear, surely the others should contain some kind of valuable treasure, right?" Zhang Xuan exclaimed in agitation.

"The other passageways are really just trials consisting of Slaughter Formations or Illusory Formations. There are no treasures in the rest..." the Prime Amulet replied.

"Really?" Zhang Xuan turned his doubtful gaze to Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen, only to see the latter two nodding in agreement.

"It's right. The passageways that we went through are really just trials. There was no treasure at the end."

"Is that so?" Zhang Xuan could not help but lower his head in disappointment.

He had thought that each of the ninety-nine granite doors would contain top-notch treasures comparable to the Dragonbone Divine Spear, but it seemed like he had set his expectations too high.

Since that was the case, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to compromise.

"Right, I'll have to trouble you to help me gouge out the three words, 'Ran Zi Hall', on the entrance plaque. Those are good, too!"

"..." Prime Amulet.

He had met plenty of stingy people in his time, but this was the first time he had seen anyone like that. That was the entrance plaque to the Ran Zi Hall, and yet, he would not even let it go...

Other people sought to claim swords, spears, and legendary treasures from ancient domains, and yet, Zhang Xuan snatched even the very face of the esteemed Ran Zi Hall.

...

Paying no heed to the tearful Prime Amulet, Zhang Xuan did as he pleased and took everything that was of the slightest value away from the Ran Zi Hall before leaving with a satisfied grin.

As the old adage goes, only the breadwinner of a family knows how expensive every grain of rice is.

It had not been easy for Zhang Xuan to happen upon such a rich household, so it was a given that he had to fill his pockets to the brim in case of rainy days!

"Teleport us out!" Zhang Xuan instructed the Prime Amulet.

The Prime Amulet's paper body crumpled together, and a shadow devoured their bodies. The next instant, they were already standing in the midst of the White Creek Mountain once more.

As soon as Wu Chen regained his balance, he clasped his fist and bowed deeply. "Milady, Zhang shi, I have some matters that I have to attend to, so I'll have to bid my farewell right now. I'll find you all once more after my business is done!"

There was a deeply worried look on his face.

"What happened? Do you need help?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It's just a couple of trifling matters. I am very grateful for your offer, Zhang shi, but I'll be able to resolve them on my own!" Wu Chen nodded.

"That's good." Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

"Go on. Look for me after you are done with whatever you have on hand," Luo Ruoxin replied.

"Thank you, Milady!"

With a tap of his finger, a spatial wormhole appeared before Wu Chen, and he leaped right in. In the blink of an eye, he had already vanished from sight.

With his departure, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to the young lady before him and smiled. "Ruoxin, what do you intend to do now?"

Having obtained the Prime Amulet, it no longer mattered whether they found the remaining Subordinate Amulets or not. The only thing that they had to do was wait for the Temple of Confucius to open.

"I don't have anything on at the moment," replied Luo Ruoxin as she shook her head.

"Since that's the case, why don't you come to the Zhang Clan with me?" Zhang Xuan said with a smile. "We left too hurriedly the previous time around, and I didn't get to introduce you to my parents!"

To be honest, he still felt a little awkward around his parents, especially since they had only reunited with one another a few days ago.

But no matter what, they were still his blood kin, so it was only right for him to introduce his girlfriend to them. Furthermore, this would also show Luo Ruoxin that he was serious about her.

"This..." A hint of redness crept onto Luo Ruoxin's fair complexion as she replied with a slight hint of fluster in her voice, "I snatched you away from the Luo Clan, causing a fallout between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan... Isn't it a bad time for me to pay them a visit?"

"There's nothing bad about the timing. Don't worry, my parents are very open people!" Zhang Xuan reassured with a smile.

Despite the slight awkwardness in their relationship—he had not even gotten around to calling them father and mother yet—he had to admit that the Xingmeng Sword Saints were extremely doting.

Putting everything aside, what he had done back at the Luo Clan had snubbed not only the reputation of the Luo Clan but that of the Zhang Clan as well. Had it been any other parents, they would have already killed that unfilial son of theirs, yet his parents actually offered him their full support!

Just from that alone, he wanted to try accepting his parents.

"This..." Luo Ruoxin was still a little hesitant and worried about meeting Zhang Xuan's parents.

She could remain cold and nonchalant toward anything in the world, such that not even the prized Prime Amulet could cause the slightest fluctuation in her emotions. Yet, a simple matter like this actually left her at a loss.

"There's nothing to worry about, I'm around. It's only a matter of time before we'll have to meet them to affirm our relationship!" Knowing what Luo Ruoxin was worried about, Zhang Xuan held her hand tightly and consoled her. "Let's meet them, alright?"

"I..." Looking into Zhang Xuan's eyes, Luo Ruoxin hesitated for a moment before eventually sighing deeply. "Alright, I'll meet your parents."

"Un!" Seeing that Luo Ruoxin had agreed to it, a bright smile crept on Zhang Xuan's face. At this moment, he suddenly recalled something and added, "But before we head back to the Zhang Clan, I want to drop by the Luo Clan first!"

"You want to drop by the Luo Clan?" Luo Ruoxin frowned.

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Chapter 1606: Luo Tianya

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

After the huge upset with the Luo Clan, the latter would skin Zhang Xuan alive if they ever got their hands on him, so why did he want to head over?

Even though Luo Ruoxin had a lot of doubts in her mind, she did not think that he was heading to the Luo Clan to have a rendezvous with Luo Qiqi.

She might be unfamiliar with love, but she was still able to tell that the feelings that Zhang Xuan had for Luo Qiqi did not transcend those of a teacher-student relationship.

"That's right." Zhang Xuan nodded. "I have done them a huge injustice during the engagement ceremony, and since I have comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, I want to impart it to them so as to compensate them for what I have done!"

"It's indeed unfair that they had to go through such a matter, and it's only right for you to make it up to them. However, I fear that if you visit them right now, not only will they not appreciate your help, it might even worsen the conflict between the two clans," Luo Ruoxin replied grimly.

Were it not for Yang shi and the Master Teacher Pavilion mediating by the side, a full-blown war between the two clans could have broken out during the engagement ceremony!

Even if Zhang Xuan did not bear any malicious intent toward the Luo Clan, his goodwill toward them was unlikely to be looked favorably upon.

In the worst-case scenario, they might even come to blows with one another!

"That's also something that I am extremely concerned about. So, I was thinking of disguising myself so as to prevent any misunderstandings from happening!" Knowing full well that he had already become the archenemy of every single member of the Luo Clan, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

"The Spatial Quintessence of Sealing has always been an exclusive secret art of the Luo Clan. As far as I know, there has been no one in their clan who has been able to comprehend it ever since the era of their founder, so I believe this will be the best way to make it up to them."

If he had tried to look into who the little princess was instead of rushing into the engagement, such a huge misunderstanding would not have happened. At the same time, the Luo Clan would not have been embarrassed before so many experts.

There was a slight moment of silence before Luo Ruoxin replied with a nod. "I think it's a good idea."

Seeing how readily the young lady expressed her approval toward the matter, Zhang Xuan could not help but ask, "Aren't you... angry?"

Honestly speaking, considering how he and Luo Qiqi had nearly become a couple, he could understand it if Luo Ruoxin felt uncomfortable about this matter. To accept this matter so readily, did she really have no qualms about it?"

"Of course not!" Luo Ruoxin replied with a light chuckle reminiscent of a blooming flower.

To be honest, this was probably the reason that she liked Zhang Xuan in the first place. To remain humble in the face of success, constantly maintaining a low profile, never hesitating to admit his faults, keeping a magnanimous heart toward the world...

Those were traits that a true man should have!

And this was the kind of man that she, Luo Ruoxin, loved.

"Let's set out then!" Laughing heartily, Zhang Xuan grabbed Luo Ruoxin's hands tightly as he felt a surge of bliss racing through his heart.

...

With his deepened understanding of space, through tapping into the prowess of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, Zhang Xuan was able to find spatial wormholes and travel through them as well. With this, the speed of their journey was hastened significantly.

It did not take long for them to arrive in the perimeter of the Luo Clan.

"It's true that even 9-star master teachers will have trouble seeing through your disguise, but you still won't be able to fool some of the unique identification artifacts. I have an amulet here that is used specifically for disguise. It should be able to bypass the detection of most unique identification artifacts."

After closely inspecting Zhang Xuan's disguise, Luo Ruoxin took out a piece of paper.

"That will really be a great help!" Zhang Xuan took the amulet over excitedly.

The previous time he tried to disguise himself carefully, he had still ended up being seen through by Yang shi. As such, if anything could further augment his disguise, he would take it willingly just to lower the risk of him being revealed.

Zhang Xuan took a closer look at the amulet and saw unfamiliar characters and patterns inscribed on it. He had no idea what they meant, but he sensed tremendous energy from them.

He tried to scan them with his Spiritual Perception, but he found that he could not see through it at all.

Curious, he tried placing it lightly on his forehead.

Weng!

As soon as the paper came into contact with his face, it swiftly dissipated into a surge of energy that delved right into his body. With just a thought, Zhang Xuan's body swiftly morphed into the form of a middle-aged man in his forties.

A lanky figure with yellowish, wrinkled skin, he would appear unspectacular at first glance. However, upon taking another look, one would swiftly notice that he had a pair of sharp eyes reminiscent of those of eagles, reflecting acuity and wisdom.

"This is a true treasure!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed in astonishment.

He had used his Spiritual Perception to scan his appearance multiple times, but he could not see any openings that suggested that he was different from how he appeared. In fact, even the Eye of Insight was unable to see through his own disguise!

This disguise amulet was indeed far more effective than the disguise techniques that he usually used. With this, even if he met Yang shi once more, the latter would not dare doubt his true identity!

After checking on himself, he turned his gaze to the young lady not too far away and saw that she had already morphed into the appearance of a middle-aged lady to match him. Even though she had concealed her ravishing countenance, her grace still showed through her subtle gestures.

"Hahaha, this disguise is superb. Say, why don't we try creating a reputation for ourselves as the next 'Calamitous Couple'?" Zhang Xuan proposed with a chuckle.

As the patriarch and matriarch of the Zhang Clan, as well as top-notch experts on the continent, no one would dare speak badly of the Xingmeng Sword Saint openly. While they addressed them respectfully as Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng on the surface, they did not neglect to spitefully label them as the Calamitous Couple behind their back!

Considering that the two of them were a middle-aged couple and their prowess stood at the top of the continent as well, it would not take too long for them to forge such a reputation for themselves!

"Who are you calling a couple? We are just... siblings!" Luo Ruoxin's face reddened upon hearing those words.

"Siblings? But siblings usually look similar to one another, no? Is it because... I'm too handsome? Is that the reason I'm so well-liked by others?" Zhang Xuan stroked his lower jaw contemplatively.

"Narcissist!" Luo Ruoxin burst into laughter.

She had still been a little reluctant to pass off as a couple a moment ago, but all of a sudden, she felt that it might not be so bad after all. "Fine, let's act as a couple then. However, we have to choose a name to call ourselves. Otherwise, it will appear suspicious if we can't even introduce ourselves when others ask who we are."

"My parents took a character from each of their names to derive the nickname Xingmeng Sword Saint. I think we can try doing the same too... How does Xuanxin Sword Saint sound to you?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Luo Ruoxin rolled her eyes. "What's the point of the disguise then?"

"Right... I have used Yang Xuan, Sun Qiang, Wu Zhangxuan, and several other aliases before, so I should find a new one this time around... Right, I should pass myself off as a member of the Luo Clan. They should feel much safer around me if I'm one of them, especially given the fact that I'm going to impart the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to them. Otherwise, they might just think that I have stolen their heritage and try to kill me!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Since he was going to come up with a persona anyway, it would help in his cause if he assumed the identity of a member of the Luo Clan.

After all, the heritage of sealing space had remained a unique heritage of the Luo Clan for many years.

On top of that, the Luo Clan had also grown too big over the tens of thousands of years for it to track all of its members accurately. They would have no way of verifying it even if he claimed to be from their distant side family.

Such was the case in the Zhang Clan as well. There were distant relatives of the Zhang Clan, due to their Zhang Clan bloodline being too thin, who would not even be recorded in the clan genealogy.

"I think that's a good idea. I should come up with a name for myself too... How about Lingxi? I haven't given much thought to the surname yet, but I think Lingxi should do," Luo Ruoxin said.

" Lingxi 1 ? Two hearts united by a profound connection... That is a wonderful name! Since that's the case, I'll call myself Luo Tianya 2 ! No matter how far away we are from one another, even if the boundaries of the world sever us so, our hearts will remain connected together with one another!" Zhang Xuan said with a smile.

"That sounds great." Luo Ruoxin nodded with a slight smile.

After resolving the issue regarding their names, the two of them quickly flew in the direction of the Luo Clan.

The current Luo Clan was still in the midst of reconstructing their damaged buildings and returning the gifts that the many powers had sent to them.

There were people scattered all around the area, and the place looked incredibly messy.

Zhang Xuan was intending to exploit this chaos to find Luo Xuanqing or Luo Qiqi to impart the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to them when he heard a gust of wind right above him.

A few figures suddenly appeared above, and a deafening voice echoed in the air.

"Nangong Yuanfeng from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers' Great Phrontistery of Confucianism has come with a couple of juniors to pay a visit to the head of the Luo Clan!"

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Chapter 1607: The Hundred Schools of Philosophers Wants a Duel

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"They're from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers?" Taken aback, Zhang Xuan raised his head to carefully assess the five people floating above.

The person who was speaking was a middle-aged man in his forties. He had a gray, flowy beard and a tall hat, reminiscent of the typical image of ancient scholars. The long robe that he wore was similar to that of a master teacher robe, the only difference being that it was black in color. From afar, he appeared a little severe.

"He's wearing the same clothes as the four Otherworldly Demons who took Zhao Ya and the others away!" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

The middle-aged man was wearing the exact same attire as the four Otherworldly Demons that they had just encountered in Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's ancient domain! From the looks of it, it seemed like the four young men were intending to pose as experts from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers so as to fool Little Amulet!

Yet, under the assault of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, they had still been forced to show their true form.

There were four young men who appeared to be in their late twenties standing around Nangong Yuanfeng. Each of them carried the imposing aura of an expert.

"They are all Great Sage 1-dan Introspective Convalescence cultivators," Luo Ruoxin remarked with a nod. "If I recall correctly, Nangong Yuanfeng is the offspring of Ancient Sage Zi Rong, a Scholastic Master of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism!"

"Ancient Sage Zi Rong?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding.

Ancient Sage Zi Rong was one of the Kong shi's seventy-two direct disciples, and he was famed as a sage. While his fame did not come close to matching Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, Ancient Sage Bo Shang, or Ancient Sage Yan Yan, his name was still remembered even after the passing of so many years, and he continued to command the respect of many cultivators.

To think that Nangong Yuanfeng would actually be his descendant!

"What's the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism?" Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

"The Great Phrontistery of Confucianism is somewhat similar to the Master Teacher Pavilion of the continent. However, while the Master Teacher Pavilion seeks to impart knowledge and values to ordinary mortals and cultivators, the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism specializes solely in the research and impartation of Kong shi's teachings to the cultivated. Typically speaking, only cultivators who have reached Great Sage are qualified to join its ranks," Luo Ruoxin explained.

"Only Great Sage cultivators are qualified to join the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism?" Zhang Xuan was astonished.

He had thought that the Sanctum of Sages was the highest academy of the Master Teacher Continent, but who knew that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers would actually have a Great Phrontistery of Confucianism to top that!

Zhang Xuan was just about to continue asking about it when a voice suddenly boomed in the air.

"I'm the deputy clan head of the Luo Clan, Luo Ganzhen. It's my pleasure to meet you, Elder Nangong. This way please!"

Following which, Luo Xuanqing's father, followed by Luo Qingchen and the numerous other elders of the Luo Clan, flew out and clasped their fists courteously.

"Let's head down!" Seeing that the deputy clan head had come to welcome them, Nangong Yuanfeng returned the greetings before descending to the ground with the four young men.

The crowd from the Luo Clan quickly did the same as well.

"For those of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers to appear at this moment, something must be up! Let's follow them!" Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message to Luo Ruoxin.

He knew that those from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had come to the Master Teacher Continent, but he did not expect five of them to suddenly pay a visit to the Luo Clan abruptly. Considering the timing, it was likely that their visit had something to do with the opening of the Temple of Confucius.

"Un." Luo Ruoxin nodded.

With the extraordinary strength of the two and the chaotic situation that the Luo Clan was in, they were able to successfully advance into the depths of the Luo Clan without drawing anyone's attention. Of course, to be safe, they chose to keep a safe distance from Luo Ganzhen and Nangong Yuanfeng.

Dong dong dong dong!

Just as they were planning to sneak into the main hall, the loud chimes of a bell suddenly echoed throughout the Luo Clan.

"That's the Assembly Bell of the Luo Clan? Did something happen?"

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up in astonishment as he and Luo Ruoxin quickly followed the crowd from the Luo Clan to where the bell was chiming from.

Not too long later, he arrived at a relatively spacious square. By that time, a huge crowd had already gathered in the area. As soon as the bell started chiming, all members of the Luo Clan had rushed over as fast as possible.

Across the crowd, Zhang Xuan saw Nangong Yuanfeng and the others from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers sitting on top of an elevated platform at the center of the square, and Luo Ganzhen, Luo Qingchen, and the others were seated opposite them.

Zhang Xuan scanned the crowd and quickly found a couple of Luo Clan offspring dressed in clothes that suggested that they were core members discussing quietly among one another. He quickly walked up to them and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask what has happened? Why was the Assembly Bell rung?"

It just so happened that all members of the Luo Clan were gathered there, so it was impossible for the other party to recognize all of the faces there.

"You are..." Seeing an unfamiliar face before them, one of the core members frowned.

"I am Luo Tianya, a member from the side family!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"Ah, I see!" The core member of the Luo Clan nodded. "Based on what I have heard so far, it seems like the Hundred Schools of Philosophers wishes to acquire something that the Luo Clan has, but our deputy clan head is reluctant to hand it over. Thus, Nangong Yuanfeng proposed a duel of spatial arts between the four students that he has brought with him and the offspring of the Luo Clan who are beneath a hundred years old... If they achieve victory, the Luo Clan will have to place the treasure under the care of their Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. On the other hand, if they lose, they will hand over an equivalent treasure to the Luo Clan as compensation for their disrespect!"

"What treasure did Nangong Yuanfeng offer in return?" Zhang Xuan asked.

There was little doubt that the treasure that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers wanted was the Celestial Amulet of Legacy. In order to goad the Luo Clan into accepting the duel, the treasure that they would have to stake had to be of considerable value as well.

"It's a sword that was once used by Ancient Sage Zi Rong!" the core member of the Luo Clan replied as he pointed onto the elevated platform ahead. "There, you should be able to see it!"

Tracing the core member's finger, Zhang Xuan saw a sword floating quietly above the elevated platform. Even though it was unsheathed, one could still feel a disquieting, chilling air emanating from it.

Luo Ruoxin took a glance at the sword as well before sending a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan. "It's a Great Sage artifact, but as it was once used by Ancient Sage Zi Rong, its might is comparable to most Half-Ancient Sage artifacts... That being said, it comes nowhere close to competing with your Dragonbone Divine Spear."

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was too far away for him to come into contact with it, making it impossible for him to accurately gauge the true rank of the sword. Nevertheless, with his current eye of discernment, he could tell that it was a formidable weapon, albeit far beneath his Dragonbone Divine Spear.

After all, the Dragonbone Divine Spear was the weapon that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had wielded at his peak. Back in the ancient era, there was no one who would not tremble in the face of the Dragonbone Divine Spear! Thus, how could a sword that Ancient Sage Zi Rong had only used before possibly match it?

Luo Ganzhen scanned the crowd and declared loudly, "Offspring of the Luo Clan, Elder Nangong of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers has brought his students here in order to challenge the members of our Luo Clan to a duel of spatial arts. As long as you are beneath a hundred years old, you'll be eligible to challenge them. Is there anyone who would like to challenge our guests here?"

His voice sounded composed on the surface, but Zhang Xuan could detect a furious undertone beneath the calm exterior.

It seemed like despite the treasure offered by the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, he did not intend to accept the duel. Most likely, the group from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had resorted to some degree of blackmail to force the Luo Clan to do their bidding.

Considering how the Luo Clan had suffered a huge setback, they were indeed in no position to clash with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers at the moment.

"Allow me to test the strength of our guests over here!" With a loud bellow, a figure leaped onto the elevated platform in the middle.

Glancing over, Zhang Xuan saw that the person who had volunteered himself was none other than Luo Xuanqing.

"I'll face them, too!"

"I'm willing to give it a try as well!"

"They might be our guests, but aren't they too insolent to challenge our Luo Clan to a duel of spatial arts? Humph, that's no different from courting death!"

...

Another three young men leaped onto the elevated platform in the middle.

They were all young experts of the Luo Clan, and every single one of them emanated a powerful aura. In fact, two of them had reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle, just like Zhang Xuan, and they were already serving as elders in the Luo Clan.

"Very well!" Seeing that their men had stepped up to the challenge, Luo Ganzhen nodded in approval.

He turned his gaze to Nangong Yuanfeng and said, "Elder Nangong, what do you propose for the format of the duel of spatial arts?"

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Chapter 1608: Spatial Top

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"I have a Spatial Top with me, which is able to gauge the stability of a space and determine one's level of control over a certain space. Whoever is able to keep this top spinning for the longest time possible will be deemed to have the deeper understanding of space!"

As Nangong Yuanfeng spoke, he flicked his finger, and a top of roughly a chi long 1 appeared before everyone's sight. It stood motionlessly on the elevated platform, and even though there was no energy emanating from it, there were still many slight dimensional rifts around it.

The presence of dimensional rifts hinted that the space was not stable. In order to get the Spatial Top to stand, one had to reconstruct a stable space, or to put it in simpler terms, mend the dimensional rifts around.

As simple as that sounded, it was actually easier said than done. It required knowledge of the fourth level of the Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, Creation.

"This..." Luo Ganzhen could also see through that, and his complexion turned rather awful.

While the offspring of their Luo Clan did have a deep understanding of spatial laws, especially since their bloodline bestowed them with natural aptitude in that field, it would still be difficult for them to achieve.

If Nangong Yuanfeng's students were really able to achieve this feat, then things were looking bad for them.

"Mo-er, you'll go first. Give a demonstration to the experts of the Luo Clan!" Nangong Yuanfeng took a glance at Luo Ganzhen's dark expression and chuckled softly before issuing an instruction to one of the four young men that had come with him.

"Yes!"

The young man known as Mo-er appeared to be in his late twenties. He strutted out from the group arrogantly, walked up to the Spatial Top, and clenched his fist tightly together.

Weng!

There was a slight hum in the air as a surge of spatial energy wrapped around the Spatial Top.

In an instant, the tattered space around the Spatial Top was mended, and it slowly stood up. However, it lasted for no more than three seconds before faltering and collapsing back onto the ground.

Hu!

By the time he ended the demonstration, the young man known as Mo-er was already sweating profusely, and he was panting heavily from exhaustion. He clasped his fist toward the Luo Clan before retreating to his group.

"Mo-er is the weakest among my students here, so it's a little difficult for him to make the Spatial Top stand on its end. I beg your pardon for this embarrassing demonstration!" Nangong Yuanfeng chuckled softly as he addressed the crowd. He turned his gaze back to Luo Ganzhen and said, "Deputy Clan Head Luo, shall we begin the duel?"

Luo Ganzhen's face had turned utterly livid.

The other party had well and truly cornered him.

By showing a demonstration, it would reflect badly on the Luo Clan if they backed out of the duel at this juncture. Whether they liked it or not, they would have to accept this challenge.

"Deputy clan head, allow me to give it a try!"

One of the two elders who had stepped up to the challenge earlier clasped his fist and volunteered to go first.

"I'll be troubling you then, Elder Luo Fu!" Luo Ganzhen nodded.

Elder Luo Fu stepped forward and took a deep breath before clenching his fist together as well, just like Mo-er had done earlier.

Weng!

The same humming sound echoed around the Spatial Top, and it shook a little.

With sweat dripping profusely from his head, Elder Luo Fu exerted his strength to his limit, to the point where he spurted a mouthful of blood and staggered backward weakly.

But till the very end, the Spatial Top still did not stand up.

With a pale face and trembling body, Elder Luo Fu apologized feebly, "I'm sorry, deputy clan head..."

When he saw that Mo-er achieving the feat easily, he had thought that he would be able to pull it off easily as well. But despite using his full strength, he still was not able to make the Spatial Top stand up at all. It was no wonder the Hundred Schools of Philosophers dared to challenge them in their field of specialty. They did have confidence to achieve victory!

"Let me give it a try!"

The other Luo Clan elder walked up and tried to mend the dimension rifts around the top. A moment later, blood spewed out of his mouth. Just like Elder Luo Fu, he was unable to get the Spatial Top to stand up.

This was a challenge that appeared deceptively easy on the surface. Only when one was trying to raise the Spatial Top with one's spatial prowess would one realize that it was heavier than a mountain! As long as one's comprehension of spatial laws was not deep enough, putting aside making it stand up, even making it move was a difficult feat in itself!

Seeing that two of his clan members had failed, Luo Ganzhen's complexion turned even more awful.

The Hundred Schools of Philosophers had indeed come to claim their clan's Celestial Amulet of Legacy. Given the dangers that their predecessors had gone through to acquire it, there was no way that they could simply give it away so easily.

However, the other party had brought the Decree of the Ancient Sages left behind by the predecessors of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, as well as the rules that Kong shi had set back in his era. Left with no choice, they could only accept the duel.

He had thought that even though none of the clan members had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, given their expertise in spatial laws, it should not be too difficult for them to achieve victory. Yet, who would have thought that they would be outdone so spectacularly?

The Hundred Schools of Philosopher sure was fearsome!

"Deputy Clan Head Luo, is there no offspring in the Luo Clan who can make the Spatial Top rise? If so, I won't stand on ceremony anymore!" Expecting such an outcome, Nangong Yuanfeng stroked his beard and chuckled softly.

"Wait for a moment!" A bellow suddenly sounded from the elevated platform, and Luo Xuanqing took a step forward. "The Spatial Top is an artifact that you have brought out, so there's no way we can be certain that you haven't tampered with it beforehand such that our clan members won't be able to make it stand.

"Furthermore, despite all that has been said and done, don't you think what's most important is to be able to utilize one's spatial arts effectively in a battle? Why don't we have a duel instead? Your students will lower their cultivation to fight with us, and if they are able to win, we'll admit our defeat. Otherwise, I'm afraid that we can't go with your judgement!"

"You are suggesting a duel?" Nangong Yuanfeng queried.

"That's right!" Luo Xuanqing nodded.

Ultimately, the main purpose of comprehending spatial laws was to raise one's cultivation and fighting prowess. Since that was the case, why should they waste their effort on something as extraneous as moving the Spatial Top? A duel would be a far more direct method to determine their qualification!

"You seem to be very confident. Very well, our Hundred Schools of Philosophers will go with your proposal!" Nangong Yuanfeng chuckled confidently.

The heritage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers originated from Kong shi, and they had received the complete inheritance from the predecessors. Not to mention, these students were all from the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism; they were elites who could easily fend off hundreds by themselves! There was no way they would fear battle!

To challenge them to a duel was utter foolishness!

"Deputy Clan Head Luo, can I take his word for it?" Nangong Yuanfeng turned to Luo Ganzhen and asked.

"... Of course!" Luo Ganzhen nodded.

At the rate things were going, it was unlikely that there would be any eligible Luo Clan member who would be able to get the Spatial Top to stand up. In fact, even he did not have absolute confidence that he could do it.

At the very least, there was still a hope of success if it was just a simple duel.

"Since that's the case... Mo-er, you'll be their opponent!" Hearing that Luo Ganzhen had agreed to the matter, Nangong Yuanfeng nodded. "While Mo-er might have exerted himself quite a bit in order to drive the Spatial Top, he should still suffice to deal with the juniors of the Luo Clan!"

Hearing Nangong Yuanfeng words, Luo Ganzhen's nostrils flared in fury.

That was blatant disdain for their Luo Clan!

It was just a moment ago that the Zhang Clan had trampled on their pride and humiliated them, and now, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were doing the same. Were the heavens really heralding the fall of their Luo Clan?

Equally infuriated by Nangong Yuanfeng's words was Luo Xuanqing, and with a furious bellow, he walked to the center of the elevated platform and roared, "Come on then, let me see just how powerful you are!"

"Heh!" The young man known as Mo-er chuckled softly as he walked up and said, "You are at Saint 8-dan Dimension Sundering realm primary stage. I shan't take advantage of you and will lower my cultivation to the same level as you!"

Huala!

After saying those words, Mo-er's aura swiftly declined to Luo Xuanqing's level.

"Alright, let's begin!" Seeing that Mo-er had finished suppressing his cultivation, Luo Xuanqing immediately dashed forward and thrust his palm forth.

Kacha!

The rumbling of thunder reverberated through the air as devastating might poured forth from Luo Xuanqing's palm.

His fighting prowess had advanced significantly since the last time he clashed with Zhang Xuan at the Sanctum of Sages. While he still had not achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation, he was not too far away from Dimension Sundering realm intermediate stage anymore.

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Chapter 1609: Why Don't I Give It a Try Too?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Luo Xuanqing won't be a match for him!" Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head.

"The fact that the young man from the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism is able to make the Spatial Top stand for several seconds means that his grasp over space is already nearing the level of Spatial Quintessence." Luo Ruoxin nodded in agreement. "In comparison, Luo Xuanqing still has much to improve on. Furthermore, the battle techniques that they cultivate are not on the same tier. It's only a matter of time before Luo Xuanqing loses."

The Hundred Schools of Philosophers were filled with experts who had inherited Kong shi's heritage. They had all kinds of powerful battle techniques that were on par with, if not surpassing, those of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters. No matter how powerful the Luo Clan's battle techniques were, there was no way that they could compete with them.

Zhang Xuan sighed deeply in response as he continued watching the battle on the stage.

At this moment, Mo-er had already begun launching his counterattack. His movements were extremely simple; he raised his finger and tapped the space in front of him lightly.

Huala!

The space around Luo Xuanqing was immediately sealed up tightly, unable to be broken no matter how much force one exerted against it. Luo Xuanqing swiftly executed a series of ferocious assault in order to break free from the sealed space but to no avail.

Recognizing the technique used, Luo Ruoxin explained, "This is a spatial art known as the 'Mirror Sealing Art'."

"Mirror Sealing Art?"

"It serves to seal a person within a completely isolated space, a little reminiscent to the world within a mirror. No matter how those within a mirror struggle, they will never be able to break free of their constraints and harm those on the other side of the mirror... That is basically the principle of the battle technique. To utilize the power of space to seal others in another dimension, unable to break free," Luo Ruoxin explained grimly. "In terms of prowess, it's inferior to your Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, but the effects are roughly similar.

"It's indeed a formidable move, but... it's true that Luo Xuanqing won't be able to harm the other party if he is sealed within a mirror-like space, but won't the other party be unable to attack him?"

As powerful as the battle technique sounded, it had a fatal flaw.

The effect worked both ways. While the cultivator inside the sealed space was unable to harm those outside, those outside would not be able to harm the cultivator inside.

It went without saying, it would still be a formidable technique in a group battle, but in a one-on-one duel, it seemed to be a waste of time and energy. After all, nothing would be achieved from this move!

In contrast, there were some variations of spatial sealing arts where the caster could travel freely in and out of the sealed space in principle, which would make them a more efficient technique in a one-on-on.

"It's true that the other party won't be able to harm Luo Xuanqing unless the mirror-like space is destroyed... Nevertheless, the fact that the other party controls the mirror means that he has the initiative in the battle, thus putting him in a favorable position," Luo Ruoxin said.

"I see..." Zhang Xuan nodded slightly before falling silent.

Being in control of the mirror-like space meant that Mo-er could decide where and when the space should break, thus allowing him to make a move whenever he wanted and catch the person within the space off guard.

"I admit that this mirror-like space is a good concept, but it isn't that easy to trap Luo Xuanqing!" Zhang Xuan said.

Right after those words were spoken, Luo Xuanqing's hair suddenly rose, and a unique surge of energy wrapped itself on the surface of his body. His aura grew more powerful and imposing, reminiscent of a ferocious tiger.

He thrust his palm forward forcefully.

Huala!

The mirror-like space shattered into innumerable fragments.

"He has activated his bloodline?" Luo Ruoxin frowned.

With her eye of discernment, she could tell that Mo-er's mastery of space far surpassed that of Luo Xuanqing, and Luo Xuanqing himself should have realized that fact as well. Cornered, Luo Xuanqing had no choice but to activate his bloodline ability.

With the augmentation of the Luo Clan's bloodline, Luo Xuanqing's sensitivity toward space was enhanced tremendously, thus allowing him to break the mirror-like space and attack Mo-er directly.

Boom!

As the two palms collided, a furious gale raged in the area.

Countless cracks surfaced on the floor of the elevated platform like a spider's web.

"Luo Xuanqing has lost..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"The other party's comprehension of spatial laws, cultivation, and battle techniques are all above his. There's no way Luo Xuanqing could have won..." Luo Ruoxin shook her head and sighed.

Right after those words were spoken, Luo Xuanqing was forced to retreat eight steps before a frenzied spurt of blood spewed from his mouth. His body wavered a little before eventually collapsing to the ground.

"Teacher!"

After subduing Luo Xuanqing with a single palm strike, Mo-er clasped his fist before turning around and returning to the group with a nonchalant look on his face, as if he had just accomplished something insignificant.

"Young Master Xuanqing!"

An elder hurriedly rushed forward to feed Luo Xuanqing a pill and infused some zhenqi into him, and only then did the latter recover a little.

The injuries that he had sustained and the side effects from activating his bloodline had left his limbs with a wobbly feeling, devoid of any strength.

"I have embarrassed the clan. Please punish me..." With a pale face, Luo Xuanqing staggered up to his father and kneeled down.

"Rise. You aren't to be blamed for this matter..." In that moment, Luo Ganzhen looked as if he had aged ten years.

All along, while he would not be so arrogant as to say that the heritage of their Luo Clan was the top in the world, he did not think that they were too far from it. Yet, who would have thought that they would be utterly defeated in their field of specialty?

Throughout the entire battle, that Mo-er person had only executed spatial arts, and faced with such a situation, they really had no choice but to admit their defeat.

"Yes..." Luo Xuanqing lowered his head shamefully.

It was one thing for him to be unable to defeat Zhang Xuan in the same cultivation realm, but to think that he would not be a match for these people either... The feeling of superiority that he had always felt as a genius of the Luo Clan suddenly popped like a bubble, leaving not a single trace behind.

"Father, what do we do now?" Luo Xuanqing asked telepathically with clenched fists.

While his cultivation was only at Dimension Sundering realm primary stage, due to the purity of his bloodline, he could already be considered the strongest expert among the younger generation of the Luo Clan. While there were plenty of other Luo Clan offspring beneath a hundred years old who were in a higher cultivation realm than him, they were unlikely to be a match for the crowd from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers in a fight in the same cultivation realm.

Furthermore, based on what Nangong Yuanfeng had said, it seemed like the person whom he had faced was the weakest of their group, and yet, he did not stand the slightest chance at victory at all... Things really were not in their favor!

Luo Ganzhen hesitated for a moment before replying. "There's nothing we can do... unless your younger sister is willing to make a move!"

Currently, the person who commanded the highest control over space was not him or any other elders but that daughter of his!

Having assimilated the Dimension Silencer, while she had not comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing yet, her ability to manipulate space would never lose against those fellows before them.

"But ever since the Zhang Clan departed, she's locked herself in her room, unwilling to come out," Luo Xuanqing said gloomily.

As Luo Qiqi's elder brother, he could feel the deep emotions that she had for Zhang Xuan, and for Zhang Xuan to reject her publicly and leave with another woman... this blow was simply too great for someone as young as her to take.

She needed some time to come to terms with the matter, and he was unwilling to bother her at a time like this.

"This is an emergency situation, so it's no time for her to be throwing a tantrum. Quick, call her out!" Luo Ganzhen instructed.

"... Yes!"

After a moment of hesitation, Luo Xuanqing nodded before rising to his feet, intending to head off to find his younger sister. However, at this moment, Nangong Yuanfeng suddenly chuckled softly and said, "Deputy Clan Head Luo, if this is the capability that you and your clan members wield, you shouldn't send them up here to publicly embarrass themselves. No matter how many weaklings come up to challenge my students, it's only a waste of time and effort. So, if you don't have anyone more formidable than him, I suggest that you admit defeat. At the very least, you will be able to preserve a shred of dignity for your Luo Clan!"

"You..." Hearing Nangong Yuanfeng's words, Luo Ganzhen nearly exploded on the spot. He was just about to refute those words when a calm voice suddenly sounded from beneath.

"It's just a duel, so why don't I..."

Following which, a middle-aged man with yellowish, wrinkled skin leaped onto the elevated platform from the crowd beneath.

"... give it a try too?"

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Chapter 1610: The Spatial Top Wouldn't Stop

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Who is that fellow?"

"I have no idea!"

"I don't recall seeing such a face before. He's probably from the side family, right?"

"I know most of the more notable individuals from the side family, but his face doesn't seem familiar... Why is he running up at this moment?"

"I don't know that, but he doesn't seem too weak. Perhaps, he might just be able to pull something off!"

...

Seeing that a middle-aged man had barged out of nowhere, a huge commotion broke out beneath the stage. Everyone glanced at one another in confusion, unsure of what was going on.

Most of the notable figures in the side family tended to know one another, but the middle-aged man's appearance did not seem to jog anyone's memory. Shockingly, it appeared that no one recognized him at all!

"You are...?" Luo Ganzhen asked with a frown.

"I am Luo Tianya, a distant relative of the Luo Clan. I am not often in the clan, so it's normal that you don't recognize me, deputy clan head!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and reported.

Since he was there to compensate the Luo Clan, this was a good opportunity to recoup the reputation of the Luo Clan.

Thus, after hearing Nangong Yuanfeng's words, he had not hesitated much before leaping right up.

"Luo Tianya?" Luo Ganzhen shot a glance toward the First Elder Luo Qingchen, only to see that the latter was equally confused.

It seemed like not even the First Elder was aware of whom the other party was.

Luo Qingchen stared at the middle-aged man before him for a long while, but he found that he was unable to identify the other party, so he could only respond with an awkward chuckle. "The Luo Clan's heritage has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and its offspring have spread far and wide across the Master Teacher Continent. There isn't a genealogy book for the side family, so there's no way to confirm his identity for certain. Nevertheless, we can't deny the possibility that there might be a member of the side family who has worked hard and climbed up with his own ability..."

This was a problem that arose when a clan got too big. Each year, there would be a lot of disciples who headed out to venture into the world, and no one could guarantee that they would not have affairs outside. If they bore offspring, it would be hard to tell if that person was truly a member of the Luo Clan without checking their bloodline.

"Un!" Understanding this logic, Luo Ganzhen shook his head helplessly before turning back to the man before him. "Tianya, I understand your wish to stand up for the clan, but they are the experts from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, and the topic of the duel is comprehension of spatial laws. This isn't a problem that can be resolved with just sheer strength..."

Honestly, he did not think that it was likely that a member of the side family would be able to defeat the Hundred Schools of Philosophers.

Even Luo Xuanqing, who boasted one of the purest Luo Clan bloodline, had ended up suffering a tragic loss, so he dared not wish that a member of the side family would really be able to achieve victory.

"Why don't you allow me to give it a try? I am a member of the side family, so even if I lose, it won't bring shame to the Luo Clan!" Zhang Xuan said.

Luo Ganzhen fell into deep contemplation.

The other party was right. They had already embarrassed themselves enough as it was, so even if another member of the side family lost in the duel, it would not really worsen the plight that they were in anyway.

It also happened that they needed to buy some time for his daughter to get there.

"Very well then!" Luo Ganzhen nodded. Turning to Nangong Yuanfeng, he said, "Elder Nangong, Luo Tianya over here wishes to challenge your student..."

But before Nangong Yuanfeng could say a word, Mo-er had already exclaimed with the utmost contempt, "Challenge? You want us to fight a mere side family offspring of the Luo Clan?"

It seemed like the Luo Clan had really gotten so desperate that they would clutch at every straw they had!

Nangong Yuanfeng's eyebrows shot up in displeasure as well. "The blood of Ancient Sage Zi Rong flows in through veins of the offspring of our Nangong Clan. The rules of propriety from Kong shi state that one should regard a guest with courtesy and respect. Do you think that it's appropriate for a member of the Luo Clan's side family to challenge us, or is the Luo Clan trying to humiliate us through this?"

Even the core members were not a match for them, so to find a nobody from the side family to challenge them... the Luo Clan really was not taking them seriously!

"Humiliate?" Before Luo Ganzhen could respond to those words, Zhang Xuan had already shaken his head and uttered disdainfully, "You sure have a grand view of yourselves! Worry not, a bunch of weaklings like you aren't worthy of me going out of my way to humiliate!"

"You..." Not expecting to be despised by a mere offspring of the side family, Nangong Yuanfeng narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"If you dare not battle against me, just say so. There's no need to find so many excuses!" Zhang Xuan placed his hands behind his back and spoke nonchalantly.

"Arrogance of the ignorant!" Mo-er harrumphed coldly.

It was one thing for offspring of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers like them to come down to a place as remote as this, but to think that these countryside bumpkins would still dare to say such words to them! Did that fellow really not know how insignificant he was before them?

Mo-er was not the only one who had such thoughts. By the side, Luo Ganzhen also clutched his forehead in distress.

Did this member of the side family really not know the significance of the term 'Hundred Schools of Philosophers' on the Master Teacher Continent?

Otherwise, how could he bring himself to utter such ridiculous words?

He's really as shameless as that Zhang Xuan! Luo Xuanqing harrumphed coldly on the inside.

As an ex-friend of Zhang Xuan's, I have seen just how shameless that man was... However, as shameless as that man was, he did have the capabilities to back it up. As for you... is it really good for you to be saying such words?

Even though Mo-er was so furious that he could kill, he still had to the reputation of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers to maintain, so he pointed to the Spatial Top by the side and said, "Fine, I'll have a duel with you if you like. However, you should at least show that you have the qualifications to challenge me first. If you can at least get this Spatial Top to stand, I'll give you a chance!"

"You want me to make it stand?" Zhang Xuan asked as he shot a glance at the Spatial Top. All of a sudden, the lazing top suddenly sprung up and began spinning non-stop, as if fearing that it would be struck to death if it showed the slightest hint of indolence. "Do you mean like this?"

Mo-er rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

With his current proficiency, the most he could do was get the top to stand up. He still was not capable of making it spin. In fact, the only person who was capable of doing so was his teacher, Nangong Yuanfeng. Even so, his teacher would still have to put in a great deal of effort. Yet, for the Spatial Top to start spinning from a mere glance...

Did that fellow shoot lasers out of his eyes or something?

Nangong Yuanfeng was equally stunned by the abrupt happenings.

He had thought that this was a play staged by Luo Ganzhen in order to reduce this duel to a farce, but after witnessing this sight, it had become apparent to him that the inconspicuous-looking middle-aged man was actually a true expert.

At the same time, Luo Ganzhen, Luo Xuanqing, and the members of the Luo Clan stared at the sight with mouths agape, almost as if they had seen a ghost.

"Could it be..." Luo Ganzhen suddenly thought of something, and he quickly turned his gaze toward the First Elder Luo Qingchen.

"That's likely the case. Other than the person who has comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, I really can't think of another man who has the ability to make the Spatial Top spin like that!" Luo Qingchen nodded.

"We have been looking for him among the inner clan members... but who would have thought that he was from the distant side family!" Luo Ganzhen's face reddened in agitation.

He had already resolved himself to face a tragic loss, and he had thought that the Luo Clan would be utterly humiliated. Not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that the anonymous expert whom they had been searching for all this time would appear at this crucial moment to save them from the crisis!

On top of that, the other party was a member of a distant side family that even the First Elder did not recognize!

"I have really underestimated the Luo Clan. It seems like they still have many formidable experts hidden among them..."

Taking a deep breath, Nangong Yuanfeng suppressed his astonishment and instructed, "Mo-er, you have to tread carefully. His comprehension of spatial laws is surely nowhere beneath yours!"

"Yes, Teacher!" Knowing that the middle-aged man standing before him would not be an easy target to deal with either, Mo-er quickly swallowed his complacency as he walked back to the center of the elevated platform. He clasped his fist and bowed, "Feel free to choose the format of your duel!"

"The format of the duel?" With his hands still behind his back, taking on a seemingly unguarded position, Zhang Xuan shot an impassive glance at Mo-er and said, "Do you think that you are worthy of dueling me?"

"You..." Mo-er's face reddened in fury.

"Let that old fellow face me by himself, or if you still find that unreasonable, I'll allow the five of you to come at me together," Zhang Xuan said calmly.

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Chapter 1611: I'll Give You One Second

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Audacious!"

"You scoundrel, do you know whom you are talking to?"

"I advise you not to let your ego get the better of you. Just because you have some talent, you've become so complacent as if there's no one better than you in the world. It seems like I really should pound some humility into those haughty bones of yours!"

...

Upon hearing his words, the other three students of Nangong Yuanfeng glared at him furiously. If not for their position, they would have dashed right up and torn that fellow's mouth apart.

To challenge the five of them simultaneously... Who do you think you are?

Do you think that you are Kong Shiyao?

At the same time, Luo Ganzhen and Luo Xuanqing's lips also twitched uncontrollably upon hearing those words.

That middle-aged man is truly daring! To dare to humiliate even the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, is he really unafraid of death?

That being said... why does it feel so exhilarating to hear him say such words?

Calm down, calm down, I mustn't laugh at this moment... That would be too embarrassing!

In truth, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had appeared several times in the Master Teacher Continent before, but they had always taken a high and mighty position, which was also understandable since they had succeeded the heritage of Kong shi and his seventy-two direct disciples... However, from the man's tone, it seemed as if those lot from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were the true countryside bumpkins!

Really, so what if they were from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers? Was it really something worth bragging about?

"Well said!"

"Weren't you all arrogant just now?

"Screw them all! This is the kind of dominance that our Luo Clan should have! If we had maintained such an attitude from the very start, do you think that Zhang Xuan would have dared to reject the engagement with our little princess?"

"Hah! Even if that Zhang Xuan inflated his ego tenfold, he would not dare say such words!"

While those on the elevated platform were still astonished by the turn of events, the many spectators beneath were so excited that they almost began dancing.

After all of the grievances that they had suffered, there was finally an outlet for them to vent their frustration!

"A duel is not won by having a sharp mouth! I hope that you have the strength to match your words!"

With a livid expression, Nangong Yuanfeng flicked his wrist and raised his head. "The fact that you are able to keep the Spatial Top spinning shows that your comprehension of spatial laws has already reached the fourth level. As such, it's indeed true that Mo-er would not be a match of you. Why don't you propose the format of the duel that is fair for the both of us then?"

"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you all. There's not much point competing over a mere top. So, just like Luo Xuanqing, I'll challenge you all to a battle of strength!"

As long as Zhang Xuan willed it, he could get the Spatial Top to spin for many days without falling, but that would not be enough to recoup the Luo Clan's reputation. Since he had already chosen to deal with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, he should go all out.

Before Nangong Yuanfeng could say anything, Mo-er narrowed his eyes. "You wish to challenge us to a battle of strength? Are you certain?"

His comprehension of space was not on par with the other party, but as a genius of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, he was skilled in all kinds of top-notch battle techniques. On top of that, his cultivation was also higher than the other party's, so if they fought in a normal duel, he was confident that he would be able to achieve victory!

This was an ideal opportunity to teach that arrogant brat a lesson and grind some humility into his bones!

"Of course I'm certain! Make your move!" Zhang Xuan replied arrogantly.

Chuckling softly, a hint of viciousness flickered across Mo-er's eyes. "Very well then. I won't take advantage of you either, so I'll suppress my cultivation down to Saint 9-dan pinnacle..."

He swiftly suppressed his strength, and in the blink of an eye, his cultivation had already fallen to Saint 9-dan pinnacle.

After that was done, Mo-er clenched his fists tightly and dashed forward, intending to make the first move.

"Mo-er, exercise some prudence when you attack him. Make sure not to hurt him too much..." Nangong Yuanfeng sent a telepathic message over.

"Teacher, rest assured. I understand!" Mo-er replied telepathically as he suddenly morphed into a gust of wind, and his silhouette vanished completely from the spot.

"Where is he?"

"Why did he suddenly disappear from view?"

A huge commotion broke out from the crowd.

Clearly, Mo-er had not gone all out when he fought with Luo Xuanqing earlier. Perhaps viewing Zhang Xuan to be a dangerous opponent, he had gone all out from the very start and vanished from the elevated platform, leaving Zhang Xuan alone in the middle.

"That's a unique spatial art! It utilizes the distortion of space to erase one's presence from the surroundings, allowing one to go into concealment!" Luo Ganzhen's face darkened.

Putting aside Luo Xuanqing, not even Luo Ganzhen himself was confident that he would be able to overcome this move!

"Utilizes the distortion of space?" Luo Xuanqing frowned in confusion.

"Light moves in a straight line, and that's how our vision work. The other party is exploiting this very property of light through warping the space around him, making it impossible for us to see him at all. Not only so, as it's a complete distortion of space, not just a simple refraction of light, it's impossible for our Spiritual Perception to perceive it. Of course, this manipulation is extremely straining, making it infeasible to maintain it for an extended period of time, but considering how a battle could be determined within a fraction of a second, it could be a powerful tool if used under the right circumstances!" Luo Ganzhen explained.

"This... Doesn't that mean that the geniuses of our clan don't stand a chance at victory at all?" Luo Xuanqing's face paled.

If one could not even locate one's opponent, how could one possibly win a battle?

"It seems like the chances at victory are extremely slim..." Luo Ganzhen shook his head gloomily.

Meanwhile, at the center of the elevated platform, Luo Tianya's eyebrows shot up in displeasure as he complained grumpily, "What are you leaping around for? You are giving me a headache over here!"

Right after saying those words, he flicked his palm out and struck the air.

Pah!

There was a crisp feedback to that slap. A figure was instantaneously squeezed out of a space that was supposed to be completely empty, and the figure crashed heavily down from the elevated platform and spurted a mouthful of blood before passing out.

"Mo-er!"

"Junior Mo!"

Seeing the unconscious figure twitching on the ground, the faces of Nangong Yuanfeng and his three other students warped in horror.

Even they would be hard pressed to locate Mo-er once he had activated that technique, and yet, without even taking a single step, the middle-aged man had actually been able to send Mo-er flying with a slap... Just how in the world was this possible?

Luo Ganzhen was also rendered speechless by that feat.

He had just said a moment ago that their chances of victory were slim, but then the expert from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had been sent flying the next instant... Was that Luo Tianya not a little too fearsome?

The three young men quickly rushed down to pop a pill into Mo-er's mouth. A few moments later, Mo-er slowly regained consciousness. He stared at the sky with a dazed look, almost as if he had lost his soul.

Even at that moment, he still could not understand how the middle-aged man had managed to find him and slap him out of the distorted space.

"Teacher, I wish to challenge him to a duel!" Knowing that Mo-er had suffered a heavy setback and needed some time to recover, one of the young men from the remaining three students clasped his fist and bowed.

"Alright, go ahead!" Nangong Yuanfeng said as he clenched his fists tightly together. "There's something weird about that fellow. Be careful."

At this moment, he knew better than to continue underestimating the man.

"Teacher, rest assured!" The young man nodded.

He turned to Zhang Xuan, and a cold glint flashed across his eyes. "I wish to challenge you to a duel. Are you willing to accept the challenge?"

"You?" Zhang Xuan clicked his tongue impatiently and shook his head.

"Like I said, you all should come me at once, or else all you will be getting is a good pummeling... Fine, I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you a second to do whatever you want, and I won't retaliate at all!"

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Chapter 1612: Full Strength

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Those words really provoked the young man. Rage surged into his head, and his face looked so red that it seemed as if it would explode at any moment.

He felt as if he would die of anger if he said a word more to the other party,

To those of their cultivation realm, putting aside an entire second, even a tenth of a second was enough for them to claim a person's life in the midst of an intense battle. To give a second to him to do whatever he pleased without retaliating... that was really showing him utter contempt!

"I don't need it! I dare you to use whatever you have at your disposal and let me see the full extent of your strength!" The young man gritted his teeth and howled.

"Are you certain?" Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.

"Why not? I'm not like Nangong Mo, who can only rely on movement techniques. Don't worry, I'll use my strongest move as well and show you that those from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers aren't to be humiliated!"

Hong long!

With a roar, the young man's aura surged. Even though his cultivation was suppressed at Saint 9-dan pinnacle as well, his aura felt almost on par with that of a Great Sage expert, powerful and inviolable.

"Since that's the case, I'll be making my move then!" Hearing the young man's response, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Feel free! I'll make my..."

The young man raised his palm, intending to make a move, but before he could do anything, a blur flashed before him. Following which, he felt an intense pain assaulting his chest.

Kacha! Kacha!

With several bones of his ribcage shattered, he was immediately sent flying into the distance. He crashed heavily onto the ground, and just like Mo-er, he ended up blacking out. Even so, his body continued twitching uncontrollably as if he was suffering from a stroke.

"You were the one who told me to use my full strength and not hold back at all," Zhang Xuan remarked as he gazed down on the young man lying on the ground with an innocent look on his face. "All of you should have heard how I offered him a second's advantage earlier, but he turned me down... I guess the Hundred Schools of Philosophers does value its reputation a lot. However, that might not necessarily be a good thing as it could very well be tarnished very soon!"

"You are courting death!" Hearing how the middle-aged man was shooting his mouth so smugly after knocking out one of their peers, the remaining two young men roared furiously.

They stepped out with gritted teeth, fully revealing their intention to tear the young man before them to pieces.

Never has there been anyone on the Master Teacher Continent who dared offend our Hundred Schools of Philosophers!

The two young men took their positions on either side of Zhang Xuan, and the young man on the left growled, "You are Luo Tianya, right? Do you care to duel with us?"

If looks could kill, Zhang Xuan would have burst into flames under their fiery gaze.

"Yes, the two of you should just come at me together. We'll save some time this way. I don't know how it is for the two of you, but honestly, I'm getting tired of this already!" Zhang Xuan said with a disdainful wave of his hand.

"Tired?"

"Tired your head! All you have done is execute a slap and a kick, and you are already tired after that?"

The lips of the two young men twitched.

You sent Mo-er flying with a punch and our other junior with a kick... yet you still dare to complain about getting tired?

Can you at least be any more perfunctory than that?

"This annoying vibe... Why does it feel so familiar to me?" Luo Xuanqing was startled for a moment before he swiftly shook away that feeling and turned his gaze back to the confrontation.

These two young men were clearly stronger than the previous two, and they would form a formidable foe if they coordinated with one another. Even though he had some confidence in Luo Tianya, he still could not help but worry.

In this crucial moment, just as it seemed like a battle would break out at any moment, a deep voice suddenly echoed across the air. "Both of you, stand down!"

The two young men quickly turned their heads around, only to see that their teacher had stood up and was looking at them.

"Teacher..."

"Our friend over there has not only comprehended the fourth level of spatial sealing, his cultivation is equally exceptional as well. It would be no exaggeration to say that he's invincible in his class... Even if the two of you collaborate with one another to fight against him, it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to match him!" Nangong Yuanfeng said grimly.

While the fellow who had popped out of the Luo Clan all of a sudden had an unseemly appearance, his true strength had really struck fear into their hearts.

Those students that he had brought with him had been carefully selected among the student populace, the elites of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. Of course, they were still lacking compared to those high rankers on the Heaven Board and Earth Board, but they could definitely match up to most talented master teachers and combat masters!

Yet, for two of them to be defeated so easily... the prowess of the middle-aged man could only be described with a single word—horrifying!

Even though his remaining two students were the stronger ones of the group, it was unlikely that they would be able to win against him.

"But he insulted the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!" Hearing their teacher proclaiming their likely loss, the two young men clashed their fists tightly in frustration.

"The reputation of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers is built through our might. It's not so fragile as to be torn down by just a couple words of insults!" Nangong Yuanfeng harrumphed.

Following which, he turned a grim look toward Zhang Xuan and said, "I know it's inappropriate for an old man like me to be challenging you, but that item is something that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers is determined to obtain regardless of the cost. I can't afford to return empty-handed, so allow me to apologize in advance..."

Boom!

An overwhelming aura burst into the clouds as distortions appeared in the surrounding space. It felt as if even the heavens would collapse down from the immense amount of energy pouring into it.

The very pinnacle of Great Sage, Sempiternal realm!

He was an expert on par with the four Otherworldly Demons from before!

"Like I said earlier, the five of you should have come at me together! Look, isn't the outcome still the same at the very end?" Zhang Xuan glanced at Nangong Yuanfeng indifferently.

When it came to a duel of equal cultivation realm, not even the Dragonbone Divine Spear was a match for him. Those four young men were not weaklings, but they were still a long way off from catching up to Zhang Xuan. Perhaps, this Nangong Yuanfeng might still be able to entertain him for a bit.

"Very well!" Taking a deep breath, Nangong Yuanfeng quickly suppressed the energy in his body, and in the blink of an eye, his cultivation was lowered to Zhang Xuan's level.

Given his standing and seniority, it was indeed inappropriate for him to be challenging a Saint 9-dan cultivator.

However, the Celestial Amulet of Legacy was of the utmost importance to the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. This was a mission from the upper echelons, and if he returned empty-handed, even if he was the descendant of an Ancient Sage, he still would not be able to bear the consequences.

"Please!" Nangong Yuanfeng beckoned with his hand, gesturing for Zhang Xuan to make the first move.

He could tell from the two earlier battles that once he suppressed his cultivation, it would be hard for him to match the middle-aged man. If he really wanted to win, he would have to give it his all.

Of course, the prerequisite to that was that the middle-aged man had really used his full prowess in the fight against his other two students earlier.

With such a thought in mind, Nangong Yuanfeng clasped his fist and said, "Brother Tianya, I have a request for make of you. I hope that you'll fight me with your full prowess!"

"With my full prowess?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Are you sure?"

He did not even use his full strength when he fought with the Dragonbone Divine Spear, so would the other party really be able to withstand his full might?

"Of course! I am a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Rong, so even if my strength is lacking, I still have my dignity to uphold... I hope that you can accede to my request!" Nangong Yuanfeng clasped his fist.

If it was found out that a teacher of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, a descendant of an Ancient Sage, had won only by having his opponent giving him some leeway, he would never be able to raise his head even if he returned to the Hundred Schools of Philosophers.

"This... Fine, I accept your request!" Seeing the earnest look on Nangong Yuanfeng's face, Zhang Xuan nodded. "I'll be exerting my full force from now on then..."

"Let me see how formidable an expert who has reached the fourth level of spatial laws is!" With a grand wave of his hand, Nangong Yuanfeng bellowed as he drove his zhenqi through his body.

But barely after he had said those words, one of his students behind him exclaimed, "Teacher, be careful!"

Sou!

Before he could even react, Nangong Yuanfeng felt a stabbing pain assaulting his chest, and the next instant, the scenery around him retreated swiftly. The buildings of the massive Ethereal Shrouding City swiftly minimized into nothing more than a little black dot before completely vanishing from sight.

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Chapter 1613: Please Be Our Clan Head!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Pu!"

Only at that moment did Nangong Yuanfeng realize how powerless he was. There was a surge of energy that was coursing through his body relentlessly, and it almost felt as if he would explode from it.

Unable to take it anymore, he spewed a mouthful of blood. Knowing that he might die if this continued, he immediately released the seal on his cultivation.

Hong long long!

Introspective Convalescence realm, Aureate Body realm, Intuitive Impulse realm...

In an instant, his cultivation reverted to the level of Sempiternal realm, and by driving his zhenqi desperately, he finally managed to stabilize himself. Nevertheless, his face still remained ghastly pale from the near-death experience that he had just had.

He scanned his surroundings, only to find himself in a completely foreign land. Just how freaking far had he flown out for even something as large as the Luo Clan's Ethereal Shrouding City to have completely vanished from sight?

"This... Have I actually flown tens of thousands of li?" Nangong Yuanfeng did a quick calculation, and it was almost as if a mini explosion broke out in his head.

It was just earlier that he had told the other party to use his full strength. To be honest, he had already resolved himself for defeat, but he did not expect it to come so quickly and decisively!

The might that he had just been struck with was something that even Introspective Convalescence realm cultivators who had reached the level of Consummation would not necessarily be able to bring out!

But as a Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivator, he actually managed to pull it off...

"Is this his true strength? It's no wonder he requested for the five of us to go at him together... We are indeed no match for him!" Nangong Yuanfeng could not help but shudder from fear upon recalling what had just happened.

If he had not released his cultivation at the crucial moment and restored his strength to the Sempiternal realm, he could very well have been crushed into bits!

More importantly, had the other party focused his strength not on ramming him but killing him, even though his body had already achieved the level of Sempiternal, the strike would have still penetrated through him, bringing instantaneous death upon him...

Terrifying!

How could there be such a powerful Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivator in the world?

In terms of talent, it feels like he's on par with even Kong Shiyao... To think that there would be such a person on the Master Teacher Continent! Nangong Yuanfeng thought in astonishment.

With that single punch, it was already apparent who the winner of the duel was.

It seemed like he would be punished when he returned back to the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.

However, there was nothing he could do. A loss was a loss. As a descendant of an Ancient Sage, he could not abandon his dignity and steal from the Luo Clan just because he had lost the gamble.

"Forget it, I'll think about it later!" Nangong Yuanfeng sighed deeply as he quickly headed back to the Luo Clan.

...

"You're back!"

As soon as Nangong Yuanfeng returned to the square, he saw Luo Tianya sitting on his seat, and there was a steaming hot pot right in front of him. With a pair of chopsticks in his hand, Luo Tianya devoured the food before him greedily as he remarked, "We got hungry while waiting for you to come back, so we decided to have some food first. Do you want to join in?"

"..." Nangong Yuanfeng suddenly felt a deep pain in his chest.

So frustrating!

It was obvious that Luo Tianya was intentionally eating hot pot at this moment so as to embarrass them.

If it was found out that experts from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had come to challenge the Luo Clan, only to be sent flying with a single strike... And by the time they returned, the Luo Clan had already moved on to dinner...

Their reputation would be completely tarnished!

Knowing that they would only embarrass themselves more the longer they remained here, Nangong Yuanfeng stowed the Spatial Top into his storage ring and clasped his fist. "I, Nangong Yuanfeng, admit my loss. Farewell!"

After which, he beckoned his four students over and said, "Let's go!"

After saying those words, they swiftly flew off and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go..."

"Did we just defeat the Hundred Schools of Philosophers?"

"Long live Tianya!"

"Tianya, you have just made a fan out of me! I want to bear your babies!"

"From now on, my role model shall be Tianya! I shall strive hard to become like him..."

...

There was a brief moment of silence before a deafening commotion broke out all around the Luo Clan.

Everyone had thought that the Luo Clan would be humiliated like earlier, especially considering that their opponents were from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. Yet, who would have thought that Luo Tianya would single-handedly turn the tables around and restore honor to the Luo Clan!

In an instant, from a nobody whom no one had ever heard of, Luo Tianya had become the most respected and admired individual in the Luo Clan, the idol of both youths and elders alike!

"This..." Looking at the reinvigorated looks of the clan members all around him, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

His rejection of the engagement with the Luo Clan had indubitably dealt a heavy blow not only to their reputation but their morale as well. However, it seemed like this incident had helped them recover from the trauma and unite as one again.

"Brother Tianya, allow me to thank you on behalf of the entire clan for saving us from this dishonor," Luo Ganzhen said as he walked to the center of the elevated platform.

With a wave of his hand, the sword left behind by Ancient Sage Zi Rong, which had been floating in the air all along, flew into his grasp, and he presented it to Zhang Xuan. "This is the gift that Nangong Yuanfeng offered for the bet. Of the entire Luo Clan, there's no one more suited than you to wield it!"

Zhang Xuan was visibly taken aback by how generous Luo Ganzhen was being.

To be honest, he had helped the Luo Clan in order to soothe his guilt-ridden heart, so he had not expected to receive anything in return. Thus, he quickly waved his hand and said, "This is my responsibility as an offspring of the Luo Clan. This sword belongs to the entire Luo Clan, so I shan't overstep my bounds..."

"There's no need to stand on ceremony, Brother Tianya. You have saved the entire clan and united us once more. You are the only one among us who is worthy of holding this sword!" Luo Qingchen insisted with a smile.

"This..." Noticing the intent gazes that others were shooting him, Zhang Xuan swiftly realized that there was no other way out of this. Thus, he could only nod his head helplessly and take the sword. "Since you have said so, I won't stand on ceremony..."

Possessing the Dragonbone Divine Spear, he did not have the slightest interest in Ancient Sage Zi Rong's sword. But in any case, he could always slip it back to the Luo Clan's treasure vault at a later date. If not, it would make a good weapon for Zhao Ya once he had rescued her.

Luo Ganzhen heaved sigh of relief internally after seeing Zhang Xuan taking the blade before asking, "If I'm not mistaken, the person who induced the Submission of the Predecessors earlier on was you, right?"

"The Submission of the Predecessors?" Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.

"You are a member of the side family, so it's understandable that you are unaware of it. Our Luo Clan is founded on the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, and if a person in the world comprehends such a Quintessence, they will be able to attain the acknowledgement of our founder and make the predecessors fall in submission!" Luo Ganzhen explained.

"Ah! That should probably be me then!" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.

After leaving the Luo Clan earlier, he had gone to White Creek Mountain with Luo Ruoxin. Considering that the 'Submission of the Predecessors' phenomenon occurred during this period of time and was related to the comprehension of the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, it was likely that it was really due to him.

"The fact that you have comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing makes you eligible to become the head of the Luo Clan!" Luo Ganzhen said before hurriedly clasping his fist and bowing down. "Brother Tianya, I implore you to lead our Luo Clan to greater heights!"

"What? You want me to become the clan head? No no no, how can that do?" Zhang Xuan had still been wondering where this was going to when he heard the other party requesting for him to become the head of the Luo Clan, and he immediately leaped in fright.

He was not even a member of the Luo Clan, so how could he possibly be its clan head?

"The Luo Clan has just suffered the worst humiliation in its dozens of millenniums of history. That so-called young prodigy of the Zhang Clan publicly annulled the engagement with our Luo Clan before the top powers on the Master Teacher Continent, trampling on our dignity. You are the only one with the prestige and ability to unite the Luo Clan once more and restore confidence in it! Please lead our Luo Clan to greatness!" Luo Ganzhen bent his back perpendicular to the ground, fully displaying the sincerity in his request.

"Please lead our Luo Clan!"

Luo Qingchen and the other elders echoed Luo Ganzhen's plea and bowed deeply too.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was frenzied.

He had come here to compensate the Luo Clan for wronging it previously, not to become its clan head...

What the heck is this?

How in the world could this happen to me?

Where did the fairness and justice of the world go to?

Is it my fault for being so outstanding and welcoming?

If only I'd known that, I would have acted average. Just that... what in the world is ordinary?

Is it my fault for not knowing what average is?

Please, can anyone save me from this... Why is being ordinary so difficult?

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Chapter 1614: Zhang Xuan Is from the Luo Clan?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Frenzied, Zhang Xuan turned to Luo Ruoxin amid the crowd, only to see her directing an indifferent, brilliant smile at him. It was almost as if she was saying, 'This is something that you stirred up, so solve it by yourself. You reap what you sow.'

Zhang Xuan immediately realized that she could not be relied on to get him out of this mess, so he could only face Luo Ganzhen and the other elders alone.

"I can understand your feelings, but... I'm too used to living a carefree life. I'm afraid that I'm really not suited to being a clan head!"

"Brother Tianya, if that's your concern, there's really nothing to worry about. You can leave the miscellaneous matters to First Elder Luo Qingchen and me. All you have to do is help rally our Luo Clan together in times of need or during crucial moments. You can still spend the rest of your time traveling freely around the world or go into seclusion if you like!" Luo Ganzhen hurriedly said.

The rejection from the Zhang Clan had cost the Luo Clan its prestige and honor. At a time like this, they needed a strong leader to convince their followers that the Luo Clan had not fallen yet!

Given how Luo Tianya had managed to subdue even the experts from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, if he could become the head of the Luo Clan, they would be able to rebuild the Luo Clan's reputation and let the whole world know that they were not a force to be trifled with!

At the same time, they would also show the world that those of the Zhang Clan were fools for turning their backs on them!

"I..." Seeing that it was impossible for him to turn down this matter, Zhang Xuan could only resort to his trump card. "Even though my surname is Luo, I am only a very distant relative of the Luo Clan. My Luo Clan bloodline is so thin that it might not even be detectable at all. I fear that it might not be too appropriate for me to become the head of the Luo Clan..."

"That's not an issue at all. First Elder, bring the Bloodline Basin over," Luo Ganzhen instructed before turning his gaze back to Zhang Xuan. "Brother Tianya, if it isn't too much trouble for you, please allow us to check your bloodline!"

"Check my bloodline?" Zhang Xuan nodded slowly. "If the purity of my bloodline is too low, I'd ask you not to ask me to become the head of the Luo Clan anymore!"

Given that he had nothing to do with the Luo Clan at all, it was a given that the check would end with a negative result. With that, he would have a good reason to turn down Luo Ganzhen's request.

Luo Ganzhen hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Very well!"

If the middle-aged man's bloodline was truly too thin, he would just have to marry his daughter to the other party to bind him to their Luo Clan.

In other words, no matter what happened, the person who had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing would have to become the head of their Luo Clan. Otherwise, just the very existence of a man who had unlocked the secrets of the Luo Clan's heritage was enough to bring about the Luo Clan's gradual fall from grace.

Upon hearing Luo Ganzhen's orders, First Elder Luo Qingchen quickly rushed away. He returned not too long later, and with a flick of his wrist, a compass-like object materialized right in front of him.

It floated quietly in the midst of the elevated platform.

"This is the Bloodline Basin. It's used to gauge the level of purity of the Luo Clan bloodline within a cultivator. All in all, there are ten levels, and each level denotes a tenth of the founder's bloodline. In other words, '1' means that the cultivator possesses a tenth of the founder's bloodline, and '10' means that the cultivator's bloodline is on par with the founder's! One has to have a purity level of at least '3' to qualify as an inner member and '1' to qualify as an ordinary member... Anything beneath that will result in the individual being banished to the side family!" Luo Qingchen explained.

He raised his head to look at Zhang Xuan expectantly. "Brother Tianya, even though you are from the side family, the fact that you have managed to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing shows that the talent you wield is unparalleled! As long as your bloodline surpasses '1', you will already be eligible to become our clan head. No one in the Luo Clan would dare to voice their objection to the matter!"

"Surpasses '1'?" Zhang Xuan did not think that there would be such a classification for bloodlines within Sage Clans. It was likely that it was through an artifact similar to the Bloodline Basin that he had been deemed to be an unparalleled prodigy of the Zhang Clan before he was even born.

Thinking about it now, he had probably been an '8', '9', or perhaps very close to a '10' in terms of Zhang Clan bloodline back then!

"That's right! Brother Tianya, you just have to place a droplet of blood on the Bloodline Basin, and the compass will immediately reflect the result!" Luo Qingchen said.

"Alright then. However, I'll just say in advance that my bloodline is so thin that it's almost negligible... I hope that you won't raise the matter of having me become the head of the Luo Clan anymore after this test!" Zhang Xuan said.

As an offspring of the Zhang Clan, his bloodline definitely had no ties to that of the Luo Clan at all, so there was no need for him to worry at all.

Hu!

He flicked a droplet of his blood into the Bloodline Basin, and it fell into the groove at its very center.

Weng!

A slight whirring sound echoed in the air, and the droplet of blood suddenly burst into flames. Seemingly triggered by some unknown energy, the compass needle began spinning frenziedly.

Jiya!

A while later, it came to a stop. The number that it was pointing at... '9'!

"How could it be 9? This Bloodline Basin must be spoilt!" As if a streak of lightning flashed across Zhang Xuan's mind, he nearly lost his mind at that ridiculous result.

He was an offspring of the Zhang Clan! How could he possibly have the Luo Clan bloodline... and such a pure one at that!

Or... did the Xingmeng Sword Saints make a mistake? But his blood did fuse perfectly with that of Meng Sword Saint! Wait a moment, he did check for the Zhang Clan bloodline in him, and there was not the slightest trace of it at all. Did that mean that...

A mini explosion occurred in Zhang Xuan's head at this moment, preventing him from thinking any deeper than that.

While Zhang Xuan was still completely frenzied by the outcome, Luo Ganzhen, Luo Qingchen, and the others froze on the spot. Indescribable joy slowly coursed through their entire beings, and their bodies began trembling intensely in reaction. If not in consideration of their standing, they might have even begun skipping around the place excitedly!

A bloodline purity of '9'... That effectively meant that the middle-aged man was not just a member of their Luo Clan—he was even a core member that was even more crucial than any one of them present!

It was no wonder he could comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing! Even if he had not done so, just his bloodline alone would have qualified him to become their next clan head!

Knowing that this was the opportune moment to make his move, Luo Ganzhen clasped his fist and bowed down. "Paying respects to our clan head!"

The wily elders also swiftly understood Luo Ganzhen's intention, and they quickly bowed down too. "Paying respects to our clan head!"

If it was because they had no other choice that they were pressuring the middle-aged man to be their clan head before, after seeing the sheer purity of the bloodline he possessed, there was no way that they could possibly let him get away!

They eyed Zhang Xuan intently as if cougars who had found their prey.

"I... I really am from the side family. I can't possibly qualify to become your clan head..." Zhang Xuan protested feebly.

Thinking that the middle-aged man was just too shocked by the abrupt turn of events, Luo Ganzhen explained with a radiant smile on his face. "Brother Tianya, you need not be so humble. The heritage of our Luo Clan bloodline happens by chance. Those from the main family can very well birth offspring whose Luo Clan bloodlines are negligibly thin. Similarly, from time to time, there are offspring from the side family whose bloodlines are even purer than that of the main family, leaving countless stumped by how such a thing could happen...

"It's for this reason that the clan conducts a bloodline test on all offspring of the Luo Clan, regardless of whether they are from the main family or the side family. You might be from the side family, but due to the purity of your bloodline alone, you are more than qualified to return to the main family and become our next clan head!"

It would not be inaccurate to say that the inheritance of a bloodline was a random event.

In fact, there were many cases throughout the Luo Clan's history where the Luo Clan bloodline in the main family had suddenly died out, and someone else from the side family had risen to power instead.

While the Luo Clan did conduct bloodline checks on all newborns of the main family and side family, it was inevitable that there would be lapses in their checks from time to time, especially considering how huge the Luo Clan had become over the ages. There were cases in history where a grown up from the side family had suddenly been shown to possess unbelievably pure Luo Clan bloodline, so Luo Ganzhen and the others were not too surprised by the matter.

"Brother Tianya, I beseech you to lead our Luo Clan to greatness! Your bloodline has been shown to be one of the purest in the history of our Luo Clan, and you have comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing as well. There's no one who could be more worthy than you to take on this role!"

"Our Luo Clan has just suffered a major setback. At a time like this, we need a powerful leader like you to rally everyone!"

"You are the only one who can unite our members together!"

"If you don't agree to it, our Luo Clan will really fall into decline!"

The elders also swiftly voiced their pleas as well, upping the pressure on the middle-aged man.

On the receiving end of the pleas, Zhang Xuan clutched his hair in frenzy.

He had only agreed to the bloodline test in order to create a legitimate excuse to reject the Luo Clan. Who could have thought he would end up cornering himself instead?

After soothing the stifled feeling in his heart, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and said, "I... To be honest with you, the reason I came here today is to impart the method of cultivating the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to you all. I didn't come here for honor or power..."

Putong!

But before he could finish his words, and a pair of knees fell to the ground. Luo Xuanqing was kneeling before him with a determined look in his eyes.

"Luo Xuanqing pays respects to teacher!"

"Eh?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

You said that I was fast, but aren't you way faster than I am? To actually acknowledge me as your master all of a sudden, is this really fine?

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Chapter 1615: Becoming the Clan Head Once More

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan was completely stupefied.

He quickly shook himself out of his daze and walked forward to hold Luo Xuanqing's arms, supporting the latter back to his feet. "There's no need to stand on ceremony! You can just think of me as a friend..."

To be honest, while Luo Xuanqing's recklessness had left him with a splitting headache on many occasions, he was actually quite fond of the other party's forthright personality. While it was a pity that the other party did not become his brother-in-law in the end, his impression of the other party still remained rather favorable.

I thought that you were my brother, but you actually wanted to become my pupil instead...

"The Zhang Clan's Zhang Xuan has infringed on the honor of our Luo Clan and broken my younger sister's heart. I can never forgive him for all that he has done! I know that given the limitations of my talents, I'll never be able to catch up with him alone, so I implore you to impart the method to comprehending the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to me! After I master the Spatial Quintessence, I shall exact vengeance and slaughter that wretched b*stard!" Luo Xuanqing declared with gritted teeth, refusing to stand up at all.

"..." Zhang Xuan staggered slightly as a feeling of helpless despair arose in his mind. With a splitting headache once more, he took a deep breath and attempted to counsel the reckless young man. "Ahem... Have you ever considered the possibility Zhang Xuan also didn't intend for all of this to happen either?"

I thought of you as my brother, but not only do you want to become my pupil, you are even intending to use the skills you wish to learn from me to kill me! Just what in the world did I do in my previous life to deserve such retribution?

"Just because he didn't intend for it to happen, he can break my younger sister's heart and abandon her during the engagement ceremony? Just because he didn't intend for it to happen, he can humiliate our Luo Clan and trample our dignity as if it was worthless dirt?" Luo Xuanqing raised his head as he spat with suppressed rage. "Elder, I implore you to help me in my vengeance! As long as you are willing to take me in as your student, I'll devote my entire life to serving you once I have exacted my vengeance!"

"This..." Zhang Xuan really had no idea what he should say.

If only he had known that this would happen, he never would have come to the Luo Clan. He really was asking for trouble!

It's one thing for me to be forced to become the clan head, but even the one friend that I have made wanted to become my student... and the motive for doing so is to kill me in cold blood...

What am I supposed to do? Am I to teach you or not?

Completely distressed by the situation he was in, Zhang Xuan directed another pleading gaze toward Luo Ruoxin, asking for her help. However, the young lady simply looked back at him with a knowing smile on her face, as if she had known that this would happen from the very start.

Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over and asked, "Ruoxin, did you know that I would be tested to have the Luo Clan bloodline? Wait a moment... is it the effect of your disguise amulet?"

Despite the doubt he had earlier, the fact that his history was a perfect fit with the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan and his ability to trigger the Zhang Clan bloodline were more than enough proof that he was from the Zhang Clan.

Since that was the case, the only possible reason that he could think of for the Bloodline Basin revealing a '9' was the disguise amulet that Luo Ruoxin had given him!

"Un. The amulet is made from condensing the zhenqi of cultivators possessing unique constitutions. Not only is it able to alter one's appearance and aura, it's even able to disguise one's bloodline as well, such that even Ancient Sages would not be able to see through it! Besides, given that you have comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, if you reach Ancient Sage as well, the bloodline that you pass down to your offspring will be largely similar to that of the Luo Clan. It's no surprise that the test with the Bloodline Basin showed a '9'," Luo Ruoxin replied calmly.

"This..." Zhang Xuan's face twitched upon hearing those words.

In the end, the fault lay in the disguise amulet! If he had known that this would happen, he never would have used it in the first place!

Just that... he did not think that the amulet would be able to disguise one's bloodline as well. Such an ability meant that one would be able to create an impeccable disguise in the truest sense!

Why had he not heard of such an artifact in the world before?

Seeing the many emotions flickering across Zhang Xuan's face, Luo Ganzhen thought that the middle-aged man was intending to turn them down, so he quickly bowed his head deeper and urged, "Brother Tianya, please stop turning us down. The Luo Clan urgently needs a powerful clan head to lead us during this time of need!"

"It's not that I'm unwilling to do so, but I'm really not suited to become the head of the Luo Clan!" Zhang Xuan released an exasperated sigh. "Give me some time. I need to consult my wife on this matter first!"

Really, Ruoxin should have told him in advance that the disguise amulet had such an effect! He never would have agreed to the bloodline test if he had known this would happen!

Since it was partially her fault, she could not blame him for using her as an excuse...

Hearing that the middle-aged man was going to consult his wife, Luo Ganzhen was visibly surprised for a moment before asking, "Oh? Is our sister-in-law here, too?"

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan replied with a bright smile as he turned his gaze to the crowd and beckoned. "Lingxi, come here!"

"..."

Luo Ruoxin did not think that Zhang Xuan would really toss the ball to her. With everyone looking in her direction, she realized that she would not be able to continue watching the drama unfold as an idle spectator anymore. With a helpless sigh, she leaped onto the elevated platform as well.

"Clan Head Luo, I don't mean any disrespect, but power and authority mean nothing to me and my wife. We have vowed to spend our life traveling freely around the world, so I fear that I can only turn down your goodwill!"

Holding Luo Ruoxin's hand tightly, Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over and said, "Ruoxin, help me turn him down!"

"This..." Having her hand held in front of so many people, Luo Ruoxin's face reddened slightly. She discreetly shot Zhang Xuan a irked look before turning her gaze to face Luo Ganzhen. "Since my husband has asked for my opinion, I'll give my view on this matter then. Actually... I don't think it's an issue for Tianya to become your clan head!"

"Huh?" Shocked by what he had just heard, Zhang Xuan's eyeballs nearly popped out.

This isn't the script we agreed on!

Remember the script, the script! This isn't the time for you to be improvising!

"However, he wishes to devote his time to cultivating, so he won't have any time to manage the matters in the Luo Clan. Furthermore, his purpose for coming here is to pass down the method to comprehending the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing so that the Luo Clan can recover from the setback of being rejected by the Zhang Clan... As long as Clan Head Luo is agreeable with this, I don't think it'll be much of an issue for Tianya to be your clan head!" Luo Ruoxin said with a nod.

Seeing a ray of hope, Luo Ganzhen immediately snatched at it. "Of course, of course! I have no problem with that!"

In the first place, they had already promised that they would deal with the miscellaneous affairs so that the middle-aged man would not be bogged down by administrative matters. In fact, it would be much better this way! If someone inexperienced in managing the Luo Clan forcefully attempted to interfere in its matters, it could cause a huge mess instead!

Furthermore, considering that the middle-aged man would be passing down the method to comprehending the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to them, what did they have to complain about?

No matter how they looked at it, this deal was beneficial to the Luo Clan!

They would have to be dimwits to turn it down!

Luo Ruoxin shot a glance at the dumbstruck Zhang Xuan and chuckled softly. She explained through zhenqi telepathic, "Considering the current circumstances of the Luo Clan, there's no way they'll let you go easily. Since that's the case, you might as well just accede to their request for the time being. Our identities are fake anyway, so if you wish to back out at any moment, you can revert back to your original identity. After being unable to find you for some time, they'll get to electing a new clan head..."

"Is that so? I guess it should be fine then!" Zhang Xuan nodded helplessly.

Luo Ruoxin was right. Given the current turn of events, he had no choice but to go along with Luo Ganzhen and the others.

But still... he had only gone there to compensate them for his earlier actions, but in a bizarre turn of events, he had ended up becoming their clan head as well.

This really was a huge problem.

The head of the Zhang Clan, the Luo Clan, and the Sanctum of Sages... And not to forget, there was also the Master Teacher Pavilion...

At this rate, he really might end up uniting all of the top powers on the Master Teacher Continent, becoming its supreme dictator!

Speaking of which, of the Three Premier Clans, there was still the Jiang Clan... Given the current rate at which things were developing, if he took a walk around the Jiang Clan, he might just end up becoming their clan head as well!

"The Luo Clan pays respect to Clan Head Luo Tianya!"

With Zhang Xuan agreeing to the matter, everything else swiftly flew into place.

It happened that all of the clan members were still around, and in order to host the engagement ceremony, most of the items that were required for an inauguration ceremony were in place, too. Thus, it did not take them long to complete the inauguration of their new clan head.

Meanwhile...

After leaving the Luo Clan, Nangong Yuanfeng and the others were heading in a certain direction with a gloomy air surrounding them.

"Teacher, we didn't accomplish the mission required of us. What should we do?" one of the young men asked.

"What else can we do? We'll just have to accept the punishment for our failure!" Nangong Yuanfeng shook his head. "For the time being, let's find a place to recuperate. Once we have recovered from our depletion, we'll head to the Zhang Clan. I don't believe that the Zhang Clan will also have a monster as powerful as that Luo Tianya!"

"I guess that's all we can do for now..." The young man nodded.

All of a sudden, the space around the group of five froze in place, rendering them unable to advance any further.

Narrowing their eyes in alarm, they quickly scanned their surroundings. Soon, they noticed a ravishing figure standing not too far away with them. A round sphere spun leisurely in front of her, emanating astounding prowess.

"Don't you think it's impolite for you to leave just like that after the fuss you have caused at our Luo Clan?" the young lady asked coldly.

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Chapter 1616: Luo Qiqi's Strength

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Sensing an immense pressure coming from the rotating sphere in front of them, Nangong Yuanfeng asked warily, "Who are you?"

The young lady in front of them did not seem to possess too high a cultivation level, but the sphere rotating in front of her induced a blood-curdling sensation within him. He could feel that the sphere wielded absolute jurisdiction over space.

Typically speaking, the young lady should not have been able to control the sphere given the limitations of her cultivation, but for some reason, the sphere seemed to harmonize perfectly with the young lady, almost as if they formed one complete entity.

He instinctively knew better than to underestimate the young lady standing before him.

A thought came to mind, and Nangong Mo quickly exclaimed, "Teacher, she's likely the little princess of the Luo Clan!"

"Little princess? You are Luo Yuxin?" Nangong Yuanfeng clenched his fists tightly together.

He had heard that the Luo Clan had a highly talented little princess, but as he had not met her earlier, he had decided to simply shrug it off as a rumor. Who could have thought that the other party would actually come all the way out here to stop them? Could it be that the other party thought that she would be able to stop them with her individual prowess?

"Luo Yuxin? You would have been right, but from this day forth, my name is... Luo Qiqi!" the young lady replied.

All along, her real name had been Luo Yuxin. Luo Qiqi was simply another alias that she had gone by after she lost her memories while sealing her cultivation.

"No matter what your name is, the matter with the Luo Clan has already been resolved. We have already admitted defeat and compensated the Luo Clan with a Great Sage artifact. May I know what you mean by halting us here?" Nangong Yuanfeng asked with a displeased frown.

"What do I mean?" Luo Qiqi's eyebrows shot up. "Let's stop wasting time and get it over and done with!"

"Get it over and done with?" Nangong Yuanfeng was taken aback.

"If you aren't going to make a move, I'll be going first!" Luo Qiqi harrumphed coldly.

The sphere in front of her hummed lightly, and all of a sudden, her body appeared before one of the young men.

Peng!

Fresh blood spurted out from the mouth of the assaulted young man, and he was struck into the ground. Before anyone could react, a person was already severely wounded, and from the looks of it, he would be bed bound for at least three to four months.

"Insolence!"

Not expecting the young lady to abruptly attack them, the faces of the other three young men turned utterly livid. They immediately rushed forward to subdue the young lady.

Immense might burst forth from their bodies as their powerful auras surged right into the high heavens. In an instant, their attacks had already locked onto the young lady.

Despite seeing his students executing their strongest moves simultaneously, Nangong Yuanfeng did not feel relieved at all. Instead, his eyes narrowed in horror as he bellowed anxiously, "Don't do it!"

However, it was already too late.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Three consecutive thuds, and the three young men were already struck down before they could even figure out what was going on. Just like the first young man, they plummeted heavily onto the ground, unconscious and heavily wounded. Judging from the extent of damage they had sustained, it would be several months of treatment before they were able-bodied once more.

"You..." Nangong Yuanfeng was on the verge of exploding. With wintry killing intent in his eyes, he glared at the young lady and growled, "Just what in the world do you want?"

"Like I said, let's not waste each other's time. Make your move!" The young lady could not be bothered to explain herself to Nangong Yuanfeng.

With a cold look on her face, she raised her foot and began walking toward him.

Her movements were not too quick, reminiscent of a leisurely stroll in the park, but every step that she took mysteriously covered several hundred meters. Before Nangong Yuanfeng knew it, she was already standing right before him.

Realizing that the other party's comprehension of spatial laws was actually far above his, Nangong Yuanfeng felt his hair standing on end. Knowing that he was in a very dangerous position, he quickly drove his strength to the limits, causing an overwhelming aura reminiscent to that of an indomitable dragon to pour forth.

As expected of an expert of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, the descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Rong! When fighting with Zhang Xuan, he had needed to lower his cultivation, so he had been unable to pull off most of his battle techniques. However, as he invoked his true strength at this very moment, it felt as if the entire dimension was trembling under his dominance. The light of the world was stolen away, plunging the surroundings into disquieting darkness.

Not only so, the air around them also seemed to have been sapped dry, creating a vacuum around him and the young lady.

"Seal!"

Without the slightest disturbance in her expression, Luo Qiqi raised her finger calmly and tapped the area ahead of her.

Huala!

Nangong Yuanfeng's raging might abruptly halted in place, and the palm strike that he was executing was also frozen in midair, unable to advance any further at all.

Following which, Luo Qiqi casually flicked her finger.

Peng!

Nangong Yuanfeng was immediately sent flying into the distance. Crimson blood spewed ceaselessly from his mouth, and the profuse loss of blood caused his face to turn frighteningly pale. It was apparent at a glance that he had already sustained severe injuries. They might not have been as severe as his students', but nevertheless, it would already take him several days to make a full recovery.

With fear reflected in his eyes, Nangong Yuanfeng watched the young lady slowly walking away into the distance with bated breath. Her ravishing looks and fluttering robe would have made her seem like a deity descending from the heavens, but after witnessing her frightening strength, Nangong Yuanfeng was unable to think of her as anything more than a demoness.

At some point in time, the young lady suddenly halted.

Without turning her head around, she said, "The Luo Clan might not be a match for the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, but it isn't a power to be trifled with either! If you ever wish to challenge the Luo Clan again, know that you will be making an enemy out of me as well!"

After saying her piece, she ripped a hole in space and stepped into the spatial rift, vanishing from the spot.

"What horrifying strength she wields! How can there be someone as powerful as that on the Master Teacher Continent?" It was only after seeing the young lady's silhouette vanish from sight that Nangong Yuanfeng dared to catch his breath fearfully.

He quickly rushed to the ground to feed his students a pill each.

It was true that the Master Teacher Pavilion of the Master Teacher Continent had been left behind by Kong shi, but ultimately, the heritage that they had inherited from Kong shi was still inferior to that of the Hundred Schools of Philosopher, which consisted of Kong shi's direct disciples.

In a sense, this was similar to the relationship between Zhang Xuan and his direct disciples in contrast to the Xuanxuan Faction.

With the opening of the Temple of Confucius due, their Hundred Schools of Philosophers had decided to make a return to the Master Teacher Continent in a bid to claim the treasures within. They thought that they should have been able to tower over the major powers of the Master Teacher Continent and force them to submit to them easily with their superior prowess, but who could have thought that even a single Luo Clan would wield such frightening prowess!

More importantly... the young lady did not seem to be in her twenties yet!

To possess such strength despite not having reached her twenties... Her talents could be said to be on par with those monsters of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism!

"Luo Tianya and Luo Qiqi... The Master Teacher Continent really isn't as weak as I thought..." Nangong Yuanfeng remarked grimly.

...

"Teacher, what do we do from now on?"

Roughly half a day later, one of Nangong Yuanfeng's students finally recovered enough energy to be able to speak. "Are we still heading to the Zhang Clan?"

"We have to make a trip there eventually! However, given our current state, we won't be able to do it on our own!" Nangong Yuanfeng frowned.

It would take quite some time for them to recover to their peak, and even so, there was no guarantee that they would be able to get the Celestial Amulet of Legacy from the Zhang Clan. After all, they could not simply ignore the rumors that they had heard about the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan anymore, especially after experiencing the prowess of the little princess of the Luo Clan personally.

Rumors might just be rumors, but if the rumors concerning the incredible strength wielded by the little princess were true, the young prodigy was also unlikely to be a weakling!

"Then, Teacher, what do you intend to do?" the young man asked in confusion.

"Send a message to Zhenqing laoshi 1 . Hasn't he been wanting to compete with me? Let him make a move first, and we'll spectate by the side. If we can uncover the trump cards that the Zhang Clan wields, our chances of success will be higher! We have already failed to acquire the Luo Clan's Celestial Amulet of Legacy, so we cannot afford to fail with the Zhang Clan as well!" Nangong Yuanfeng harrumphed coldly.

Hearing those words, the young man quickly nodded and took out his Communication Jade Token. "Very well, I'll send a message over to Zhenqing laoshi right now..."

The 'Zhenqing laoshi' whom his teacher was referring to went by the full name of Tantai Zhenqing, a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yu 2 .

"Un. You should quickly heal and condition your body before Zhenqing and the others get here. Otherwise, they will just mock us once more," Nangong Yuanfeng said before closing his eyes to focus on assimilating the medicinal energy to heal his injuries.

His student also quickly turned his attention to recuperating.

They had thought that they would be able to easily force the Luo Clan to do their bidding, but their expectations had fallen flat.

The Master Teacher Continent had really changed a lot.

Powerful dragons and ferocious tigers were hidden all around, and they could possibly be destroyed if they let their guard down!

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Chapter 1617: Guiding Luo Xuanqing

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Traveling through the spatial rift, Luo Qiqi returned to her room in the Luo Clan.

She had thought that the heavens had answered her prayers, and she had waited in anticipation for the blissful life that the world had promised her to arrive. No one could have expected such an outcome.

Yet, by some bizarre working of fate, the deep fluctuations in her emotions ended up becoming the catalyst that further assimilated the Dimension Silencer together with her, granting her greater control over it.

It was at that moment that the crowd from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers arrived. She had been in the midst of comprehending the powers of the Dimension Silencer, so she could not afford to head to the square as well. However, by the time she was done, the problem was already settled. Thus, she tore a spatial rift open to catch up with those aggressors so as to teach them a lesson.

No matter what, she was still a member of the Luo Clan. She could not do nothing when it had been oppressed by some other power.

Watching the inauguration ceremony outside through her Spiritual Perception, a slight relieved smile emerged on her face as she thought, That Luo Tianya is indeed a genius. Despite not possessing the Dimension Silencer, he still managed to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing... With him around, the Luo Clan will be in safe hands. Whether I am around or not won't make much of a difference anymore...

Despite being a victim in the earlier incident as well, she knew that she had to take some responsibility for the huge setback that the Luo Clan had suffered. She would have to shoulder the burden of propping up the Luo Clan, at least until it was back on track... But at a time like this, Luo Tianya suddenly appeared, and there was no longer anything to worry about.

"Since that's the case, I want to pursue the happiness that belongs to me!" Luo Qiqi muttered with resolve as she stood up.

All along, she had lived her life passively. She had simply walked down the pathway that those around her guided her onto, and even when it came to a matter as important as her marriage, she had never tried to fight back or protest at all.

But right now, she was already exhausted from living such a life. She did not want to continue living her life so passively, trudging down a road that others had paved out for her. She wanted to pursue what she wanted!

So what if Luo laoshi was around?

She, Luo Qiqi, would not lose out to anyone. Since Luo laoshi was able to win Zhang shi's heart, she was confident that she would be able to do the same!

As soon as she made this decision, the pressure that had squeezed her heart so tightly that it suffocated her suddenly vanished. An unprecedented feeling of relaxation coursed through her body.

Recalling the words that her teacher had said to her when he left, a slight smile appeared on the young lady's face. She walked out of the room and dashed into the air, swiftly vanishing from sight.

...

"This is the method to comprehending the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing. You should quickly go through it right now. If there's any portion you don't understand, feel free to ask me. I'll help you decipher it!"

In a spacious room, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger and imprinted the cultivation technique manual of the simplified Heaven's Path Spatial Sealing Art into Luo Xuanqing's mind.

Since the reason he had gone to the Luo Clan was to compensate them, he would help them wherever possible.

However, it was unfortunate that no one except for him was able to cultivate the true Heaven's Path Spatial Sealing Art, so he could only alter it a little before passing it on to the Luo Clan. As for how much of it Luo Xuanqing would be able to make sense of, that would depend on his own aptitude and capability.

Going through the new knowledge that had just been transferred over to his mind, Luo Xuanqing could not help but tremble in agitation, and he quickly kneeled onto the floor and exclaimed, "Thank you, Teacher!"

As one of the core members of the Luo Clan, he had accessed the full heritage of the Luo Clan's spatial arts, but with just a quick scan through Luo Tianya's heritage, it became apparent to him that the Luo Clan's spatial art heritage was incredibly shallow.

It was like a small pond before a hulking ocean.

To pass down such a formidable cultivation technique without any reservation... This was a debt that Luo Xuanqing might never be able to repay in his entire life!

"Like I have said, I'm not your teacher..." Zhang Xuan quickly rushed forward to help Luo Xuanqing up.

Somehow, it just felt wrong to him to have Luo Xuanqing kneeling before him.

"The cultivation technique that you have just imparted to me is of unimaginable value. Teacher, I ask of you to accept me as your student! Otherwise, I fear to practice such a formidable technique!" Luo Xuanqing exclaimed.

"This... Alright then!" Seeing that Luo Xuanqing was insistent on the matter, Zhang Xuan could only nod in agreement.

Lineage was extremely important in the Master Teacher Continent. There were some formalities that could not be disregarded, especially when a heritage was at stake.

Seeing that he had received the middle-aged man's agreement, Luo Xuanqing hurriedly kneeled down once more, and just as he was about to kowtow, he suddenly heard a feminine voice by the doorway.

"After acknowledging Tianya as your teacher, you mustn't use the knowledge you have learned against him. Otherwise, you'll suffer a rebound in your cultivation. You should be aware of that, right?"

"Of course!" Luo Xuanqing nodded firmly.

While lineages were highly regarded on the Master Teacher Continent, there was still no lack of incidents where students betrayed their teachers. In order to ensure that such an incident would not happen among the master teachers, the Master Teacher Pavilion implemented the rule that if a master teacher used the knowledge that they had learned from their teacher against their teacher, they would suffer a rebound in their cultivation.

In order to enforce this rule, those who became master teachers would have to make such a vow under the supervision of the Master Teacher Pavilion.

"It's good that you understand that!" Luo Ruoxin nodded.

"Rest assured. I, Luo Xuanqing, will never make a move against my teacher! If I ever do, before the rebound in my cultivation even happens, I'll first cripple myself in repentance of my deed!" Luo Xuanqing declared majestically.

Luo Tianya was not only his elder, he was also someone who had unreservedly imparted the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing to him. He would really have to be a beast to attempt to harm someone who had helped him so much!

After saying those words, Luo Xuanqing stood up once more.

He still could not be considered Luo Tianya's direct disciple yet, but connected by a common heritage, he could already be considered half a student.

Weng!

The moment that Luo Xuanqing stood up, the Library of Heaven's Path in Zhang Xuan's mind jolted. A golden page had materialized in the Book of Heaven's Path.

Perhaps it might have just been his imagination, but it seemed like it was getting harder and harder to trigger the formation of a golden page. It had not appeared for such a long time that he had nearly forgotten about it.

Luo Xuanqing spent the next few hours trying to comprehend the simplified Heaven's Path Spatial Sealing Art. For portions that he was unable to comprehend, he wasted no time clarifying them with Luo Tianya. It was only when the sky lit up once more that he finally internalized everything.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan said, "It's good that you have managed to understand everything. Don't rush things and cultivate carefully. You should be able to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing within a single month!"

The simplified Heaven's Path techniques were indeed not as easy and fast to cultivate as compared to the perfect versions. Nevertheless, with Zhang Xuan's personal guidance, Luo Xuanqing should be able to avoid going on meaningless detours as a result of the few remaining flaws, so achieving a breakthrough within a month should still be possible.

"Thank you, Teacher!" Luo Xuanqing clasped his fist.

He began cultivating according to the method that his teacher had just imparted to him, and to his delight, his mastery of spatial arts advanced at a rate that he would have never thought possible before.

A thought came to his mind then, and he could not resist asking, "Teacher, may I know how long it took you to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing?"

It was one thing for his teacher to be able to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, but his teacher had actually managed to create such a formidable cultivation technique as well.

Countless highly talented predecessors of the Luo Clan had devoted their lives to searching for a way to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, and Luo Xuanqing knew that even his talent could only be considered average compared to them. Yet, his teacher's cultivation technique actually allowed him to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing within just a single month.

Given so, just how masterful was his teacher's command over space?

And how long did it take his teacher to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing?

"Me?" Zhang Xuan was caught off guard by that abrupt question. "Let me think... I guess it should be roughly..."

At this point, Zhang Xuan paused for several seconds. "... this long. Yeah, about this long."

Luo Xuanqing was visibly confused for a moment before he understood what his teacher was getting at. In that instant, he could almost see his internal world collapsing. "Teacher, you mean to say that... you only took a few seconds?"

"I think so. I can't remember exactly how long I took; it might have been a few seconds longer too. I couldn't really feel the flow of time while I was cultivating..." Zhang Xuan stroked his lower jaw contemplatively.

Back then, the Dimensional Sand had impeded their way forward, so his attention had been fully channeled into comprehending the 4-dan Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel in order to freeze the Dimensional Sand in place.

Looking back, it did not seem like he had taken too long. Likely a few seconds at most.

"I..." Luo Xuanqing could not help but feel deep despair at the huge gap between him and his teacher.

He had thought that it was already a considerable feat for him to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing within a month's hard work, but his teacher's inhuman feat had crushed all feeling of glee and satisfaction within him. To comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing within a few seconds...

The heck, are you still a human?

Seeing the look on Luo Xuanqing's face, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly. "Hurry up and cultivate! You should try to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible!"

I'm just stating the truth! Surely you need not be so traumatized by the truth, right?

"Yes, Teacher!" Knowing that his teacher was a figure whom he could not hope to match, Luo Xuanqing quietly reassured himself that he was still a sufficiently talented genius and took his leave.

Shortly after Luo Xuanqing left, Zhang Xuan went over to the main hall. With a bright gleam in his eyes, he asked Luo Ganzhen, "Are there any books in the clan detailing insights and methods to achieving a breakthrough to Great Sage? May I know where they are?"

It had been nearly a day since he had made a breakthrough to Saint 9-dan pinnacle, so it was about time for him to make another breakthrough!

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Chapter 1618: The Luo Clan's Treasure Vault

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Due to the differing cultivation techniques that one cultivated, there was no specific method to achieving a breakthrough from Saint 9-dan to Great Sage. As such, Zhang Xuan could only refer to the insights of the predecessors to find a path that was suited for him.

"Insights and methods to achieving a breakthrough to Great Sage? We've had countless Great Sage predecessors in our Luo Clan, so we do have a substantial number of such books. However, these books can only serve as a reference. You mustn't attempt to practice them directly..." Luo Ganzhen warned.

The insights of the predecessors could serve as a source of inspiration, but as everyone had different constitutions and encounters, what they needed to achieve a breakthrough would be significantly different as well. If one were to attempt to blindly follow the path of another, chances were that not only would one be able to achieve a breakthrough, one's cultivation might even go berserk.

"Thank you for your warning, I'll take note of it," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.

Hearing the middle-aged man's response, Luo Ganzhen quickly replied with a smile. "You are the most talented cultivator in the many millenniums of our Luo Clan's history, so it goes without saying that you'll be aware of something like this even without me pointing it out. Please follow me!"

Considering how the other party had managed to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, his talent was indubitably great. Luo Ganzhen would only be viewed in annoyance if he kept repeating the same thing again and again.

Knowing that Zhang Xuan was going to read books, Luo Ruoxin nodded. "Go on. I'll wait here for you."

"Un, I'll be right back!" Zhang Xuan said before leaving with Luo Ganzhen. The both of them soon arrived in a library.

"The bottom three levels of the library are open to the inner members of our clan, and everything beyond that are only accessible to the elders... The insights to achieving a breakthrough to Great Sage are all contained at the higher levels!" Luo Ganzhen explained as he brought Zhang Xuan up to the fourth level.

Zhang Xuan swiftly looked through the massive collection books around him and noted that they were mostly notebooks. Most of the notebooks contained messy scribblings, and a couple of them had a lot of blurred words or missing pages, an inevitable result from having been stored for too long.

"These books don't have particular systems or an order to them, and they are only intended for reference purposes. Please feel free to look through them, and if there's anything you require, feel free to call me!" Luo Ganzhen said.

"Thank you for your help! I'll just casually take a look around. I'll call you if I encounter any problems!" After saying those words, Zhang Xuan quickly began browsing through the shelves of books.

Seeing this, Luo Ganzhen quietly took his leave.

Shortly after Luo Ganzhen left, Zhang Xuan began swiftly strolling through the shelves of books while echoing 'Flaws' in his head. It took him roughly ten minutes to collect everything on the level into the Library of Heaven's Path.

Compile! Zhang Xuan willed, and a new book materialized in his head.

He quickly flipped the materialized book open and browsed through it.

While these insights didn't form a complete Heaven's Path Divine Art, they did give me a deeper understanding as to what a breakthrough to Great Sage signifies!

Introspective Convalescence is basically the ability to immerse one's Spiritual Perception into every cell and meridian within one's body. This allows a cultivator to resolve their internal flaws and induce a physical metamorphosis to surpass the limits of Saint 9-dan. At the same time, the correction of one's physical constitution would also enhance one's longevity, allowing one to live for a longer period of time.

Upon reaching Saint 2-dan Spiritual Perception realm, a cultivator would unlock their Incipient Eye, thus allowing them to inspect their own physical state through their Spiritual Perception. To achieve a breakthrough to the Introspective Convalescence realm, a cultivator would have to further refine their Spiritual Perception so as to make it fine enough to seep even within cells.

As simple as it sounded, the effects it brought about were tremendous. If a cultivator's cells were to be damaged or breached by some kind of bacteria or virus, they would inspect the root of the problem through their Spiritual Perception and channel their zhenqi to resolve the affliction. Through this, they would be able to ensure that their physical body was always at its peak state, thus allowing them to exert their full prowess at any moment.

While ordinary Saint cultivators would be able to live up to roughly a thousand years, their physical functions would start deteriorating beyond their eight hundreds, thus causing their fighting prowess to decline. At the same time, the deteriorating physical functions would also make it more and more difficult to achieve a breakthrough.

'Push yourself to the limits while you are still young' was a phrase that was commonly said among master teachers.

Once the physical functions started to deteriorate, it would be nigh impossible to achieve a breakthrough anymore no matter how hard one tried. This was also why there was such a thing as the 'golden age for cultivation'.

However, such a limitation was removed for those who had reached the Introspective Convalescence realm.

The ability to immerse one's Spiritual Perception into cells allowed one to repair and replace wear and tear in the cells, ensuring that one's body remained in its peak condition at all times... In other words, one would always be able to exert the fighting prowess one wielded in one's prime!

Furthermore, even when one's lifespan was reaching the end, if the impetus for a breakthrough came, one would still be able to advance one's cultivation.

For this reason, the older a Great Sage cultivator was, the more formidable they were likely to be. This was in contrast to Saint cultivators, where older cultivators were much weaker and more prone to injuries than younger cultivators.

Having cultivated the flawless Heaven's Path Divine Art, my zhenqi is much purer than that of other cultivators. This makes it much more difficult for me to make a breakthrough to Great Sage...

Going through the insights that he had collected, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

It was indeed not easy to make a breakthrough to Great Sage. Even after reading so many books, he was still unable to find the most suitable way for him to do so.

Forget it, I'll just collect all of the books in here first. If it still doesn't work out, I'll just have to collect the books in the Zhang Clan too. The Zhang Clan should have a compilation of the insights of predecessors too...

Knowing that it was impossible to rush this matter, Zhang Xuan calmed his anxiety and headed to the upper floors.

Given that the books on this level detailed the insights on making a breakthrough to Great Sage, it stood to reason that the books on the higher levels corresponded to that of the other realms of Great Sage.

It did not take long for Zhang Xuan to collect all of the books in his path and reach the top level of the library.

When he finally walked out of the library, he noted that Luo Ganzhen was still waiting around the vicinity. Thus, he walked up to Luo Ganzhen and smiled. "I think I'll need some pinnacle spirit stones and items containing spiritual energy in order to make a breakthrough. May I know if there's anywhere in the clan that I can take such resources from? Also, is there a limit to how much of such resources I could take as the clan head?"

After reading through the books, Zhang Xuan realized that he needed quite a number of spirit stones in order to make a breakthrough.

Sword Saint Xing had given him a clear glimpse into just how loaded the Premier Sage Clans were. Considering that the Luo Clan was a Premier Sage Clan as well, a couple of pinnacle spirit stones and items containing spiritual energy would definitely not be much to them at all.

Thus, there was no need for him to stand on ceremony for this matter either.

"There's a quota to how much resources the clan head is entitled to. However, you have just done the clan a great service, so the elders have unanimously decided to give you free access to the resources of the Luo Clan!" Luo Ganzhen said as he led the way forward.

Soon, they arrived at a treasure vault.

"This is the vault where we store the resources and treasures of the Luo Clan. The rewards that we offer to meritorious clan members also come from here. Clan head, feel free to look around the vault. If there's anything that interests you, you can just take it away with you. There's no need to hold back at all!"

"Thank you!" Not expecting such a privilege to come from being the head of the Luo Clan, Zhang Xuan's eyes glowed in excitement.

If he could take anything in the vault away with him... would he not be loaded if he stored everything in here into his storage ring?

If so, he would not have to worry about acquiring resources for his cultivation anymore!

But of course, those were just casual thoughts flashing across his mind. He had no intention of realizing them at all. His principles would not allow him to do something like that.

He was a master teacher, not a burglar! Even if he had not been there to compensate them, it would be despicable for him to take everything in there. In the first place, he did not have a grudge with the Luo Clan, and such an action would be a huge blow to even the wealthy Luo Clan!

There were many shelves placed around the treasure vault, and all kinds of weapons, gemstones, and spirit stones were placed on them.

After gaining possession of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, not even Saint pinnacle artifacts could catch his eye at all. Similarly, pinnacle spirit stones were not of much use to him given his current cultivation realm, so he did not dawdle too much around them.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Walking in between the shelves, Zhang Xuan suddenly halted in his tracks, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

On a shelf not too far away, there was a sealed jade box that emanated spiritual energy so concentrated that it actually moved his heart.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was looking at the sealed jade box, Luo Ganzhen explained, "It's an extraterrestrial meteorite. Our predecessors obtained it by some chance. I'm not too sure what it is, but over the years, no one has been able to find any way to refine it or extract the spiritual energy within it, so it ended up being stored in our treasure vault..."

"Extraterrestrial meteorite?" Zhang Xuan repeated in surprise.

He walked up to the sealed jade box and slowly pried it open.

Before Zhang Xuan could even see what was within the box, something within his body was already trembling in agitation, and a voice sounded in his mind.

"Give it to me! I want that hard thing over there..."

"Who is it?" Zhang Xuan exclaimed telepathically in alarm.

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Chapter 1619: The Speaking Pig Trotter

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

There were a few things within his body that could communicate with him telepathically.

That fool of a clone of his, who always loved to fight for the limelight, was kept in the Myriad Anthive Nest. Vicious had not spoken much ever since the previous time they found his upper body in the Sanctum of Sages. Besides, the latter would not even dare to release his Spiritual Perception without his permission, so there was no way he could have been aware of what was happening outside here.

As for Little Amulet, he had kept it in his storage ring, so the latter would not be able to communicate telepathically with him at all. The voice clearly did not belong to that of the Dragonbone Divine Spear either.

However, he had heard that voice loud and clear. It was reminiscent of that of a young child, crisp and sharp. It did not seem to be a product of his imagination...

Just what could have slipped into his body without his noticing?

Zhang Xuan quickly scanned his body, but to his shock, he could not find anything at all. Unable to take it any longer, he harrumphed inwardly. "Who in the world is it? Stop fooling around!"

"What do you mean by fooling around? I'm Little Gourd!" the voice replied anxiously.

"Little Gourd?" Zhang Xuan frowned in confusion.

"Uh huh! Who else can it be other than me?"

As those words sounded, a certain gourd lying lazily in Zhang Xuan's dantian shook its bottom slightly.

"The Dongxu Gourd?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

He was aware that the Dongxu Gourd was within the body, and of course, he knew that it was a sentient being. How else could it possibly have been so annoying? But... the Dongxu Gourd was actually able to speak?

Not to mention, to call itself Little Gourd...

Don't you find it cringy to address yourself in such a cutesy manner?

"That's right! After absorbing a lot of lightning energy, I have finally fully awakened! Quick, give me that extraterrestrial meteorite in front of you! I want to eat it!" The Dongxu Gourd continued shaking its bottom gleefully.

"You want to eat it?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Do you know what this meteorite is?"

He had guessed that the Dongxu Gourd was not as simple as it looked, but he did not think that it would actually be capable of speech. Furthermore, given how anxiously it wanted the meteorite... could it possibly have guessed what it was?

"I don't know what it is, but I know that it's edible!" the Dongxu Gourd replied.

"Edible?" Zhang Xuan turned his gaze onto the extraterrestrial rock.

He placed his finger on it, and the Library of Heaven's Path jolted. A new book was compiled. He flipped it open and browsed through it, "Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal, an object that has slipped through the cracks of space-time. It can be used to forge artifacts. Uncertain value."

Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal? Uncertain value? What does that mean? Zhang Xuan frowned.

This was the first time that the Library of Heaven's Path had given such a vague appraisal of an artifact.

In the past, as long as the item was touched, he would be able to uncover the full history of the object. Yet, for this extraterrestrial meteorite, the description in the compiled book was strangely vague.

Uncertain value... Was this extraterrestrial meteorite something valuable or not?

It seems like the Library of Heaven's Path isn't reliable anymore... Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed.

Ever since he reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle and came into contact with the top experts of the Master Teacher Continent, the Library of Heaven's Path had not been as trusty a companion as before.

To be unable to discern the history of a single rock... It seemed like he could not blindly rely on it anymore.

I really should find some time to pay a visit to the Seer Guilds... Zhang Xuan sighed deeply as he reaffirmed his decision once more.

He considered whether he should pass the Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal over to the Dongxu Gourd, but he eventually decided against it.

"You said that you are a Dongxu Gourd, but I don't believe that Dongxu Gourds are capable of ingesting something like this. Who in the world are you?" Zhang Xuan demanded an answer.

If the other party was just an ordinary Dongxu Gourd, he could have turned a blind eye to it staying in his dantian. However, with the realization that it was gaining greater sentience with time, to the point that it was even capable of speech, he could not help but be concerned about having it stay in his dantian.

Should the other party intend to harm him, he would really be in deep trouble.

"What else can I be other than a Dongxu Gourd? Rest assured, I acknowledged you as my master before entering your dantian, so there's no way I can hurt you. I still have a bright future ahead of me! There are countless damsel gourds out there for me to court, so I would really have to be a fool to seek my death!" the Dongxu Gourd replied haughtily.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "That won't do. I still don't feel safe with you being in my body. Why don't we make a trade? I'll give you the Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal, but in exchange, you'll have to leave my dantian and enter my storage ring!"

"I'll fall into a deep sleep once more after ingesting the Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal, so you don't have to worry about me bothering you..." the Dongxu Gourd replied lazily.

It seemed to be content with the accommodation that it had at the moment, and it was reluctant to leave.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He hated to admit it, but he was completely helpless before the Dongxu Gourd. The Dongxu Gourd had entered his dantian without his permission, and he had tried time and time again to drive it out. He had tried once more not too long ago, after his cultivation reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle, but it was to no avail.

As long as the Dongxu Gourd remained in his dantian, it would be equivalent to having a ticking time bomb in his body. While the other party claimed that it would not wreak havoc, who could be certain that it would hold its end of the promise?

Ultimately, it would still be best to get it out first!

"This matter is not open to discussion. You can either hibernate in my storage ring or never mention the matter concerning the Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal again!" Zhang Xuan said as he shut the lid on the jade box.

"Tsk! Fine then..." In the face of food, the Dongxu Gourd had no choice but to cave in.

It shuddered a little, and before Zhang Xuan knew it, it had already vanished from his dantian and appeared in his storage ring.

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

His dantian was within his body, a space that should have been under his control. On the other hand, his storage ring was a separate folded space, which should have been impossible for another being to access without his permission as its master. Yet, the Dongxu Gourd was actually able to travel over without any impediment.

This effectively meant that the Dongxu Gourd was above him in terms of spatial manipulation!

Just what in the world was the Dongxu Gourd?

Humph, it doesn't matter what it is! As long as it dares wreak havoc, I'll throw the Book of Heaven's Path on it! Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.

Fortunately, after Luo Xuanqing learned the simplified Heaven's Path Spatial Sealing Art from him, his gratitude had triggered the formation of a new golden page. Considering how the tool could subdue even Vicious easily, it should not be too difficult for it to curb a mere gourd.

As long as he slammed the Book of Heaven's Path down on the Dongxu Gourd, that darned fellow would be smashed into bits!

With a trump card to rely on, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt more secure. In any case, he had managed to get the Dongxu Gourd out of his dantian for the time being, so there should be nothing to worry about at the moment.

Thus, he turned his gaze to Luo Ganzhen and smiled. "May I take this extraterrestrial meteorite away?"

"Our predecessors have studied the meteorite many times but were still unable to figure out what it is. Feel free to take it if you want it!" Luo Ganzhen nodded.

"Thank you." Hearing that he could take it, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

With a thought, he sent the jade box into his storage ring.

Upon seeing the jade box in the storage ring, the Dongxu Gourd immediately rushed toward it excitedly. Its body distorted a little, and the Extraterrestrial Fallen Crystal in the box abruptly vanished without a trace. It was almost as if some mysterious force had swallowed it whole.

Following which, just like what it had said, the Dongxu Gourd fell into a deep slumber, not moving at all.

Seeing that the fellow had toned down for the time being, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. A moment later, he could not help but clutch his head in distress. "A speaking gourd..."

Thinking about it, he sure had a lot of weird things with him... A talking amulet, a talking gourd, a talking spear... It was fortunate that those pig trotters that he had in his storage ring could not speak—if he had speaking pig trotters too, he might just die of shock.

Ignoring the issue with the Dongxu Gourd, Zhang Xuan continued looking through the treasure vault. Very soon, he spotted some decent resources.

There were concentrated spiritual essences, precious pills, and unique herbs.

He really had to say that the Luo Clan was crazy rich. The number of treasures that they had in their treasure vault would leave any cultivator's mouth agape.

After taking a couple of items that would help in his breakthrough, Zhang Xuan finally left the treasure vault.

No matter what, these items had slowly been accumulated through the hard work of the predecessors of the Luo Clan. It would simply be too despicable of him to steal all of them.

That being said, he did loot quite a few good things.

To make an analogy, if the item that he had taken from Sword Saint Xing back then was referred to as a single unit, the items that he had taken were worth at least ten units. If not for the fact that he was currently the head of the Luo Clan, Luo Ganzhen would have surely thrown him out of the Ethereal Shrouding City by now.

Stowing the items away carefully, Zhang Xuan told Luo Ganzhen, "I am intending to head out to find an impetus to make a breakthrough. If anything happens to the Luo Clan, send me a message and I'll rush right back!"

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Chapter 1620: Kick Zhang Xuan's Ass!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"You are going to head out? Cough cough!" Luo Ganzhen nearly choked on his saliva.

It was in view of the fact that Luo Tianya was from the side family and didn't feel a sense of belonging toward the Luo Clan that he allowed the other party to take so many resources at once. His motive was simple—he wanted to bring Luo Tianya onboard the massive ship known as the Luo Clan and convince him to willingly serve as its captain.

Yet, before that fellow even stepped out of the doors of the treasure vault, he was already thinking of slipping away...

You callous man! Can you be any more heartless than that?

I know that you don't have much regard for the clan head position, but you can't just dump it aside like that as if it's dirt!

"Clan head, please hold on for a moment. The elders of the Luo Clan has just pushed a motion forward, and they are waiting for your call on the matter... Once this matter is resolved, you can head anywhere you want to!" Sighing helplessly, Luo Ganzhen said.

"What matter is it?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Clan head, I believe that you should have heard about how the Zhang Clan has publicly rejected us during the engagement ceremony!" Luo Ganzhen said.

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

As the primary culprit of the incident, how could he possibly have not heard of it?

"The Luo Clan is the second largest Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent, and it has always been held in high esteem. Yet, it was humiliated before all of the powerhouses on the Master Teacher Continent, causing its reputation to be pulled through the gutter! Given that we are weaker than the Zhang Clan, we have resigned ourselves to the fact already... But clan head, you are someone who can defeat even the experts of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers..." At this point, Luo Ganzhen's eyes lit up.

The middle-aged man before him had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, granting him invincible prowess within his power class. Without a doubt, the latter's talents had reached a height far beyond his imagination.

"So... our elders have proposed to have you return the humiliation we have suffered back to the Zhang Clan! We hope to re-establish the dignity of our Luo Clan and let the world know that we aren't to be humiliated!"

"You want to exact vengeance against the Zhang Clan?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up in horror.

"Indeed! The head of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan, is at Saint 9-dan primary stage, and he has only made a breakthrough three days ago. No matter how talented he may be, three days will only be enough for him to reinforce his cultivation. There's no way he could come close to matching you! Clan head, given how you were able to subdue even Nangong Yuanfeng, surely teaching that Zhang Xuan a lesson should be a walk in the park to you!"

The more Luo Ganzhen spoke, the more agitated he became.

"The intention of the elders is to have you challenge the head of the Zhang Clan and teach him a lesson he will never forget. Make him crawl around the ground searching for his fallen teeth! Through cleansing the humiliation that we have suffered, we'll rebuild the reputation of the Luo Clan and rise up once more!"

In the end, the reason why the Zhang Clan dared to be so arrogant was because Zhang Xuan was the head of the Sanctum of Sages, Yang shi's senior, and the teacher of leaders of many powers.

But in a fair duel, all those titles he had wouldn't do him any good! As long as Clan Head Luo Tianya displayed his dominance over Zhang Xuan, no one would dare to laugh at their Luo Clan anymore!

Since the Zhang Clan dared to trample on their dignity to establish their authority, then they couldn't blame them for doing the same as well!

"I..." Zhang Xuan clutched his hair maniacally.

What the hell is with this turn of events?

Indeed, it is understandable that the Luo Clan would want to cleanse their reputation, especially after they have found themselves a powerful clan head... but the problem is that the darned Zhang Xuan you have been cursing all this while is me!

Are you seriously asking me to beat myself up?

Just what did I do that gave you the impression that I have an interest in self-harm? Do I look like a masochist to you?

"Once this matter is settled, we'll be able to restore the lost confidence in the Luo Clan and even bring our reputation up to a whole new level... Clan head, I ask of you not to turn this matter down. Once this matter is done, you can go wherever you want to, and we won't question your decision..." Luo Ganzhen quickly added.

The reason why the Luo Clan wielded so much influence on the Master Teacher Continent was partly because there were many other powers subordinated to it. However, if those powers were to lose confidence in the Luo Clan, they could very well tear away from the Luo Clan and follow other powers such as the Zhang Clan instead.

As such, it was of utmost importance for them to restore their reputation as soon as possible, or else there could be disastrous consequences.

And just establishing a new clan head wouldn't be enough to restore confidence in the Luo Clan. In the end, the most effective way to convince the other powers that the Luo Clan hadn't grown weak was to return the humiliation to the Zhang Clan and give that damned Zhang Xuan a hell of a pummeling!

Of course, the earlier conflict with Nangong Yuanfeng did showcase the prowess of the Luo Clan, but the problem was that it might not necessarily be a good decision to besmirch the reputation of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers.

While they might have driven away Nangong Yuanfeng, Luo Ganzhen wasn't so arrogant as to think that the Luo Clan would actually be able to withstand the wrath of the entire Hundred Schools of Philosophers. At least for the time being, it wouldn't be a good decision to fall out with them.

"I need some time to think over the matter..." Zhang Xuan replied with a stifled expression on his face.

Why does everyone want to step down on me so much... Does my face look like a good stepping stone?

It's not as if I had intentionally rejected the engagement to humiliate the Luo Clan...

"There's no need to think about this matter. Clan head, we have absolute trust in your strength!" Luo Ganzhen continued heaping pressure on Zhang Xuan as he led the latter out of the treasure vault. "The elders are already waiting in the main hall. Once you are done preparing, we can set off right away!"

"Set off right away?" Zhang Xuan nearly fainted on the spot upon hearing those words.

"Indeed, vengeance is a dish best served piping hot! In the tens of thousands of years since the founding of our Luo Clan, when have we suffered such humiliation before? Of course, we can't and won't go around spreading the battle between the clan head and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers due to the severe implications of the matter, but given the Zhang Clan's intelligence network, it's only a matter of time before they find out about it. If Zhang Xuan were to flee in fear after hearing about it, we would no longer be able to exact our vengeance anymore!" Luo Ganzhen exclaimed in agitation before clasping his fist toward Zhang Xuan.

"Clan head, we implore you to accede to our request this once. This is for the members of our Luo Clan and its tens of thousands of years of heritage!"

"..."

Zhang Xuan had never wanted to cry as much as he did in this very moment.

All of you are so preoccupied with thinking about the interests of the Luo Clan, but have you considered my feelings?

I am not just the head of your Luo Clan but the head of the Zhang Clan as well... Are you all really going to be so cruel as to force me to challenge, slap, and humiliate myself?

Zhang Xuan's instincts were to flatly reject Luo Ganzhen, but looking into the burning desire in the older man's eyes, he found that he had no idea how to go about doing so. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, he could only try to put off the decision as long as he could, "Allow me to listen to the opinions of the elders first..."

On the other hand, hearing that the clan head didn't reject his request straight, Luo Ganzhen heaved a sigh of relief inwardly as he gestured Zhang Xuan forward, "Clan head, this way please!"

As much as he hated Zhang Xuan, he had to admit that the fellow possessed extraordinary capabilities. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that he was the greatest pride of the Zhang Clan. If they could just give him a good pummeling, the disgrace suffered by the Luo Clan would be cleansed. Perhaps, they might even be able to bring its prestige to a whole new height!

Very soon, the two of them arrived in the main hall.

The elders of the Luo Clan were already seated within the main hall, and as soon as they saw Luo Ganzhen and Zhang Xuan, they quickly rose to their feet with agitated looks on their faces.

"Clan head, shall we set off right now?"

"Let's rip that bastard Zhang Xuan a new one!"

"We'll make that bastard know that snubbing our Luo Clan is the greatest mistake he has ever made!"

...

Impassioned voices could be heard all over the room. It felt as if someone had poured gasoline all around the area, and raging flames would break out as soon as someone snapped his fingers.

"..."

Two words flashed across Zhang Xuan's mind in this very moment— I'm doomed.

It really felt as if he had dug a pit for himself this time around.

He had come with good intention in mind, wanting to compensate the Luo Clan for what he had done... But in a weird turn of events, he ended up becoming its clan head instead!

And if that wasn't enough... before he knew it, he was being pressured to pummel himself!

If he were to toss away his disguise and reveal his true identity as Zhang Xuan right now... not only would his 'compensation' not be appreciated, the Luo Clan might even think that he was toying with them, thus removing any possibility of reconciliation between the two clans!

In the worst case scenario, it could even provoke a war!

It took Zhang Xuan a very long while to calm down all of the elders enough for him to speak, "I understand your emotions, but I don't think it's a good timing to challenge the Zhang Clan right now..."

"I don't deny that Zhang Xuan is very powerful, such that there's nearly no one in his cultivation realm who would be a match for him... but clan head, you are someone who managed to defeat even Nangong Yuanfeng! We believe that you'll be able to thrash Zhang Xuan easily too! We'll send an official challenge letter to the Zhang Clan and invite the Master Teacher Pavilion to officiate the duel... As long as we follow the proper procedures, the Zhang Clan would be forced to accept our challenge! Why do you say that it's not a good timing to challenge the Zhang Clan?"

"Clan head, I don't mean to refute your words, but I feel that this is the ideal opportunity for us to challenge the Zhang Clan too. You are from the side family, and hardly anyone in the Luo Clan has heard of you. If not for your pure bloodline, we would have even doubted if you are a member of our Luo Clan... Since this is the case for us, it would be even more so for the others. This means that we'll be able to catch the Zhang Clan off guard and teach that bratty Zhang Xuan a lesson. On top of that, we'll also be able to build your reputation and let the entire Master Teacher Continent know of your prowess..."

...

It didn't even take a minute for the impassioned elders to tear down all of Zhang Xuan's arguments.

"..." Zhang Xuan.

Wow, all of you make so much sense... I don't even know what I can say anymore.

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Chapter 1621: What Is Your Relationship With Kong shi?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan could see Luo Ganzhen and the other elders' point, and that was precisely why he found it difficult to turn them down.

Putting aside the vengeance against Zhang Xuan, this was also an ideal opportunity to build up Luo Tianya's reputation. Luo Tianya might have become the head of the Luo Clan, but the world was still ignorant of who he was and what he was capable of.

Who else would serve as a better stepping stone to build Luo Tianya's reputation than the celebrated young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, whose name had been hanging on the tip of everyone's tongue in recent days?

In this moment of frustration, Zhang Xuan caught sight of Luo Ruoxin in his peripheral vision. There was a dazzling smile on her face—he had no recollection of seeing such a bright smile on her placid face before.

In an instant, Zhang Xuan felt even more frustrated.

Aren't you my girlfriend? Aren't you supposed to support me in my time of distress? How can you remain silent after seeing all this?

Just as Zhang Xuan had no idea how he should respond to the expectant faces around him, he suddenly heard a telepathic message from Luo Ruoxin. "Actually, I think it would be better for you to agree to their request."

"Agree to their request?" Zhang Xuan's face twitched. "You want me to beat myself up?"

"That's not it. You should lead them first to the Zhang Clan, find a suitable moment to reveal your identity, and force the two clans to sit down and resolve the situation peacefully. Otherwise, given the hostility the Luo Clan bears toward the Zhang Clan, the more you compensate them, the more weapons they will have at their disposal to use against the Zhang Clan. In the worst-case scenario, the Luo Clan might even feel prompted to start a war with their newfound power. It won't be easy to reconcile the two clans, but you can't keep putting it off either," Luo Ruoxin explained.

"This..." Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.

Ruoxin's words made sense.

The Luo Clan had a deep grudge against the Zhang Clan. While it was out of goodwill that he wanted to compensate the Luo Clan for their loss, such an action was actually no different from stoking their desire for vengeance. Not only would it not resolve the conflict, it would only worsen it!

Since our Luo Clan is already strong enough by ourselves, why should we reconcile with the Zhang Clan? Such poisonous thoughts could very well take root within the Luo Clan.

If Zhang Xuan left things as they were, it would only be a matter of time before a fight broke out between the two clans. Instead of allowing this volatile situation to continue, he might as well resolve it once and for all!

After all, he could not possibly keep alternating between Luo Tianya and Zhang Xuan! He would die of exhaustion that way!

"I guess there's no other way..." Having thought the matter through, as frustrated as Zhang Xuan was, he eventually gave his nod of approval. "Very well, I'll agree to your request. Let's head to the Zhang Clan right now!"

"Woohoo! Off to the Zhang Clan we go!"

"Kick Zhang Xuan's ass!"

"Kill that pathetic excuse of a man!"

...

The elders cheered in delight.

"..." Zhang Xuan.

The crowd from the Luo Clan were already all prepared and ready to set off. Upon receiving Zhang Xuan's approval, without any hesitation, they quickly rose to their feet and beckoned their aerial saint beasts over.

Dozens of saint beasts immediately appeared in the sky above, forming a truly majestic sight.

The purpose of the Luo Clan was to rebuild their reputation. As such, even though Zhang Xuan could easily teleport them over, especially since he had already grasped the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, they chose to fly over on aerial saint beasts instead to draw attention.

Standing atop the aerial saint beast, Zhang Xuan glanced at Luo Ruoxin, who was having trouble suppressing her laughter, and he pouted unhappily.

Do you think that I wanted to be in this plight?

Just what did I do wrong in my previous life for the heavens to punish me like that?

Forget it, I won't think about it anymore! I'll focus my attention on trying to achieve a breakthrough to Great Sage 1-dan instead!

As frustrated as Zhang Xuan was, he knew that it was meaningless for him to think too much into it. Thus, he closed his eyes and focused on sorting out the insights that he had collected, hoping to find an impetus for him to make a breakthrough to Great Sage.

Two days passed in a flash, and just as Zhang Xuan felt that he had found a feasible direction and was about to push for a breakthrough, a voice suddenly echoed in his head.

"Are you intending to push for a breakthrough to Great Sage right now?"

He turned his gaze over and saw Luo Ruoxin looking down at him.

"That's my intention!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

There was no reason for him to hide this from the young lady before him.

If it had been anyone else, he might have felt compelled to explain how he managed to advance his cultivation so quickly or at least conceal it. However, he did not think that there was a need for him to do so before this young lady at all.

For some reason, Luo Ruoxin was not surprised by the swift advancement of his cultivation, and she had never questioned it. On the contrary, it was almost as if she expected it to happen.

"Don't rush into it yet. There are different classifications for a breakthrough to Sainthood, such as Celestial Saint, and there's also something similar to that for Great Sage. It would be unwise for you to rush into an inferior breakthrough," Luo Ruoxin replied.

"There's different classifications for a breakthrough to Great Sage?" Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

Back then, he had found the real Saint Ascension Platform and used the energy there in order to push for a breakthrough as a Celestial Saint. It was precisely due to his extraordinary breakthrough that the capacity and concentration of his zhenqi far exceeded that of his peers.

Was there something like that for a breakthrough to Great Sage too?

"There's no such thing as a Celestial Great Sage," Luo Ruoxin replied, seeing through Zhang Xuan's doubts, "but depending on how one makes a breakthrough to Great Sage, there could be a vast difference in one's fighting prowess."

"This..."

Zhang Xuan had no idea what his girlfriend's true identity was, but if there was one thing that he was certain about, it was that his girlfriend was far more knowledgeable than him in the field of cultivation. If not for her, he might never have successfully become a Celestial Saint.

Since she had said such words, he should indeed take note of the matter.

"The first realm of Great Sage is known as Introspective Convalescence. It allows a cultivator to immerse their Spiritual Perception into their cells and influence their body from a fundamental level, such as metabolism," Luo Ruoxin explained. "An ordinary breakthrough to Introspective Convalescence requires a cultivator to temper their Spiritual Perception into a more refined and powerful form. Such a breakthrough isn't too difficult, but it's an inferior method. It's known as the low-tier breakthrough method."

Since there was a low-tier, there was bound to be a high-tier.

"That being said, this is the only method that all cultivators know of that will allow them to advance to Great Sage. There's only one person on the Master Teacher Continent who has managed to design a superior method to achieving a breakthrough to Great Sage and succeeded to doing so," Luo Ruoxin continued.

"Are you referring to... Kong shi?" Zhang Xuan asked.

In the history of the Master Teacher Continent, the most notable figure was indubitably Kong shi. If anyone could design a superior method to achieving a breakthrough to Great Sage, it would have been him.

"Indeed, it's Kong shi." Luo Ruoxin nodded. "When he was still at Saint 9-dan pinnacle, he drew the heavenly flames into his body to temper his Spiritual Perception through its searing heat, making it far more resilient and stronger than before. Due to that, he was far stronger than an ordinary cultivator after making a breakthrough. The capacity of his zhenqi and the strength that he wielded were unmatched by any normal Great Sage, and that formed the foundation for him to become the strongest person in history."

"Heavenly flames?" Zhang Xuan's body stiffened upon hearing those words.

Previously, Kong shi's will had told him that the key to resolving the Innate Fetal Poison was to become a 9-star master teacher and draw the heavenly flames into his body to sear it...

A 7-star master teacher would have cultivation realms ranging from Saint 2-dan to Saint 4-dan, a half 8-star master teacher at Saint 5-dan, and an 8-star master teacher ranging from Saint 6-dan to Saint 8-dan.

Saint 9-dan would conventionally correspond to half 9-star master teacher.

There were some unique cases where Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivators were bestowed with the 9-star master teacher emblem in advance, but conventionally, the prerequisite to becoming a 9-star master teacher was to be a Great Sage.

Could it be that... when Kong shi mentioned becoming a 9-star master teacher, it referred not to the emblem from the Master Teacher Pavilion but his cultivation realm? He had to push for a breakthrough to Great Sage, and he had to use the high-tier breakthrough method on top of that?

"Similar to the lightning tribulation, the heavenly flames are a kind of retribution the heavens inflict upon the cultivators. When you survived the Saint Ascension Ordeal and became a Celestial Saint, did you feel your soul and physical body becoming far stronger than before, allowing you to defeat enemies stronger than you with ease?" Luo Ruoxin asked.

Zhang Xuan nodded slightly.

Typically speaking, it was only at Saint 5-dan Leaving Aperture realm that a cultivator would be able to use the lightning tribulation to temper their Primordial Spirit. However, having undergone the Saint Ascension Ordeal, his soul and physical body were able to advance to a level far beyond his current cultivation realm, putting him far ahead of ordinary cultivators.

Given so, it was understandable that the heavenly flames would make his Spiritual Perception stronger and grant him greater fighting prowess compared to other cultivators.

"I have browsed through many books regarding breakthroughs to Great Sage, but none of them mention the distinction between a low-tier breakthrough method and a high-tier breakthrough method... If Kong shi is the only one in history who has managed to pull it off, then Ruoxin, how did you learn of it?"

Unable to hold back his curiosity anymore, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze over and asked, "What is... your relationship with Kong shi?"

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Chapter 1622: The Sanctum of Sages Under Attack

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Back when they were still at the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, Luo Ruoxin had taken him to the Saint Ascension Platform, and they had managed to get into the folded space embedded in the area. They had found Kong shi's personal writing, but Luo Ruoxin had given it to him without any hesitation, even claiming that she could easily obtain as much of it as she wanted.

Later on, when they entered the Qiu Wu Palace, she had said that she was searching for an object and displayed no interest toward Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's heritage at all...

And right now, she had even spoken of a high-tier breakthrough method that only Kong shi had managed to successfully pull off... Could she possibly have some kind of intimate relation to Kong shi?

Otherwise, how could she possibly know so much about him?

"I..." Facing the abrupt question, Luo Ruoxin was taken aback for a moment before lowering her head silently. When she raised her head once more, there was a slight pleading look in her eyes as she said, "Please don't ask or guess anymore. I really can't tell you anything."

"But..." Seeing that Luo Ruoxin was unwilling to share anything about herself, Zhang Xuan could not help but feel a little frustrated. Knowing that there was no way around it, he sighed deeply and said, "Alright, I promise not to probe any further on that. But in exchange, will you at least tell me if your current name is real?"

After saying those words, he looked at Luo Ruoxin with a nervous look on his face.

Previously, it was precisely because Luo Qiqi hid her real name from him that he had ended up in such a huge misunderstanding. He was determined not to make the same mistake again.

It was fine if Luo Ruoxin was unwilling to share her real identity. As long as he had her name, he was confident that he would eventually be able to find her.

Luo Ruoxin was initially unwilling to answer, but looking at Zhang Xuan's expression, her heart softened. Shaking her head helplessly, she replied, "It isn't."

It was as he had guessed!

Staring intently at Luo Ruoxin, Zhang Xuan asked on, "If Luo Ruoxin isn't your real name, then..."

He had thought that it was weird how there was not a 'Luo Clan' among the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, and the fact that Luo Ruoxin did not really go by the surname of 'Luo' explained a lot about this!

"Please don't ask me any more than this," Luo Ruoxin pleaded. "It's not that I don't want to reveal my real identity to you, but I can't! If I speak, it won't just be me that suffers—even you will face a great calamity!"

"... I understand. I won't ask anymore."

This was not the first time that Luo Ruoxin had said such words. While Zhang Xuan was not sure what kind of trouble they would face, considering how she was so frightened despite the power that she wielded, it was likely to be far more complicated than he had thought.

"As far as I know, a normal breakthrough to Great Sage shouldn't draw in the heavenly flames. How did Kong shi manage to do it? Did he use some kind of unique secret art?" Zhang Xuan quickly changed the topic back.

Usually, it was only during a breakthrough to Great Sage 2-dan Aureate Body realm that the heavenly flames would be summoned. The heavenly flames would then sear the impurities within one's body in order to form a truly undefilable physique!

In other words, Kong shi would have used some kind of secret art in order to draw the heavenly flames while pushing for a breakthrough to Great Sage 1-dan.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan was not probing any deeper into her identity, Luo Ruoxin heaved a sigh of relief before answering. "I'm not too sure how he managed to do it either, but I do know where to find the method to do so."

"Where?"

If he could find the secret art required to bring the heavenly flames upon him to temper his body and Spiritual Perception, not only would he be able to enhance his fighting prowess, he would also be able to resolve the threat of the Innate Fetal Poison. In a sense, this was killing two birds with one stone.

"The Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters," Luo Ruoxin replied. "Back then, when Kong shi was pushing for a breakthrough to Great Sage, he had already founded the Master Teacher Pavilion. It was in the headquarters that he found the inspiration to create the secret art and successfully advanced his cultivation to Great Sage.

"So, as long as you head to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, you should be able to find the secret art..."

Halfway through Luo Ruoxin's words, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows suddenly shot up. He flicked his wrist, and a Communication Jade Token materialized in his grasp.

"Hmm?"

Seeing Zhang Xuan's actions, the young lady swiftly realized that something had happened. "Did something happen?"

"Something has happened to the Sanctum of Sages!" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

The message on the Communication Jade Token that he had just received had come from Zhan shi of the Sanctum of Sages.

"The Sanctum of Sages?" Luo Ruoxin frowned.

"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded. He quickly went through the contents of it and said, "Someone has barged into the Inner Sanctum... I need to head over to take a look!"

As he said those words, he got to his feet.

"I'll follow you," Luo Ruoxin said.

"Alright!" Knowing that his girlfriend's prowess could easily match any Sempiternal realm cultivator, Zhang Xuan nodded without much hesitation.

They quickly left the room on the back of the aerial saint beast and leaped away.

"Clan head!" Noticing Zhang Xuan's abrupt departure, Luo Ganzhen and the others hurriedly rushed over with astonished looks on their faces.

"I have some urgent matters that I need to attend to!" Zhang Xuan said.

He could not possibly reveal the fact that he was the head of the Sanctum of Sages, or else that would be equivalent to giving his identity as Zhang Xuan away.

"But the Zhang Clan..." Luo Ganzhen exclaimed anxiously.

"I'll head to the Zhang Clan after I'm done dealing with the matters there. You don't have to worry!" Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand.

The ones who had snuck into the Sanctum of Sages could very well be from the group that kidnapped Zhao Ya and his other students. They had managed to get away from him last time, and he was determined not to allow it to happen again.

"But..." Luo Ganzhen frowned.

"Enough! This matter isn't open to discussion. I'll come back in time to deal with the Zhang Clan!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand impatiently.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out a spear and pierced the space in front of him.

Tss la!

A dimension rift was ripped in the space in front of him. He quickly slipped right in, and Luo Ruoxin followed closely behind him.

In the blink of an eye, they had already disappeared from sight.

"This is... traversing through dimension rifts?"

The faces of Luo Ganzhen and the other elders paled in fright.

They had known all along that their clan head was an incredible prodigy; someone of mediocre talent could not possibly have managed to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing. However, the fact remained that he was only at Saint 9-dan pinnacle, so it was inevitable for them to feel that his powers had yet to fully mature.

However, the feat that the clan head had just pulled off made them realize that they might have been underestimating him all that time.

"Just what happened for our clan head to head off in such a rush?" Luo Qingchen asked.

"I don't know. However, since our clan head has already given us his word, let's continue our journey to the Zhang Clan! Until we get that Zhang Xuan on his knees, begging for mercy, the rage in my heart won't be quelled!" Luo Ganzhen spat with a cold glint in his eyes.

The other elders roared in agreement.

This was not the first time that they had headed to the Zhang Clan, but never had they felt so exhilarated as they did that day.

Finally, the Luo Clan would be ushering in its next spring!

...

Hu!

A dimension rift opened, and Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin jolted out. Taking a look at their surroundings, they had already arrived at the entrance of the Sanctum of Sages.

Driving the zhenqi in his body, Zhang Xuan swiftly reverted to his original appearance. Glancing at the young lady beside him, he noted that Luo Ruoxin had also taken off her disguise.

Thus, they quickly entered the Sanctum of Sages.

"What happened?"

Barely after entering the Sanctum of Sages, the first thing that Zhang Xuan noticed was that the ground was covered with the rubble of collapsed buildings, and countless holes could be seen here and there. It felt as if the Sanctum of Sages had just been through an extreme battle.

"It's the aura of the Otherworldly Demons..." Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan scanned the area and saw the killing intent of the Otherworldly Demons and the auras of master teachers lingering around the area.

Clearly, the Otherworldly Demons had invaded the Sanctum of Sages, and an intense battle had broken out.

"Sanctum head, you are back!"

While Zhang Xuan was still scanning the vicinity, Zhan shi, Ge shi, and several more elders of the Sanctum of Sages flew over.

"What happened here?" Zhang Xuan asked grimly.

"Reporting to the sanctum head, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe invaded the Sanctum of Sages and barged right into the Inner Sanctum..." Zhan shi clasped his fist with a doubtful look in his eyes. "However, they only left with Sage Kui's sculpture in hand. They didn't take anything else, and they didn't start a massacre either... All they did was destroy a couple of buildings and cause pandemonium before escaping the premises!"

"They stole Sage Kui's sculpture? Otherworldly Demons?" Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before his eyes narrowed in realization.

He clenched his fists tightly as he mumbled, "Could they be here for... Vicious' upper body?"

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Chapter 1623: Stalking

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhan shi and the others might not have been aware of the secret hidden within Sage Kui's sculpture, but Zhang Xuan was well aware of it.

The upper body of Vicious, the formidable Otherworldly Demon who had fought on equal grounds with Kong shi back in his prime, was sealed within the sculpture!

Back then, after he found that Vicious' upper body was stored in the sculpture with the Library of Heaven's Path, he had intended to smash that sculpture into bits to retrieve the upper body. But in the end, he had forced himself to calm down and decided against it.

No matter what, he was still a master teacher and the head of the Sanctum of Sages. Even if it was to achieve his goals, he had to take note of how he went around doing it.

In any case, for the Otherworldly Demons to barge into the Inner Sanctum and take only Sage Kui's sculpture, there was no doubt that it had something to do with Vicious' upper body!

No matter what, Vicious was still one of the strongest Otherworldly Demon Emperors, so there were bound to be many uses for his upper body. In fact... one could even seek to revive Vicious through awakening and gathering his missing parts!

"Vicious?" Hearing Zhang Xuan's mumblings, Zhan shi was taken aback.

"Ah, it's nothing!" Zhang Xuan quickly replied. "How many people were there? What cultivation realm were they at?"

"There are four of them. I couldn't see through their cultivation realm, but they were able to breach the Guardian Formation of the Sanctum of Sages easily... We weren't able to stop them at all!" Zhan shi said in embarrassment.

The Sanctum of Sages was the number one academy of the Master Teacher Continent, but its defenses had actually been breached twice within the short span of half a month. It had been their sanctum head the first time around, so it still was not too embarrassing, but to think that even the Otherworldly Demons would successfully take their possessions...

To be honest, they were even hesitant about reporting this to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters.

It was simply too humiliating!

"There were four of them?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes. "Where did they escape to?"

"That direction... We ended up losing them after chasing them for a while, so we could only send a message to ask for your help," Zhan shi replied as he pointed in a certain direction.

"It's fine, I understand. For the time being, focus on repairing the collapsed buildings and restoring the formation," Zhang Xuan instructed as he gazed deeply in the direction that Zhan shi had pointed out. "Meanwhile, I'll see if I can get Sage Kui's sculpture back!"

The theft of Sage Kui's sculpture didn't just concern the dignity of the Sanctum of Sages. More importantly, Vicious' upper body was at stake! If he could not get it back, even though he had not officially been inaugurated yet, he would still be shamed for his incompetence.

Through his deep comprehension of space, Zhang Xuan was able to flit extremely quickly. In just ten breaths or so, he had already covered a distance of over ten thousand li.

He glanced backward and saw that Luo Ruoxin was still following closely behind him. With a grim look on his face, he activated the Eye of Insight and began scanning his surroundings carefully in order to find the trail of the assailants.

"That won't work!" Luo Ruoxin shook her head. "There's a good chance that the four assailants are the four young men that we met earlier at the White Creek Mountain. They are all Sempiternal realm experts, and they possess special means to erase their trail. You won't be able to track them unless your Eye of Insight reaches the fourth realm!"

"You're right..." Zhang Xuan had noticed that as well.

At the crime scenes where Zhao Ya and the others had been kidnapped, the culprits did not leave any marks behind either. Even with the keen Eye of Insight, he had not been able to find anything at all.

"However, they won't be getting away that easy this time around..." Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.

With a flick of his wrist, a book emanating an air of inviolability materialized in his hand.

It was the Book of Heaven's Path.

It might have been difficult for him to locate Zhao Ya and the others, but Sage Kui's sculpture was a different matter!

As long as Vicious could sense the general direction that his upper body had been taken to, he would be able to determine a general location and eventually find them!

Unless... they were to use some kind of unique spatial secret art to conceal the whereabouts of the upper body!

However, considering that it had not been too long since they snatched the sculpture, it was unlikely that they would have the time to do it yet.

Luo Ruoxin glanced at the book that Zhang Xuan had taken out, but she did not say a word.

"Little Vicious, time to wake up. I need you to sense where your upper body is!" Zhang Xuan patted the book.

"Un!" Vicious twitched a little upon hearing his new nickname, but he still swiftly got to action. After sensing for a moment, he pointed the Book of Heaven's Path in a certain direction and said, "That way!"

"Alright!" Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan quickly flitted in the direction pointed out by Vicious.

Luo Ruoxin also followed close behind him.

They traveled for roughly five minutes before Vicious spoke up once more. "They are in the city ahead of us... Sh*t! I can't sense my upper body anymore!"

Zhang Xuan quickly looked in front of him and saw a city just ahead.

The city was massive. In terms of scale, it was comparable to the massive Alliance Empire City.

"You can't sense your upper body anymore? What do you mean?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"It feels like my body has been taken into some kind of barrier. I could still sense it a moment ago, but all of a sudden, the connection vanished without a trace," Vicious replied.

"Brought into some kind of barrier?" Zhang Xuan's complexion did not look too good.

He had chased the enemy as quickly as he could, but he was still a step too late. If only he had successfully tracked them down before they hid themselves, he might have just been able to take down all of them at once. Unfortunately, the enemy moved quicker than he had expected.

It would be truly difficult for him to find the enemy in the midst of the massive city before him without any clues to lead him along.

"Do you still remember the location where the connection with your upper body vanished?" Zhang Xuan asked.

Vicious pondered for a moment before replying, "I can only deduce the rough location..."

"Lead the way!" Zhang Xuan instructed, knowing that there was no time to be lost.

To be honest, he could not have cared less about the loss in reputation for him and the Sanctum of Sages. The crucial thing was really Vicious' upper body.

Firstly, it would be dangerous if such a powerful weapon fell into the hands of the enemy. Secondly, if he could acquire the upper body, he would be able to enhance Vicious' strength.

Vicious' fighting prowess had been rather lackluster recently, but there was no denying that Vicious had been a reliable ally for a very long time.

Just the heart, a finger, and the head together had already granted Vicious strength comparable to a Saint 8-dan cultivator. If he fused together with his upper body too, would his fighting prowess not immediately surpass the level of a Great Sage?

In fact, he might even reach the level of Ancient Sage. After all, that was his entire upper body!

Of course, there was no way that Zhang Xuan would pass on the opportunity to gain an Ancient Sage subordinate! That would be the strongest trump card that he could ever wish for!

Under Vicious' lead, it did not take long for them to reach the center of the city.

"I think it was around here that I lost connection with my upper body. My estimate could be off though..." Vicious said awkwardly.

As an expert who had once dominated the Master Teacher Continent, it was truly shameful that he was unable to find even his own body parts right now.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan frowned. "What is the degree of error for your estimate?"

The center of this massive city was filled with countless resplendent residences and manors. If they had to comb every nook and cranny of the area, the enemy would have probably slipped away again by the time they found any useful clue. If Vicious could come up with a more precise area for them to comb through, it would make their work much easier.

"This... Roughly around... two hundred li 1 ..." Vicious replied awkwardly.

"Two hundred li?" Zhang Xuan suddenly felt an urge to tear Vicious into shreds.

There had to be at least be a million people within a radius of two hundred li from where they were standing! To find a sculpture that was carefully hidden from the detection of Spiritual Perception and other tracking means within this large area... Unless a miracle occurred, that was practically asking for the impossible!

Knowing the impossibility of the matter as well, Vicious muttered meekly, "It suddenly vanished without a trace. If we move quickly, I might just be able to pick up its whereabouts once more..."

"Alright, I understand," Zhang Xuan replied with an exasperated sigh.

Knowing that there was no better alternative at this point in time, he could only resign himself to it. Vicious' upper body was of the utmost importance to him, so he could not possibly allow it to get away without at least trying to search for it.

There was a huge flowing crowd traveling in and out of the city center, be it on the streets or in the air. Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin did not release their zhenqi, so the others were not able to see through their cultivation either. As such, their presence did not draw too much attention from the passersby.

Otherwise, their astounding strength surely would have induced a huge commotion among the local populace.

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Chapter 1624: The Harvest Valley City Seer Guild

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"This should be Harvest Valley City. Located near a mountain, it enjoys the weather of eternal spring. It's the city that boasts the greatest agricultural produce within a radius of several hundred thousand li. Most of the food supply in the Sanctum of Sages originates from here!"

It did not take Zhang Xuan long to verify their current location.

Back when he was still in the Sanctum of Sages, he had browsed through quite a couple of books regarding geography. By roughly gauging the direction and distance that he had traveled from the Sanctum of Sages, he could easily deduce his current location.

With a swift scan of his surroundings, Zhang Xuan shook his head. It won't do to search around aimlessly like this. Let me try using the Library of Heaven's Path to verify the location...

With such a thought in mind, he flicked his wrist and took out an empty book. He drew out the streets around him and wrote 'Sage Kui's sculpture is in this direction'.

He touched the book lightly, and the Library of Heaven's Path jolted.

However, a book was not compiled.

"It didn't work again? What's going on?" Zhang Xuan's complexion turned awful.

Just what in the world was happening to the Library of Heaven's Path?

It had never failed him in the past, but nowadays, it was malfunctioning more frequently than ever, as if an old machine sputtering to its death. Was it really in an urgent need of an upgrade?

Well, he had indeed been using it for more than a year now. Perhaps, it was starting to lag behind his current power level, especially with how fast he had been growing stronger.

No, that's not right. The Library of Heaven's Path shouldn't have failed under normal circumstances. A thought suddenly arose in Zhang Xuan's mind. Unless... the sculpture is placed in a location concealed from even the view of the heavens...

The previous few times that the Library of Heaven's Path had malfunctioned was probably because the individuals that he had sought to check possessed the Discarnate Constitution of Divination, just like him and Luo Ruoxin.

However, there were other means to bypass the Library of Heaven's Path as well. For example, the culprits at White Creek Mountain had resorted to some unique means that would not only conceal their trail from the Eye of Insight but also the prying gazes of seers...

The situation that Zhang Xuan was facing at the moment was rather similar to the latter. Was it possible that some kind of unique means had been cast upon Sage Kui's sculpture in order to prevent anyone from divining its whereabouts?

"If that's the case, there's only one possibility..."

A sharp glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes as he quickly scanned his surroundings. He walked up to a nearby cultivator and clasped his fist "This friend over here, may I ask where the Seer Guild of the Harvest Valley City is located?"

"Seer Guild? It's over in that direction, roughly a four li building. It's shaped like a tortoise, so you don't have to worry about missing it!"

The cultivator was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-forties. He responded to Zhang Xuan's question amicably.

"Many thanks!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist once more.

He beckoned Luo Ruoxin with a wave of his hand before flying in the direction that the middle-aged man had pointed out.

"Are you suspecting that a seer from the Harvest Valley City is colluding with the culprits in order to prevent other seers from divining the location of Sage Kui's sculpture?" Luo Ruoxin swiftly grasped Zhang Xuan's train of thought.

"A normal isolation barrier might be able to prevent ordinary cultivators from tracking it, but it wouldn't be able to stop the divination of the seers. To be absolutely safe, the culprits would have to engage the help of a seer to conceal it from the view of the heavens too!" Zhang Xuan said with a nod.

"Indeed. I think you are on the right track." Luo Ruoxin nodded in agreement.

While the current Sanctum of Sages did not have too many experts, it still had a 9-star seer working in its service—Master Feng. If he divined the location of the sculpture, there was a good chance that he could fathom its rough location after a couple of tries.

So, if the culprits wanted to make a perfect getaway, they would have to use some kind of anti-divination technique on the sculpture.

In all of Harvest Valley City, there was only one group of people who were able to achieve that feat so quickly... the seers from the Seer Guild!

Traveling ahead, it did not take long for the two of them to arrive before a tortoise-shaped building. There were some mysterious patterns inscribed on the surface of the building, and they seemed to wield some kind of inconceivable power that prevented even one's Spiritual Perception from seeping in.

We'll know whether we have gotten the right place or not once we get in! Zhang Xuan thought as he walked up to the entrance of the tortoise-shaped building.

At this moment, however, a young man walked out and blocked his path. "Please halt your footsteps. Our Harvest Valley City Seer Guild doesn't welcome any visitors!"

"I am Zhang Xuan, the head of the Sanctum of Sages. We have just lost a precious artifact, and I have specially made a trip here in the hope of engaging the help of your guild leader to help us divine its whereabouts!" Zhang Xuan said as he flicked his wrist and revealed his substitute Sanctum Head Token.

"You are the head of the Sanctum of Sages?" Startled by the high standing of the guest before him, the young man quickly clasped his fist politely and said, "Elder, please hold on for a moment. I'll report your arrival to our guild leader right away!"

After saying those words, the young man hurriedly rushed back into the tortoise-shaped building.

Roughly three minutes later, a black-haired elder walked out along with the young man.

"Pardon me for my lacking welcome, I was unaware of your arrival, Sanctum Head Zhang. Please, come in!"

The elder appeared to be in his sixties, and his cultivation was at Saint 8-dan pinnacle. Wearing the long robe of the Seer Guild, his appearance gave the impression of an enlightened expert.

"I'll be imposing on you then. To be honest, I have come with a request that I will need to trouble you with!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist politely.

"Sanctum Head Zhang, you are too courteous. You must be unaware of how resounding your reputation is these days. I never thought that our guild would have the honor of hosting you. Please, this way!" the elder said as he led the way forward.

Soon, they arrived in a room.

As soon as they walked in, a slight frown appeared between Luo Ruoxin's brows. She quickly sent a telepathic message over. "Zhang Xuan, be careful."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xuan replied discreetly. "Did you notice something?"

This was the first time that Luo Ruoxin had sent him a telepathic message asking him to be careful. It seemed like there was really something wrong with this Seer Guild.

Luo Ruoxin appeared to want to say something, but she seemed to change her mind at the last moment. "It's nothing. I just think that it would be best to proceed warily."

"Un, I understand!" Zhang Xuan replied telepathically.

It would be foolish to turn a blind eye to Luo Ruoxin's warning. Thus, Zhang Xuan casually placed his hand on his waist, ready to make a move as soon as anything happened.

However, it seemed like his worries might have been unfounded. Even when he walked to the middle of the room, he still did not notice any anomalies.

After everyone had taken a seat, the elder raised his gaze and asked, "May I know the reason behind your visit, Sanctum Head Zhang?"

"Not too long ago, a couple of burglars snuck into our Sanctum of Sages and stole our Sage Kui's sculpture. Following the trail of the burglars, we found that the trail abruptly ends here. Considering that we are both affiliated with the Master Teacher Pavilion, I would like to trouble you to divine the identity and whereabouts of the culprit!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.

Zhang Xuan's words were roundabout, but the implied meaning was very clear to those hearing his message. He was effectively saying, My item disappeared in your territory. If you can't divine the identity and the whereabouts of the culprits, I'm afraid that I'll have to doubt you!

"The trail of the burglars ends here?" A displeased frown appeared on the elder's face. "Sanctum Head Zhang, are you suspecting our Seer Guild of hiding the burglars and the stolen possession of the Sanctum of Sages?"

"The burglars who have stolen Sage Kui's sculpture are all Otherworldly Demons. However, they were able to conceal themselves perfectly, such that even my Eye of Insight is rendered helpless before their means. On top of that, our seers are unable to divine the whereabouts of the burglars or our missing possession. I'd hate to accuse you, but I'm afraid that I can't turn a blind eye to the evidence lying before me!" Zhang Xuan replied calmly.

"The loss of our possession is a small matter, but the involvement of the Otherworldly Demons in the burglary is a cause for concern. Things could turn ugly if I report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion, so I ask of you to give us your full support. This is the best way to cleanse your Seer Guild of suspicion!"

"Sanctum Head Zhang, I respect you as the head of the Sanctum of Sages and the Zhang Clan, and it's out of goodwill that I welcomed you into our Seer Guild. Yet, you are maligning my Seer Guild of conspiring with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe..." The elder abruptly rose to his feet and uttered coldly, "Just what do you stand to gain from besmirching the reputation of our Seer Guild?"

"Calm down, there's no need to lose your temper here." Zhang Xuan glanced at the agitated elder. "I don't mean anything by those words. All I want is to retrieve the treasure that was stolen from our Sanctum of Sages. If you are truly as innocent as you claim, you won't mind me searching through your Seer Guild, right? If I fail to find anything, you can rest assured that I'll provide due compensation to your Seer Guild for my mistake!"

"You wish to ransack our Seer Guild? Preposterous! Our Seer Guild shoulders the heavy responsibility of divining the future to protect mankind. Even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters have to show us some respect! Yet, a mere sanctum head like you seeks to ransack our premises?" the elder bellowed furiously.

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Chapter 1625: Falling Out With the Seer Guild

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Seer was one of the many unique occupations in the world, but due to its unique capabilities, it was held in high regard in the Master Teacher Continent. Not even the Master Teacher Pavilion would dare to exert pressure on them easily.

It was one thing for the young man to accuse their Seer Guild of colluding with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe without ample evidence on hand, but to think that he would make a brazen request to ransack their premises too...

This was intolerable!

"I don't deny that I am unqualified to request a search on your Seer Guild, but this matter concerns not only a treasure of the Sanctum of Sages but the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe as well. It might just be an unfortunate coincidence, but the trail of the burglars happens to end in the vicinity of your Seer Guild. With the safety of mankind at stake, I'm afraid that I have no choice but to do this. I hope that you can understand my position," Zhang Xuan said.

"Seers usually avoid getting involved in worldly affairs, so I believe you would be reluctant to get into an unnecessary conflict. Regardless of whether I report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters or the Seer Guild headquarters, you will have a great deal of explaining to do. That wouldn't be desirable to you, right?"

"Are you threatening me?" the elder growled coldly as he clenched his fists tightly.

"Threaten? I am the head of the Sanctum of Sages; I would never stoop to something as low as that! However... if there is evidence to suggests that Otherworldly Demons who have stolen Sage Kui's sculpture have slipped into the Seer Guild, for the safety of mankind, I believe that no one will question my judgement for demanding a search on your Seer Guild!" Zhang Xuan replied coolly.

"Hah! What amazing pomposity this is from the head of the Sanctum of Sages!"

Before the elder could even respond, a cold harrumph sounded from the distance. Following which, two old men walked in from the side doors.

Upon seeing the two old men, Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed warily.

To his astonishment, he was unable to see through the cultivation of those two old men!

Considering how he was currently at Saint 9-dan pinnacle, the fact that he was unable to see through their cultivation meant that they were at Great Sage at the very minimum.

Saint 8-dan pinnacle should have been the limit for a city at the level of Harvest Valley City, so for two Great Sage cultivators to appear here simultaneously...

If it was just a guess from Zhang Xuan's part before, the appearance of the two old men had him convinced that something was indeed amiss in this Seer Guild.

"I beg your pardon if I have made you feel that way. May I know who the two of you are? I am currently addressing the leader of the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild, so I must ask the two of you to not insolently interject into our conversation and learn to hold your tongues!" Zhang Xuan replied imposingly.

If they were Great Sage cultivators from other guilds, he might still hesitate a little before going up against them. But since they were seers...

All it would take was a mere thought for him to teach them a lesson. They could not even be considered a threat at all!

"I am the vice head of the Seer Guild headquarters, Qi Zhen! The person beside me is Elder Mo Qin!" The old man who had spoken earlier flung his sleeves and harrumphed coldly. "There's no way there could be any Otherworldly Demons here, and the so-called treasure of your Sanctum of Sages isn't here either. Are you satisfied now?"

"Unfortunately, no," Zhang Xuan replied coldly as he stood up and placed his hands behind his back. With an unwavering tone, he continued. "Unless you allow me to search through the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild, I won't be leaving here today!"

"You..."

Not expecting the young man to say such words despite having revealed his identity as the vice head of the Seer Guild headquarters, Qi Zhen narrowed his eyes furiously. He lifted his hand, seemingly preparing to make a move, but his movements suddenly paused for a moment.

It appeared as if someone was talking telepathically to him. The next moment, he suppressed his rage and flung his sleeves back furiously once more. "Very well, you can search the premises. However, I'll only give you three minutes to do so. At the end of the three minutes, regardless of whether you have found what you are searching for or not, I'll have to ask you to leave. We still have an important ritual that we have to carry out. If we miss the right moment to make the divination, not even your Sanctum of Sages will be able to bear the consequences!"

"Three minutes? Very well!" Zhang Xuan nodded calmly.

With a thought, he took out the Book of Heaven's Path and instructed, "Vicious, scan the area and see if you are able to sense the presence of your upper body!"

"Yes!" Vicious replied. Barely a moment after he had begun searching the area, the Book of Heaven's Path abruptly shuddered a little as an anxious exclamation sounded, "Master, there's something amiss here. The auras are chaotic, almost as if there's something extremely dangerous in here!"

"Extremely dangerous?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

For Vicious to deem the surroundings with the term 'extremely dangerous', just what could be hidden within this Seer Guild?

"Hmm? The feeling vanished... Did I sense wrongly? My instincts seem to have lost their sensitivity after suffering a sharp decline in my cultivation," Vicious remarked doubtfully.

He was certain that he had sensed something earlier, but the feeling had vanished without a trace in an instant. While he still harbored some doubts, he could not discount the possibility that he might have made a mistake. His body still was not incomplete yet, so it was inevitable that his senses would be a little jumbled up from time to time.

"I see. Don't bother about the chaotic auras for the time being and check if your upper body is around here!" Zhang Xuan instructed sternly.

It was just earlier that Luo Ruoxin had given him a warning, and now, Vicious was saying something similar.

This was making him feel a little unnerved on the inside.

Nevertheless, he could not back down at this point. The culprits could very well be the same as the ones who had kidnapped Zhao Ya and his other students, so he could not afford to lose this lead. Not to mention, Vicious' upper body was also of the utmost importance to him too.

"I understand!" Vicious replied. He quickly cast aside the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind and did a rough sensing of the area. A moment later, he exclaimed, "Master, I can sense it! My upper body is indeed here! However..."

"However what?" Zhang Xuan was delighted to hear that they had managed to find the correct place, but this fact only introduced more doubts.

For the Seer Guild to collude together with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to steal Sage Kui's sculpture, just what were they intending to achieve?

"There's a peculiar aura shrouding my upper body. Previously, Sage Kui's sculpture was suppressing my upper body, so I couldn't sense it clearly. However, I can sense the presence of my upper body very distinctly now... It feels like they have destroyed the sculpture!" Vicious replied.

"Destroyed the sculpture? It seems like they have indeed stolen Sage Kui's sculpture for Vicious' upper body..." Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.

If it had just been a guess before, it was apparent to him right now that the main goal of the culprits was indeed Vicious' upper body.

Furthermore, it seemed too much of a coincidence for the vice head and an elder of the Seer Guild headquarters to visit a relatively remote branch together, especially at this point in time... From the looks of it, there was a good chance that a huge number of the higher-ranking seers were colluding with the Otherworldly Demons!

Of course, that would still require further verification, but it would be best for him to assume the worst-case scenario until then.

"Where is your upper body at the moment?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It's currently at the back of this room," Vicious replied.

"Got it." Zhang Xuan nodded as he turned his gaze over.

At the back of the room was a massive door, pitch-black in color. He tried to extend his Spiritual Perception to sense what was beyond the door, but it seemed like some kind of isolation barrier had been cast over it to prevent any nosey individuals from snooping around.

Thus, he made his way over with the intention of taking a closer examination.

However, it was at this moment that Qi Zhen's voice sounded once more. "Alright, three minutes are up. Sanctum Head Zhang, I'll have to ask you to leave right now!"

"Leave?" Zhang Xuan scoffed contemptuously. "I have just confirmed that the missing treasure of our Sanctum of Sages is located behind this door, but you seem to be in a rush to chase me away. I really can't help but wonder what your intentions are!"

Qi Zhen's pupils dilated a little upon hearing those words, but he quickly concealed it with a cold harrumph. "You said that you can just confirmed that your missing treasure is behind this door? How can you be certain of that?"

"Just like how your Seer Guild has the ability to uncover vital information through divination, our Sanctum of Sages has our own ways to tracking down our possessions. If I can't even locate the whereabouts of our stolen treasures, wouldn't I be a failure of a sanctum head?" Zhang Xuan replied coldly.

"Sanctum Head Zhang, I understand that you are anxious to find the treasures of your Sanctum of Sages, but making false accusations like that won't get you anywhere. Our Seer Guild has an important ritual that we have to conduct right now, and we don't have any time to waste arguing with you. I'll have to ask you to leave right now, or else don't blame us for getting nasty!" Qi Zhen said with a majestic wave of his hands.

"Getting nasty? Are you still intending to make a move on me?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes threateningly.

Who would have thought that the Seer Guild would actually be so brazen? It was one thing for them to collude with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to steal Sage Kui's sculpture, but to think that they would even dare to threaten him, the head of the Sanctum of Sages!

"We don't wish for it to come to that. However, if you continue making a scene, I'm afraid that we'll have no choice but to forcefully evict you!" Qi Zhen replied coldly as a belligerent aura burst forth from his body, rising straight into the heavens.

He was a Great Sage 2-dan Aureate Body realm expert!

While he might have been lacking in comparison to Sword Saint Xing, the prowess that he wielded was more than enough to deal with a Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivator like him.

Huala!

Seeing that Qi Zhen was intending to make a move, Zhang Xuan's hands moved for the Dragonbone Divine Spear wrapped around his waist, prepared to retaliate should the other party make any move of aggression. However, an explosion suddenly erupted at that moment, and the tortoiseshell-shaped roof burst open.

A figure charged in from the opened roof.

"Wu Chen?"

The figure was none other than the adolescent boy following behind Luo Ruoxin, Wu Chen!

The other party had claimed that he had some matters to deal with after they left Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's ancient domain back at the White Creek Mountain. Why would he suddenly appear here?

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Chapter 1626: A Book to Crush an Ancient Sage!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Attack!"

In Zhang Xuan's brief daze, Qi Zhen released a deafening bellow.

Together with the elder of the Seer Guild headquarters, Mo Qin, he charged right for Wu Chen in the air.

"Humph!" Wu Chen harrumphed disdainfully as he thrust his palm downward in retaliation.

Kacha!

The surrounding space froze. Before Qi Zhen and Mo Qin could even react, they were already struck squarely on their chest, causing them to fall heavily onto the ground as blood spurted forth from their mouths wildly.

Despite being Great Sage 2-dan experts, they were still far too lacking in comparison to Wu Chen.

Tss la!

Wu Chen did not seem to have noticed Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin's presence. After knocking down the two old men, he thrust his palm once more toward the room at the back, where Vicious' upper body was supposedly located. The space around the room at the back immediately collapsed, causing the ceiling to be destroyed.

Wuuuu!

At that moment, a brush flew forth from the sinking ceiling and struck the collapsed space above. Following which, a sharp sound echoed in the air and spatial ripples diffused into the surroundings.

"It's those four Otherworldly Demons!" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

That brush that had just flown forth was extremely familiar to him. It was one of the artifacts of the four Otherworldly Demons that he had met in Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's ancient domain!

He had not thought that he would meet them here once more.

It seemed like after separating from them, Wu Chen had somehow managed to track them down here.

I should make a move, too! Zhang Xuan thought.

He grabbed the belt wrapped around his waist and whipped out the Dragonbone Divine Spear. After which, he darted toward the sky.

Ding ding ding ding!

After a few metallic clangs, Zhang Xuan was forced to retreat with a pale face.

Without igniting Kong shi's blood droplet, he was simply no match for those four young men.

Huala!

While Zhang Xuan was being forced back, a ferocious bellow reverberated from beneath. The scholarly young man charged forth from his hiding place, and with a flick of his wrist, a long sword materialized in his hand. With the support of the demonic tune and the brush, he launched a decisive assault toward Wu Chen.

A furious barrage of sword qi filled the sky above the Seer Guild. One could not help but feel blinded by the dense congregation of sword qi, almost as if the sword was the only existence in the world.

As the surrounding air moaned under the intense pressure from the barrage of sword qi, black dimension rifts were forcefully ripped open all around.

The scholarly young man had used his full strength right from the start. Even compared to the time when Zhang Xuan had clashed with him in Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's ancient domain, he seemed to be significantly stronger than before.

But as powerful as the scholarly young man was, Wu Chen was even stronger!

"Humph!" Wu Chen harrumphed coldly.

Without the slightest hint of panic, he thrust his palm downward once more.

The black dimension rifts scattered around began repairing at a visible pace, and the seemingly indomitable scholarly young man suddenly froze in the air with his sword. Shockingly, he was actually unable to press forward at all!

"What formidable prowess!" Zhang Xuan complimented with widened eyes.

He truly did not expect Wu Chen to be so powerful.

Even if he had ignited Kong shi's blood droplet, it was unlikely that he would have been able to cope with the offense of the scholarly young man any better than Wu Chen.

Hula!

Another explosion sounded within the Seer Guild beneath, and several more figures charged toward Wu Chen. Along with the appearance of those figures, blood-curdling killing intent settled into the surrounding air, leaving one feeling as if one had plunged into the midst of a harsh battlefield.

"They are all Otherworldly Demons!" Zhang Xuan's body stiffened in astonishment.

He did not expect so many Otherworldly Demons to appear all at once. Furthermore, they did not even make any attempt to conceal themselves.

"No, it's because this is the Seer Guild. Not only will it conceal their auras, it will also conceal them from the peering eyes of the heavens. Naturally, there's no need for them to conceal their identities at all..." Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

Back when they were still at Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's ancient domain, they still had to disguise themselves a little. Otherwise, if the Prime Amulet had figured out their true identity and attempted to suppress them, they could have faced serious problems.

On the other hand, as long as they ensured that no survivors walked out of the Seer Guild alive, no one would be any wiser about their true identity.

"Activate!"

Knowing that any hesitation at this moment could very well cost their lives, Zhang Xuan immediately ignited the final droplet of Kong shi's blood.

It was his greatest trump card, which was why he was a little reluctant to use it. However, he knew that if he did not make a move right now and Wu Chen fell victim to them, he and Luo Ruoxin could very well be next!

Hong long long!

As soon as Kong shi's blood droplet was ignited, Zhang Xuan immediately felt overwhelming strength wrapping around his body, bringing his fighting prowess to a whole new level. Wielding the Dragonbone Divine Spear in hand, he charged toward the closest Otherworldly Demon to him.

"Die!"

Without any hesitation, he pushed his spear right for the Otherworldly Demon's vitals.

It was due to his hesitation that those four young men had escaped the previous time. This time, he would not allow history to repeat itself!

"Roar!"

Caught off guard by the sudden emergence of such a powerful foe, the Otherworldly Demon had no choice but to forcefully twist his body and divert his attack on Wu Chen to defending against Zhang Xuan.

An air of malicious intent rushed toward Zhang Xuan, and the Otherworldly Demon swiftly swept its claw toward him.

Whoosh!

But given Zhang Xuan's current prowess, how could he possibly allow the Otherworldly Demon to do as he pleased?

He swiftly adjusted the trajectory of his spear to pierce right through the Otherworldly Demon's claw before thrusting right into the depths of the latter's heart.

While his spear was still lodged into the Otherworldly Demon's body, he forcefully jolted it around.

Psh!

The next instant, the Otherworldly Demon's body exploded, collapsing into a lump of meat.

Just like that, a Great Sage 4-dan Sempiternal realm expert met his end.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Seeing their companions losing his life in the blink of an eye, the remaining Otherworldly Demons were visibly stunned for an instant. Perhaps out of realization that Zhang Xuan posed the greatest threat to them, a handful of them immediately changed their target and focused their assault on him.

"Humph!"

With narrowed eyes, Zhang Xuan flicked his spear with a single hand. It warped into a majestic dragon and charged for the closest Otherworldly Demon to it.

At the same time, he snapped his finger lightly with his other free hand.

"Freeze!"

Huala!

As if the surrounding space had been frozen solid, everything around the Seer Guild suddenly halted.

The assailing Otherworldly Demons did not expect Zhang Xuan to possess such a technique. As soon as they realized that they were outmatched, they immediately tried to turn around and flee, but it was already too late. The space around them was sealed, and they could not move an inch anymore.

Kacha!

The spear pierced right through the head of the closest Otherworldly Demon. It was instantaneous death. However, due to the frozen space, its body continued floating quietly in the air eerily.

With two Otherworldly Demons slain, the burden on Wu Chen lessened considerably. He launched two consecutive palm strikes, sending the scholarly young man flying with the first and destroying the zither of the fragile young man with the second.

Weng!

At this moment, a skeletal structure of an upper body rose into the air.

It was hard to determine what kind of material the upper body was made of, but the ribcage had a crystal-clear transparency to it, reminiscent of top-quality jade. Instead of overpowering killing intent, it had an academic air to it.

"Master, it's my upper body!" Vicious exclaimed anxiously.

"It's finally out!"

Seeing that Vicious' upper body was indeed here, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. Without any hesitation, he flicked his wrist, and the Book of Heaven's Path flew right toward the upper body.

Hula!

It took barely an instant for the Book of Heaven's Path to seal the upper body within it.

It had been much more troublesome with Vicious' head and finger because they already possessed independent thought. On the other hand, the many years of suppression under Sage Kui within the Sanctum of Sages had completely purified Vicious' upper body, removing any hint of consciousness from it.

As such, it did not take much effort for the Book of Heaven's Path to seal it.

Witnessing this scene, Wu Chen's eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

"Hahaha, I am going to make a breakthrough. Master, I'm going into hibernation... You must take care of yourself..." Vicious roared with laughter, and slowly, his voice faded away.

Hula!

Zhang Xuan could feel Vicious' consciousness falling into a deep slumber.

It was probably the same as many times before. Assimilating his upper body was probably a highly exhausting activity that required him to go into hibernation.

He should be able to make a breakthrough to Great Sage once it awakes once more...Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh inwardly.

While all this was being done, his body had not been slacking around. He decisively drove his spear into the body of another Otherworldly Demon, intending to kill him as well.

However, at that moment, a devastating aura suddenly gushed forth from the Seer Guild, and it rose right into the clouds.

This aura was so ridiculously powerful that it felt almost as if it could even flip the heavens upside down!

"Could this be... an Ancient Sage?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in shock.

The ignition of Kong shi's blood droplet would have granted him strength invincible to those beneath Ancient Sage, but in the face of the ridiculously overpowered aura rising from the Seer Guild, he felt like an ant standing before an elephant.

He could not even fathom just how powerful the individual commanding such an aura would be.

Probably, this was the level of strength that only the Ancient Sages that he had heard so much about commanded.

Alarmed, he quickly turned his sights in the direction of the aura, only to see a hulking Otherworldly Demon charging toward Luo Ruoxin at an absurd speed.

Dread and panic exploded in Zhang Xuan's mind as he roared in agitation, "Ruoxin, careful!"

If the Ancient Sage Otherworldly Demon really got to Luo Ruoxin, she would die without the slightest hint of doubt!

Who could have known that an Ancient Sage would actually be hiding in the Seer Guild? And he was an Otherworldly Demon at that! Just what in the world could the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe be planning?

Damn it! Damn it!

"NO!"

Zhang Xuan could not tell if it was a scream in his mind or one that he had actually voiced out, but his entire existence was telling him that he could not allow whatever was going to happen.

Hu!

A book flew forth from his glabella.

Padah!

It descended right upon on the Ancient Sage Otherworldly Demon charging toward Luo Ruoxin.

"What?"

Paji!

With a horrified look on his face, the Ancient Sage Otherworldly Demon was smashed right into the ground, breathing his last breath.

Even at the moment of his death, he probably could not have imagined that someone as powerful as him would actually meet his end under the weight of a book.

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Chapter 1627: Has the Master Teacher Pavilion Betrayed Mankind?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Silence rippled across the entire battlefield.

Even Wu Chen and the scholarly young man were startled, resulting in a temporary halt of their battle. All eyes were gathered on the Otherworldly Demon smashed into the ground, and not a mouth could find any words to say.

Every single one of them had sensed the surging aura earlier, and for the first time in many years, an Ancient Sage existence had made his appearance. Yet, he had only managed to say a single word—"What?"—before meeting his end...

This was too shocking!

Ancient Sages were the pinnacle existences of the Master Teacher Continent. While it would be an exaggeration to say that they were indestructible, their life force was so resilient that most of them managed to live till the end of their time. Yet, right before their eyes, an Ancient Sage just had his physical body and Primordial Spirit completely smashed into bits, destroying any chance of survival through and through.

What in the world was going on?

When in the world did Ancient Sage become so fragile, shattering at a simple touch?

Or rather, what in the world was that book? Where in the world did that fellow obtain that book from?

And... could that book still be used?

With a pale face and a trembling body, the scholarly young man bellowed anxiously, "Retreat!"

An attack that even an Ancient Sage was unable to withstand, there was no way that they would stand a chance against that! With horrified expressions, the Otherworldly Demons each tore apart an amulet, and dimension rifts appeared around them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly as he raised his hand, intending to seal the space around them to prevent their retreat.

But before he could do anything, a voice sounded in his head. "Let them go."

He quickly turned his gaze over to Luo Ruoxin, only to see the latter shaking her head with a deep frown between her brows.

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, but he still decided to heed Luo Ruoxin's instructions.

Weng! Weng! Weng!

Spatial disturbances rippled across the area as the scholarly young man and the others who had ripped an amulet apart vanished into dimension rifts, leaving only Qi Zhen and the others from the Seer Guild behind.

Knowing that it would be nigh impossible to catch them once they had gotten away, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and asked the young lady beside him, "Why?"

He knew that his girlfriend was not a person to do things without reason, so she was bound to have her motive for asking him to let them go. It was also in view of this that he had chosen to heed her instruction.

"You wouldn't have been able to stop them if they really wanted to get away," Luo Ruoxin replied calmly.

"Even if I can't stop them from getting away, I would at least be able to kill another one of them!" Zhang Xuan replied with clenched fists.

Considering how his enemies were all Sempiternal realm cultivators, while it might have taken some time, they would still have been able to undo his spatial seal eventually. From such a perspective, their escape was inevitable. Nevertheless, using the time that they spent on breaking his spatial seal, he was confident that he would have been able to slay at least one more Otherworldly Demon!

"Killing another Otherworldly Demon wouldn't have made much of a difference," Luo Ruoxin said grimly. "More importantly, there wasn't just a single Ancient Sage here earlier!"

"There wasn't just a single Ancient Sage here earlier?"

Those words caused Zhang Xuan's pupils to dilate in horror as he suddenly realized how close he had come to death earlier. "You are saying that... there were more Ancient Sages hiding in this Seer Guild other than the one I killed?"

"There were at least three more of them. However, it seems like that decisive blow shocked them. Knowing that they don't have the strength to withstand the might of your book, they chose to flee... However, if you tried to stop them, they could have launched a counterattack out of desperation. Even if it's you, I don't think that you have the means to deal with three Ancient Sages simultaneously yet," Luo Ruoxin said.

"I..." Zhang Xuan fell silent.

He had used his only golden page earlier, which had been triggered from Luo Xuanqing's gratitude from the impartation of the simplified Heaven's Path Spatial Sealing Art.

He had already used it on one of the Ancient Sages, and if another Ancient Sage had really appeared then, there would have been nothing that he could have done.

That could have really spelled the end of all of them.

While it was true that the crushed Ancient Sage had met his end even before he could display his true prowess, Zhang Xuan could tell from the aura that the other party had emanated that he would not have stood a chance at all in a proper duel. In fact, just the overwhelming aura emanated by the Ancient Sages would have been enough to subdue him.

It was not without reason that Ancient Sages were so revered in the world. Without absolute strength, there was no way they could possess so much influence.

After calming down from the shock of just how close he had come to death, a doubt arose in Zhang Xuan's mind. How did so many Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages manage to sneak into the Master Teacher Continent without alarming the Master Teacher Pavilion?

It was true that most human Ancient Sages were in hibernation. However, based on what he knew, the human Ancient Sages seemed to have some way of sensing hostile Ancient Sages. It was through such a system that they had been able to protect mankind from the threat of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages over the past millenniums!

So, it should have been impossible for the Master Teacher Pavilion to remain oblivious to the arrival of so many Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages on the Master Teacher Continent!

Unless... the entire Master Teacher Pavilion had betrayed mankind!

As if seeing through the doubts Zhang Xuan harbored, Wu Chen explained, "It's likely the doing of the Seer Guild headquarters. They used some kind of secret art to conceal the presence of these Ancient Sages, thus allowing them to slip past the detection of the Master Teacher Pavilion and the human Ancient Sages!

"Furthermore, they ingeniously chose Harvest Valley City as their base of operations. It's an inconspicuous city, located at a safe distance away from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters and most major powers. More importantly, there is no Master Teacher Pavilion in the vicinity to curb the local Seer Guild, thus making it an ideal location for a hideout without incurring any suspicion!"

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.

Harvest Valley City was located against a mountain, making it a natural fortress. On top of that, it was located against a stream, which provided it with the water required to irrigate the fertile land around it. With such advantageous conditions, it was able to swiftly develop into an independent power, reminiscent to that of the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan.

Perhaps it was to prevent external powers from interfering excessively in its local affairs, but for many generations, the general populace had vehemently objected to any external powers taking root within the city, and this included the Master Teacher Pavilion. As a result, it had become one of the very few places without a Master Teacher Pavilion branch.

For this reason, it was the ideal location for the Otherworldly Demons to hide in.

"But even if the Seer Guild is helping to conceal the presence of these Otherworldly Demons, the Otherworldly Demons would still have to slip past Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's seal in the Subterranean Gallery in order to get to the Master Teacher Continent. Every Subterranean Gallery is tightly guarded by master teachers, so isn't it ridiculous for so many Otherworldly Demons to be able to slip through?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I found that rather weird, too. I have been investigating this matter since parting with you and Milady, but I'm still unable to figure out the reason behind that..."

"Isn't the answer to that obvious?" Luo Ruoxin suddenly interjected. "There's someone within the Master Teacher Pavilion helping them."

Zhang Xuan's body jolted upon hearing those words.

In truth, he had also arrived at the answer himself, but he simply dared not believe it.

In order to pull something like that off, the person or group colluding with the Otherworldly Demons had to be of considerably high standing within the Master Teacher Pavilion.

Who could they be? Why would they choose to betray mankind?

It's very likely that the Otherworldly Demons were aiming for Vicious' upper body this time around... Considering how anxious they were to find the upper body, willingly taking the risk of travelling over to the Master Teacher Continent, there's a good chance that they have already amassed Vicious' other body parts! Zhang Xuan thought grimly.

It was one thing for the Otherworldly Demons to be amassing Vicious' body parts, but Zhang Xuan did not feel that their motives were that simple.

Even if Vicious was one of the strongest Otherworldly Demon Emperor in history, surely they would not need so many Ancient Sages to personally supervise the operation of stealing back his upper body.

Most likely, those Ancient Sages were there for a different purpose... but that purpose was not something that he could figure out at the moment.

In any case, it seems like I'll have to tread warily around the Master Teacher Pavilion in the future... Zhang Xuan had been intending to report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, but given the current circumstances, it would be better to put it off for the time being.

He had never been to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters personally, so he could not be sure whom he could trust. If the information fell into the wrong hands, it could possibly lead to a disastrous outcome. For one, those traitors could twist the facts against him if they deemed him a threat.

The situation was currently rather volatile, so it would be best for him to lie low for the time being.

It seems like even the Master Teacher Pavilion isn't trustworthy anymore! I have to swiftly unite all of the powers that I have at the moment—the Zhang Clan, the Luo Clan, the Sanctum of Sages, the Combat Master Hall... Zhang Xuan thought with an awful complexion. We are simply too vulnerable to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe at the moment!

No one would have expected the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to have spies within the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters as well. Without knowing whom to trust, Zhang Xuan could only rely on himself.

For the time being, he could only try to unite all of the powers that he had at his disposal and pray that the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would not come too soon.

"Zhang Xuan, the corpse of an Ancient Sage is filled with treasures. This fellow might have barely stepped into the level of an Ancient Sage, but his corpse still has many useful materials that you can use," Luo Ruoxin suddenly said.

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Chapter 1628: Sun Qiang's Inflated Ego

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

"Treasure?"

It was then that Zhang Xuan suddenly remembered that on top of claiming Vicious' upper body, he had also managed to kill an Ancient Sage.

The body of an Ancient Sage was deeply coveted even as a corpse.

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement as he pondered about what he could do with the dead Ancient Sage's body, "If I could forge his corpse into a Soulless Metal Humanoid, I would have another trump card at my disposal!"

Having inherited the heritage of the soul oracles, he knew the method to forging Soulless Metal Humanoids. If he were to use the corpse of this Ancient Sage as the foundation and successfully forged a Soulless Metal Humanoid out of it, wouldn't he be able to command the fighting prowess of an Ancient Sage just by slipping his soul into it?

If that were to happen, he wouldn't have to fear anyone anymore!

This had really come at a timely moment. It just happened that he had expended his final droplet of Kong shi's blood essence and his newly acquired golden page, and he was lacking a suitable trump card to use in times of distress. If he could forge the corpse into a Soulless Metal Humanoid, this problem would be resolved!

"It's truly a treasure. I'll be taking it then!" Seeing that Luo Ruoxin and Wu Chen had no intention of laying claim to the Ancient Sage's body, Zhang Xuan waved his hand to keep the corpse into his storage ring.

But to his shock, he found that it was as if he was attempting to move a mountain. Even as he was on the verge of expending all of his soul energy, the Ancient Sage corpse still refused to budge at all.

"What's going on?" Zhang Xuan frowned in confusion.

No matter what, his soul cultivation was at Saint 9-dan pinnacle. Along with his comprehension of space... it simply didn't make sense how he was unable to move a mere corpse over to his storage ring!

"Let me try moving it physically!" Zhang Xuan thought as he wrapped the corpse with his zhenqi and tugged at it. "T-this..."

Despite using his full strength, the corpse still didn't move an inch at all!

One must know that his power enhancement from Kong shi's blood droplet hadn't ended yet, which meant to say that the strength he wielded was still invincible beneath Ancient Sage!

"Upon reaching Great Sage 2-dan Aureate Body realm, a cultivator's body would gain significant weight, allowing him to stand his ground firmly regardless of the opponent he was standing against. Beyond that, if a cultivator were to make a breakthrough to Ancient Sage too, his body would be further tempered to become even denser and more resilient. It would be impossible for those beneath Ancient Sage to leave a mark on an Ancient Sage corpse, let alone kill a living Ancient Sage. It's also due to this reason that Ancient Sages are known to be particularly troublesome to deal with." Seeing the look on Zhang Xuan's face, Luo Ruoxin couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Doesn't that mean that it's impossible for me to keep this Ancient Sage corpse into my storage ring?" Zhang Xuan asked with a stifled look on his face.

He was still intending to forge the corpse into a Soulless Metal Humanoid to serve as one of his trump cards. However, if he couldn't even lift its body, how could he hope to control it?

"It would have been impossible for you to lift its body under normal circumstances, but your Dragonbone Divine Spear happens to be an Ancient Sage artifact. While its strength has been sealed, it should still be able to move the corpse over to your storage ring," Luo Ruoxin said.

"You're right!" Zhang Xuan slapped his forehead in realization.

How did he forget about this matter?

His strength might be lacking at the moment, but the Dragonbone Divine Spear used to be the weapon of the strongest Ancient Sage Ran Qiu!

Even the water droplets it flung out wielded the strength to kill Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivators. In terms of sheer physical might, its prowess was even greater than the current him!

Thus, Zhang Xuan tapped the spear in his grasp, and its body immediately morphed into that of a massive dragon.

Hu!

It easily picked up the Ancient Sage corpse on the ground and moved it over into Zhang Xuan's storage ring.

"It works!" Seeing that the Dragonbone Divine Spear was indeed able to do it, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

With this matter out of the way, he finally turned his gaze back to Qi Zhen and the others.

To think that the seers would actually collude with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Unforgivable!

Boom!

With just a thought, countless streaks of lightning descended from the heavens, trapping Qi Zhen and the others in place. Miserable wails escaped from their mouths as the violent lightning devastated their bodies.

With a light wave of his hand, the tortoiseshell ceiling was ripped apart by the onslaught of the lightning above, thus leaving the seers in the guild completely exposed to the heavenly retribution.

Seers sought to steal the secrets of the heavens, so their very existence wasn't permitted by the world. Despite so, they still dared to collude together with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to bring harm to their own brethren... They were truly seeking death!

As the lightning ravaged the Seer Guild, Zhang Xuan could feel greater clarity in his thoughts. It was hard to put a finger on the feeling, but he could feel the Library of Heaven's Path growing stronger bit by bit.

With a satisfied nod of his head, he took out his Communication Jade Token and instructed Zhan shi to bring the elders of the Sanctum of Sages over.

It didn't take long for Zhan shi to arrive together with Ge shi and the others.

"I'll give these seers to you. They are guilty of colluding with the Otherworldly Demons who stole Sage Kui's sculpture. I want you to interrogate them and make them spit out their true intention!" Zhang Xuan commanded authoritatively.

"Yes, sanctum head!"

While Zhan shi and the others were still a little confused by the turn of events, they hurriedly nodded their heads in acknowledgement of Zhang Xuan's command.

"Let's go!" Zhang Xuan turned to Luo Ruoxin and said.

While he had failed to apprehend the culprits who had stolen Sage Kui's sculpture, at the very least, they did manage to learn of the Seer Guild's treachery. Through uncovering the goals of these seers, they should be able to fathom a guess at what the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was up to. In any case, the Sanctum of Sages should be competent enough to deal with this matter, so it would suffice to entrust this matter to them.

The urgent matter at hand was for him to return to the Zhang Clan and resolve the conflict between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan. Otherwise, the rift in their relations would hinder the two clans from cooperating with one another to deal with the impending crisis.

Considering how even the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages had begun to move, he wasn't so naive to think that the Zhang Clan would be able to survive the impending crisis alone.

Hu!

After leaving the Seer Guild, the three of them traveled through the spatial passageway Wu Chen had opened up, and it didn't take them long to arrive at the Zhang Clan.

"Xuan-er, you are back!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, Sword Saint Xing and the others quickly rushed forward to welcome him.

'You must be Ruoxin! I am Zhang Xuan's mother. Do you remember me? We met one another back at the Luo Clan, but I didn't really get to talk much with you then. Shall we have a walk together?" Seeing the young lady that her son had brought with him, Sword Saint Meng's eyes glowed so brightly in excitement that it seemed as if sparks would fly from them.

Luo Ruoxin was unaccustomed to being so warmly welcomed that her face swiftly flushed in a fluster. Unsure of how she should respond, she turned to Zhang Xuan for help.

In response to her distress signal, Zhang Xuan averted his gaze, feigning ignorance to her plight.

"He is..." Sword Saint Xing gestured to Wu Chen and asked.

He had seen with his own eyes just how powerful the adolescent boy was back at the Luo Clan. If it was possible, he would more than delighted to get acquainted with an expert of such a caliber and trade insights with him.

"His name is Wu Chen, and he's serving Ruoxin," Zhang Xuan introduced.

Before Sword Saint Xing could say a word, a haughty voice had already sounded by the side, "Serving? He's a servant? I see! After our Young Master marries your Young Mistress, you'll be under my command then! Let's get along well!"

Unknowingly, Sun Qiang had walked over out of nowhere, and he patted Wu Chen's shoulder with a gleeful smile on his face.

After the incident at the Empire Alliance, Sun Qiang was forced to train under Zheng Yang at the Combat Master Hall. However, after Zhao Ya and the others were kidnapped, out of concern of the safety of his other students, he had Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, and the others move over to the Zhang Clan.

Naturally, Sun Qiang had to move over to the Zhang Clan as well.

Upon learning that the Young Master he served was the head of the Zhang Clan and the Sanctum of Sages, his confidence was swiftly restored. From time to time, one would see him strutting haughtily around the Zhang Clan, almost as if he owned the place.

This was the airs that he felt he should put up as the butler of the head of the strongest Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent.

"I'll be under your command?" Wu Chen nearly fainted on the spot hearing those words.

"You don't seem to be too pleased about it. Are you unwilling to follow my orders? Let me tell you, I am the only butler that our Young Master has! No one would dare to speak a word on your behalf even if I were to teach you a lesson!" Sensing Wu Chen's reluctance, Sun Qiang slapped the adolescent boy's head and harrumphed.

You are just a mere servant! How dare you refuse to heed my orders? Just try frowning once more, and I'll give you a good pummeling so that you know who is boss here!

"This..."

Not expecting their son's butler to be so unreliable, the Xingmeng Sword Saint nearly keeled over.

That adolescent boy barged into the Luo Clan and stood indomitable in the combined prowess of their elders. Yet, a fellow who had barely reached Saint realm actually dared to slap his head... Are you tired of living?

"..." Zhang Xuan couldn't help but cover his head in embarrassment.

If there was a hole in the vicinity, he would have definitely leaped right in to hide.

It wasn't too long ago that this fellow suffered the greatest trauma in life, so how in the world did his ego inflate so much after just a couple of days?

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Chapter 1629: Nangong Yuanfeng Arrives at the Zhang Clan

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Sun Qiang's arrogance didn't last for too long.

All of a sudden, he found himself floating into the air without doing anything... And slowly, he drifted off into the horizon before disappearing altogether.

Seeing that Wu Chen had only made Sun Qiang float away, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

It was a huge headache to him how Sun Qiang tried to boast of his standing at every opportunity he got. To be honest, he had wanted to teach that fellow some humility for a very long time!

It was incomprehensible to him how someone as low profile as him ended up with this braggart of a butler.

Ah... He really should have been more stringent with his choice back then!

If he had a choice to pick another butler in the future, he would really have to find one that was reliable... At the very least, his butler should like Wu Chen, capable of solving most problems on his own. Even if he couldn't find someone of Wu Chen's caliber, at the very least, his butler shouldn't pull him down and land him in trouble every now and then...

If not for the fact that Sun Qiang had followed him since his time at Tianxuan Kingdom, there was no way he would tolerate all of this!

...

"Clan head, the Luo Clan has recently inaugurated a person known as Luo Tianya as their new clan head. Rumor has it that he has comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, and we believe that the reason behind their visit at this point in time is to have him challenge you to a duel and return the favor from the engagement ceremony... In fact, we heard that they have invited the Master Teacher Pavilion over to officiate the duel so as to ensure fairness..."

As they took their seats in the main hall, an elder stood up and reported with a clasped fist.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress as he replied, "I am aware of that. The reason why I have returned is to resolve this issue!"

"The Spatial Quintessence of Sealing is the highest heritage of the Luo Clan. Those who have comprehended it are capable of freezing space, rendering one completely helpless. Even we would have trouble dealing with something like that... Xuan-er, you have to be careful!" Sword Saint Xing advised worriedly.

The Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan had been relatively close to one another the past few years, so they were well aware of the prowess of the Luo Clan. Once a cultivator had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, it was only a matter of time before he reached the top of the continent.

His son might be nigh invincible in his power class, but it would still be difficult for him to triumph over an opponent of such caliber.

"The Luo Clan has already been humiliated once by the annulment of the engagement ceremony. Given how they dared to challenge us publicly at this juncture, it's likely that they are confident of victory! Our Zhang Clan doesn't have any records on Luo Tianya, but we have just received news that he has managed to defeat an expert from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!" the elder who had just spoken earlier added grimly.

"He has defeated an expert from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers? That bunch of people has finally shown themselves?" Sword Saint Meng asked with a frown.

"Un. It seems like Hundred Schools of Philosophers have challenged the Luo Clan to a duel with the Celestial Amulet of Legacy at stake. The Luo Clan was in a disadvantageous position when Luo Tianya suddenly appeared out of nowhere and defeated them. After which, they tested his bloodline and found that its purity was at the level of '9'. As such, the elders unanimously nominated him to become the head of the Luo Clan, and they swiftly conducted the inauguration ceremony afterward!" the elder replied.

Due to their close relations in the past, they had tabs on one another.

On top of that, the Luo Clan made no attempts to conceal the news either. As such, the elder in charge of acquiring intelligence in the Zhang Clan didn't take too long to learn of the matter.

"Having inherited Kong shi's heritage, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers wields nigh invincible prowess in their power class. Even the combat masters would have trouble subduing them! Considering how Luo Tianya was able to defeat them with ease, his prowess is indeed not something that we can afford to underestimate..." Sword Saint Meng frowned worriedly.

"Regarding that..." Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly. "If I were to say that I'm Luo Tianya, would you believe me?"

"Stop messing around. The other party boasts the purest bloodline in the Luo Clan, so how could you be him?" Sword Saint Meng shook her head.

Her son possessed her bloodline—this was something which they had verified previously. Given so, there was no way he could possess the Luo Clan bloodline. On the other hand, Luo Tianya was someone who had been tested to have a purity level of '9' for the Luo Clan bloodline. Given so, there was no way the two of them could be the same person!

"This..." Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

He had already told them the truth, but why didn't anyone believe him?

Sighing helplessly, he was just about to explain the entire matter when a furious gust of wind sounded above them.

Following which, a loud voice echoed throughout the Zhang Clan, "Nangong Yuanfeng and Tantai Zhenqing from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers' Great Phrontistery of Confucianism has come with a couple of juniors to pay a visit to the head of the Zhang Clan!"

"What are they doing here? Have they already recovered from their wounds?" Zhang Xuan slightly startled by the declaration.

He quickly walked out from the main hall, and the others followed closely behind him.

Floating in the air was Nangong Yuanfeng, and by his side was a stout middle-aged man with a rather disproportionate face. Behind them were a group of eight young men, presumably the students of Nangong Yuanfeng and the stout middle-aged man.

"Tantai Zhenqing? Is he the descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yu?" Zhang Xuan thought with a frown.

Ancient Sage Zi Yu went by the compound surname 1 of Tantai. Due to his disproportionate facial features, Kong shi had once judged him by his appearance and ended up wronging him. That resulted in the famous saying, "Judge a man by his looks, and one shall wrong a Zi Yu". 2

With such doubts in mind, Zhang Xuan took a closer look at those men and noted that Nangong Yuanfeng's complexion was still a little pale. His four disciples, Nangong Mo and the others, also looked a little sickly. It was apparent that they hadn't fully recovered from their injuries yet.

"Something is not right here. While I did send them flying in a single strike, their injuries shouldn't have been so severe. How did they end up like that?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

While he did use his full might during the duel with Nangong Yuanfeng, he didn't ignite Kong shi's blood droplet, so the damage he would have caused should have been limited. It was true that Nangong Yuanfeng was a little more vulnerable during the duel, considering that he had his cultivation suppressed down to Saint 9-dan back then, but he should have been able to recover swiftly once he released the seal on his cultivation.

So, why did Nangong Yuanfeng appear to be so heavily injured at the moment?

"I am the head of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan. It's an honor for us to welcome the envoys from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. Please, let's talk inside!" Knowing that this wasn't the moment for him to be dazing off, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and welcomed them.

"Very well!"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan's etiquette was impeccable, there was nothing Nangong Yuanfeng and the others could complain about. Thus, they quickly descended from the sky.

"This way!" Zhang Xuan gestured with a smile before leading the way into the main hall.

After taking their respective seats, Nangong Yuanfeng got to the topic at hand, "Time is very tight on our side, so allow me to get straight to the point. The Temple of Confucius will be opening very soon, and our Hundred Schools of Philosophers hopes to enter the premises to pay respects to the predecessors as well. We have heard that the Zhang Clan has managed to obtain one of the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, and we are hoping that you would be so kind as to offer it to us. Rest assured that we won't take advantage of you; we'll be offering something of equivalent value in exchange of the amulet!"

"You want the Celestial Amulet of Legacy? That's out of the question. Our Zhang Clan intends to enter the Temple of Confucius as well, so I'm afraid that we won't be able to fulfill your request!" Sword Saint Xing replied with a dark look on his face.

It was as he had expected. The Hundred Schools of Philosophers had indeed come for their Celestial Amulet of Legacy.

The Temple of Confucius was where Kong shi had stored his most valuable treasures and heritage in. Missing the opportunity to enter the Temple of Confucius was equivalent to being ousted from the race for the top... Furthermore, it was not by sheer luck that the Zhang Clan had come to possess the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, so how could they possibly hand it over to someone else so easily?

Even if the other party was from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, this matter was not open for negotiation!

As if he had expected such a response, Nangong Yuanfeng sighed deeply and said, "Since that's the case, I guess we'll have to compete for it then! Kong shi has always encouraged competition amongst his students so that they would strive to improve themselves. Considering that the Celestial Amulet of Legacy was his gift to the later generations, he would hope for it to be in the hands of the most qualified individual. After all, only such a person would be worthy of inheriting his treasures and heritage!

"Since that's the case, we shall make a formal challenge to the Zhang Clan. If there's any Zhang Clan offspring of a hundred years old and below who is able to surpass our students in the comprehension of temporal laws, our Hundred Schools of Philosophers promises to never raise the matter regarding the Celestial Amulet of Legacy with the Zhang Clan ever again, and we'll offer a possession of the Ancient Sages as a formal apology to the Zhang Clan. Conversely, if there's no Zhang Clan offspring who is able to surpass our students in the comprehension of temporal laws, I'd have to ask you to entrust the Celestial Amulet of Legacy to our care!"

"Your students will be challenging our Zhang Clan to the comprehension of temporal laws?" Zhang Xuan looked at Nangong Yuanfeng and frowned.

"That's not it. It's Brother Tantai's students who will be challenging the Zhang Clan offspring!" Nangong Yuanfeng replied with a smile.

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Chapter 1630: Tantai Zhenqing

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"I am Tantai Zhenqing, a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yu. It's my honor to meet the head of the Zhang Clan!"

The middle-aged man with a disproportionate face seated beside Nangong Yuanfeng stood up and bowed deeply. His manners and etiquette were truly flawless, making it impossible for one to pick a bone with him. Despite their visit being provocative in nature, his refined demeanor made it difficult for one to dislike him.

So, this is a true philosopher... Zhang Xuan remarked internally.

He had met plenty of master teachers and experts on his journey, and there was a handful who had conducted themselves with grace and propriety. However, none of them could match the middle-aged man before him.

With just a look, one could tell that he was a true Confucian.

"Elder Tantai, you are too courteous..." Zhang Xuan stood up and returned the greeting.

"I believe Brother Yuanfeng has already clarified the reason behind our visit. Kong shi's heritage is something that we hold dear, so I'm afraid that we can't give up on it easily. The young men behind me are my direct disciples, and they have studied under me for quite some time. So as to not sully the relations between us, I propose a duel of temporal laws with your esteemed clan between our juniors... Regardless of the outcome of the duel, we are willing to gift this inkstone once used by my ancestor to the Zhang Clan as a token of apology."

As he said those words, Tantai Zhenqing flicked his wrist, and a pitch-black inkstone materialized in the air.

"This is a possession of Ancient Sage Zi Yu?"

Sword Saint Xing and the others were astounded by the gift.

The inkstone wasn't too big, but it emanated a heavy aura that felt as if it could even weigh down the world. It was as though even disturbances in spacetime would be calmed by its presence.

This is... a true Ancient Sage artifact! Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

The sword that Nangong Yuanfeng had offered back at the Luo Clan was only an artifact once used by Ancient Sage Zi Rong; it could not be considered a true Ancient Sage artifact. It was not to say that it did not have any value, but it was not something that would truly drive others frenzied over it. On the other hand, the inkstone before them was an artifact that Ancient Sage Zi Rong had used in his peak!

However, it's still far from matching my Dragonbone Divine Spear...

Putting aside the fact that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had been far stronger than Ancient Sage Zi Yu, just the fact that the Dragonbone Divine Spear was an artifact intended for battle whereas an inkstone was a literary device, the primary purposes of their existences already varied vastly from one another.

Nevertheless, if they could just acquire the inkstone, its presence could help to contain good fortune within the Zhang Clan!

Zhang Xuan turned his gaze back to Tantai Zhenqing and remarked, "With the sincerity you have shown, I suppose it would be rude for me to turn down the duel then."

"I ask for your understanding for this matter," Tantai Zhenqing replied with a gentle smile.

"The Temple of Confucius a place that all master teachers of our generation hope to visit. Beneath the courtesy and politeness, competition over it is inevitable. Since that's the case, may the most qualified individual obtain the rights!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand with a smile as he stood up. "May I know what format you intend for the duel?"

The purpose behind the other party's visit was the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, and it was apparent that they had no intention of backing down. Since that was the case, there was no purpose in engaging in a verbal tug-of-war. It would be much better to get it over and done with.

"Since Clan Head Zhang has entrusted the decision to me, I shall propose a format for the duel then!" Tantai Zhenqing nodded. "Our Hundred Schools of Philosophers distinguishes duels into two main categories, namely academic and martial. An academic duel preserves the amity between two parties whereas a martial duel puts one's capabilities to the test."

"What would the academic duel and martial duel for this matter be then?"

"I have a Temporal Mirror here. Through reflecting one's Primordial Spirit on it, it allows one's consciousness to seep into the mirror. There are many Temporal Formations and time traps embedded within the mirror that the challenger would have to overcome. This is the academic duel," Tantai Zhenqing said as a golden mirror materialized before him.

Unlike normal mirrors, the surface of the Temporal Mirror was not flat. It had many different vertices that reflected off one another, forming a dizzying image reminiscent of a kaleidoscope.

"As for martial duel, we'll suppress our cultivation to the same level and duel with one another. All is fair game, and the one who boasts superior strength shall emerge victorious!"

After explaining the two duels, Tantai Zhenqing sat back and gazed at the crowd around him with a patient smile, waiting for the Zhang Clan to make their decision.

"The disciples of our Zhang Clan have never encountered the Temporal Mirror before, so they are unaware of the mechanisms and formations hidden within it. It'd be disadvantageous for us to face them in an academic duel. As for the martial duel, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers are known to wield superior battle techniques, so it won't be easy for our disciples to best them!" an elder remarked grimly.

"Aren't they simply proposing whatever is advantageous to them?"

"It can't be helped. Our Zhang Clan isn't weak, but the foundations of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers are simply too strong. Furthermore, they have already made their stand very clear. Whether we wanted it or not, we've stepped into the ring with them!"

"What should we do?"

The complexions of the elders in the room did not look too good.

While the proposed academic duel might have sounded fair, the asymmetry of information made the circumstances highly disadvantageous to the Zhang Clan. None of the disciples of the Zhang Clan had a clue about what they would face in the Temporal Mirror whereas the disciples of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were likely familiar with it.

Even if their comprehension of temporal laws was at the same level as one another, the one who was more familiar with the Temporal Mirror was likely to be able to clear more obstacles than the one who was unfamiliar with it.

This was similar to running a marathon in another person's home turf. Even if the two runners were equally skilled, the runner who was familiar with the local terrain was bound to be in an advantageous position.

The same applied for the martial duel. The Hundred Schools of Philosophers had inherited their heritage directly from Kong shi and his direct disciples, so their collection of battle techniques and secret arts was bound to be far superior to that of the Zhang Clan.

It was true that the Zhang Clan had been blessed with plenty of incredible geniuses over the past tens of thousands of years, but it would be expecting too much of them to outdo Kong shi and his direct disciples.

In other words, be it the academic duel or the martial duel, things were not in their favor.

Paying no heed to the worried crowd around him, Zhang Xuan replied calmly, "The academic duel sounds interesting to me, but it feels like it'll be rather time-consuming. Let's just go with the martial duel and end it quickly!"

"Martial duel? Very well!" Tantai Zhenqing nodded with an amiable smile. He raised his hand, and a young man walked out from behind him. "This young man over here is Tantai Jiankui. He's my direct disciple and is thirty this year. His comprehension of temporal laws is still rather superficial, so I beg your pardon if his skills appear to be unpolished!"

Hula!

Right after those words were spoken, the young man walked to the center of the main hall and halted. A forbidding aura burst forth from his body, exerting heavy pressure on those around him.

"Great Sage 1-dan Introspective Convalescence realm!" Sword Saint Xing narrowed his eyes.

To reach Great Sage 1-dan despite having only being thirty this year... Other than his son, there was no one in the Zhang Clan who could match Tantai Jiankui in terms of talent!

In fact, even Sword Saint Xing himself had been far beyond that age when he first stepped into Great Sage 1-dan.

"Tantai Jiankui. Please!" The young man clasped his fist and bowed.

"Xuan-er, even though your cultivation has already reached Saint 9-dan pinnacle, you have never systematically inherited our Zhang Clan's heritage of temporal laws... If you find yourself forced to a corner, do not hesitate to use your secret art. I'm referring to the secret art that you used to raise your prowess to the Sempiternal realm when you fought with me..." Sword Saint Xing sent a telepathic message to his son.

The most talented offspring below a hundred years of age within the Zhang Clan was indubitably Zhang Xuan.

If he used the secret art that he had utilized before, he would surely be able to defeat the other party with absolute ease.

"I'm afraid that I won't be able to use that secret art anymore..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He needed Kong shi's blood droplet in order to activate that ability, but he had already expended all three droplets. In other words, this trump card had already been rendered obsolete.

"You aren't able to use that secret art anymore?" Sword Saint Xing's eyebrows shot up in astonishment. "Then..."

Even though the opponent would be suppressing his cultivation, the difference in their real cultivation realms would still result in a significant gap in their fighting prowess... Even for his incredibly talented son, it would surely be a tough battle.

"Don't worry, I won't be the one fighting the duel anyway!" Zhang Xuan remarked with a light chuckle.

"You won't be the one fighting the duel?" Hearing those words, Sword Saint Xing was visibly startled.

The others also quickly turned astounded gazes over as well. If you aren't going to fight, who will?

"Of course, it won't be me! Don't you think that we'll be taking advantage of our guests here if I fight them?" Zhang Xuan scoffed matter-of-factly, and a smile crept onto his lips.

"I think that we should pass this opportunity onto the younger generation... Let my student, Zhang Jiuxiao, do the fighting instead!"

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Chapter 1631: Memorization Through Spiritual Perception, Recital of a Thousand Books

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Younger generation?"

The lips of the crowd twitched upon hearing those words.

Isn't Zhang Jiuxiao older than you?

For a twenty-year-old young man to address someone older than him as the 'younger generation'... Well, in terms of seniority, Zhang Jiuxiao was his student, so there was not anything wrong with that address, just that...

There was just an inexplicable feeling of incongruity.

Furthermore...

"Zhang Jiuxiao is only at Saint 8-dan pinnacle at the moment. Even though his bloodline is pure, he has never learned the core battle techniques and cultivation techniques of our Zhang Clan, so I fear..." Sword Saint Xing said with a deep frown.

It was during the clan tournament that Zhang Jiuxiao had achieved a breakthrough to Saint 8-dan primary stage. During that period of time, the clan had devoted many resources to grooming him, so it did not take long for his cultivation to advance to Saint 8-dan pinnacle.

With such cultivation, he could indeed be considered as one of the most outstanding cultivators among the younger generation... However, the opponent that he was facing was a genius from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, Tantai Jiankui!

To make matters worse, he had come from the side family. As a result, he had never had the opportunity to access the core heritage of the Zhang Clan.

No matter how they looked at it, it did not seem like Zhang Jiuxiao stood much of a chance.

The Celestial Amulet of Legacy was at stake! Was it really fine to take this matter so lightly?

Paying no heed to the words of advice around him, Zhang Xuan waved his hand casually and instructed, "It's fine. Invite him over!"

"Yes!" An elder bowed deeply in response before walking out of the main hall. It did not take long for him to return with a young man in tow.

"Teacher!" Walking into the room, Zhang Jiuxiao quickly walked up to Zhang Xuan and bowed deeply.

"Un. I believe that the Ninth Elder should have filled you in on the situation by now. I want you to represent our Zhang Clan in a duel against the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, and I want you to know that I won't tolerate a loss!" Zhang Xuan placed his hands behind his back.

"I can't lose the duel?" A distressed frown surfaced between Zhang Jiuxiao's brows. "Teacher, I barely made a breakthrough yesterday, so I haven't fully reinforced my cultivation yet..."

He had already heard the story from the Ninth Elder on the way there, and he knew just how important the duel with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers was. If he lost, he would really become the sinner of the Zhang Clan!

"You haven't fully reinforced your cultivation yet? That's no problem at all." Zhang Xuan stood up and walked toward Zhang Jiuxiao. "Sit down!"

"Yes, Teacher!"

Zhang Jiuxiao had no idea what his teacher was going to do, but he knew his teacher would not instruct him to do something for no reason. Thus, he crossed his leg and sat down on the floor without any hesitation.

Walking behind Zhang Jiuxiao, Zhang Xuan stretched his hand forward and placed it on top of the other party's head.

Slightly surprised by Zhang Xuan's sudden action, Zhang Jiuxiao was just about to say something when he suddenly felt a warm surge of energy flowing in from the other party's palm.

This warm surge of energy swiftly diffused throughout his entire body, clearing up all of the energy blockages and repairing all of the wear and tear that his body had sustained as a result of his recent breakthrough.

In the blink of an eye, his cultivation had already harmonized perfectly with his mind, spirit, and psyche. The lapses in his control over his cultivation vanished completely, allowing his zhenqi to flow smoothly at will. It was almost as if he was a veteran who had been in this cultivation realm for many years.

"This..."

Nangong Yuanfeng and Tantai Zhenqing traded shocked gazes. Disbelief could be seen reflected in their eyes.

This was not Cultivation Impartation, so it could not be considered a breach of any rules.

What the young man did was harmonize his student's cultivation together with his body and soul through a secret art. This was a feat easier said than done.

On top of possessing incredibly pure zhenqi and the utmost control over his energy, more importantly, he needed to have a complete understanding of his student's physical condition.

The Great Phrontistery of Confucianism was filled with experts, but there was hardly anyone who could achieve this feat. In fact, not even the Ancient Sages would confidently claim that they would be able to pull it off!

Yet, a Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivator had actually managed to do it so easily...

Was the head of the Zhang Clan not a little too formidable?

"Alright, you should have already fully reinforced your Saint 8-dan pinnacle cultivation. As for the Zhang Clan's heritage..." At this point, a slight frown emerged on Zhang Xuan's forehead, and he fell into a brief moment of thought.

A moment later, he raised his head to look at Tantai Zhenqing. With an apologetic look on his face, he clasped his fist and bowed. "Elder Tantai, it hasn't been long since my student returned to the Zhang Clan, so he's only adept in the battle techniques of the side family. If you would just give me some time, I'd like to impart some moves to him right now. This way, he will be more prepared for the battle with your student later on!"

"You are intending to impart some moves to your student right now?"

Even someone with Tantai Zhenqing's demeanor could not help but be taken aback by Zhang Xuan's request.

Temporal laws were known to be incredibly abstract and difficult to grasp. This was even more so for temporal arts, which were derived from the temporal laws. Even his students took several years under his guidance before they were finally able to grasp the bare basics, yet the young man actually intended to start teaching his student right now.

Are you for real?

Thinking that Tantai Zhenqing was worrying that he would take too long, Zhang Xuan added with a smile, "Indeed. Please do not worry, I won't take up too much time. An hour will be sufficient!"

"An hour..." Tantai Zhenqing was even more dazed after hearing those words.

What could the other party possibly learn within an hour?

Furthermore, the opponent that the other party would be facing was his student, an Introspective Convalescence expert!

Tantai Zhenqing was not the only one who was stunned by this seemingly ridiculous request. Nangong Yuanfeng and his students also glanced at one another in confusion as well.

The crowd could not help but lean closer a little, hoping to see how Zhang Xuan intended to impart temporal arts to his student within an hour. However, at this moment, they heard Sword Saint Xing's frenzied voice.

"Xuan-er, it has only been two days since you returned to the Zhang Clan! You haven't even inherited the heritage of the clan yet, so how in the world do you plan to impart it to Jiuxiao?"

"..." Nangong Yuanfeng and Tantai Zhenqing staggered.

In the end, the young man was not even adept in temporal arts himself... and he still dared to claim that he would impart it to his student within an hour.

Really, can you tell us just what is going through your mind?

Is the head of the Zhang Clan actually an idiot?

"It's fine, I can just learn them right now... Eighth Elder, you hold the key to the library of our Zhang Clan. I want you to bring the battle techniques and cultivation techniques of our clans over right now!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

"Yes, clan head!"

The Eighth Elder quickly rushed out of the main hall. A few moments later, he returned to the room. With a flick of his hand, a huge pile of books stacked on bookshelves materialized before the crowd. It was a tremendous collection consisting of several hundred thousand books.

The reason the Zhang Clan was able to continuously groom generation after generation of experts and retain its position as the number one Sage Clan could mostly be credited to its rich heritage. The collection of cultivation techniques and battle techniques that it had amassed over the years was truly a sight to behold.

In fact, the Eighth Elder had only brought over some of the more commonly practiced cultivation techniques and battle techniques.

Considering the limited time that they had, he did not have time to take out all of the books.

"I've troubled you!" Zhang Xuan first thanked the Eighth Elder before turning his gaze to the books before him.

He swiftly enveloped the bookshelves before him with his Spiritual Perception, and the next moment, the several hundred thousand books floated into the air and began flipping automatically.

"This is... Memorization Through Spiritual Perception, Recital of a Thousand Books? How is this possible?"

Tantai Zhenqing widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Memorization Through Spiritual Perception requires a cultivator to divide his Spiritual Perception into countless fragments in order to browse through and memorize the content in the books simultaneously.

"Even Kong Shiyao, who is known to possess the greatest talent in the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, is only capable of browsing through three thousand books simultaneously, and that is already a feat that has broken records that have stood for tens of thousands of years...

"Yet, that young man is actually flipping through several hundred thousand books simultaneously... Just how powerful is his Spiritual Perception?"

Nangong Yuanfeng's jaw had practically dropped to the ground.

Any Saint 2-dan expert could easily use their Spiritual Perception to memorize a book swiftly, but it was a different story when it came to multiple books. Reading two books simultaneously would require a cultivator divide their attention between the two books, and this was not too easy for Primordial Spirit realm cultivators to pull off.

The Great Phrontistery of Confucianism was filled with experts, but even the most talented prodigy was only capable of memorizing three thousand books simultaneously. Yet, this fellow was actually trying to browse through several hundred thousand books at once...

Was he not afraid of overloading his mind with information and turning into a retard?

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Chapter 1632: Time Quintessence

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"It's also possible that he's just browsing through the contents with his Spiritual Perception and not memorizing anything at all..." Nangong Yuanfeng remarked a short moment later.

Browsing through the content and memorizing them were two entirely different concepts.

The former only required one to scan through the book with one's Spiritual Perception; there was no need to attempt to understand or absorb the contents at all. On the other hand, the latter required one to commit everything that one had seen to memory. Naturally, the level of difficulty for both feats was vastly different.

If it was just browsing through several hundred thousand books at once, he was able to do it as well.

"Let's keep watching. We'll know very soon whether he's faking it or not!" Tantai Zhenqing replied.

Right after he finished those words, the hundreds of thousands of books in the air were flipped over to the very last page before falling heavily back onto the bookshelves.

"Eighth Elder, I'll have to trouble you to take back all of the books!" Zhang Xuan instructed before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, seemingly trying to assimilate the knowledge that he had just taken in.

"Yes!" the Eighth Elder replied as he stowed the shelves back into his storage ring before rushing off.

Roughly ten breaths later, Zhang Xuan finally opened his eyes and said, "Jiuxiao, you have practiced a simplified version of the Zhang Clan's cultivation technique previously. In the interest of time, I'll just correct a few simple flaws. The main issue lies in your battle technique and comprehension of temporal laws. I have compiled two manuals based on the books that I have just read, and I'll impart them to you right now!"

After saying those words, he flicked his finger and directed a sliver of his will into Zhang Jiuxiao's consciousness.

"This..." Taking in the knowledge that his teacher had imparted to him, Zhang Jiuxiao's body suddenly froze on the spot.

Temporal laws were known to be even more abstract and profound than spatial laws, thus making them extremely difficult to grasp and comprehend. There were many cultivators who had spent their entire lives trying to fathom them, only to fail miserably.

It was for this reason that even Zhang Clan offspring were only able to tap into the prowess of time through their bloodline ability or the Zhang Clan swordsmanship.

Zhang Jiuxiao had thought that even if he really possessed decent aptitude toward temporal arts, it would still take him quite some time before he could really grasp them. However, the manual that his teacher had just imparted to him was structured in a really comprehensible manner, gradually establishing one's fundamental interpretation of temporal laws before delving in deep. With this, the difficulty in grasping and comprehending temporal laws was lowered tremendously.

At the rate that he was improving at, he was confident that he would be able to achieve a decent mastery of temporal laws within less than half a month.

Unfortunately, that was still too long.

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Jiuxiao raised his head and said, "Teacher, I don't think that there's enough time for me to master those two manuals..."

It was not that he did not want to bring honor to the Zhang Clan, but even with the two manuals that his teacher had imparted to him, he would still require some time before he was able to truly wield temporal arts in battle.

This was not a matter that could really be rushed.

One hour was simply too little time!

"Calm down, there's no need to panic. Ignite this droplet of blood in your body!" Seemingly expecting such a situation, Zhang Xuan flicked his finger lightly, and a droplet of blood essence seeped into Zhang Jiuxiao's glabella.

This was a droplet of the most concentrated blood essence of the Zhang Clan.

Weng!

As soon as the droplet seeped into Zhang Jiuxiao's body, it was immediately ignited. Following which, the latter was placed in a unique state of mind.

"This is... Time Acceleration?" Tantai Zhenqing narrowed his eyes.

As the droplet of blood seeped into Zhang Jiuxiao's body, he could clearly sense the other party's consciousness entering some kind of temporal whirlpool. The flow of time within this whirlpool was accelerated from the external world.

In other words, an hour in the external world could very well mean a day or even more to Zhang Jiuxiao's consciousness.

One of the elders of the Zhang Clan saw through what Zhang Xuan had done, and he remarked in awe, "Accelerating the time of one's consciousness—this is rather similar to our Blood Reservoir."

The Zhang Clan's Blood Reservoir allowed the offspring of the Zhang Clan to accelerate the time of their consciousness, thus enhancing the speed at which they cultivated. It played a crucial role in ensuring that the geniuses of the Zhang Clan remained ahead of their rivals.

"The Blood Reservoir only accelerates time by roughly ten times whereas the ability used by the clan head accelerates time more than a hundredfold..." another elder of the Zhang Clan added as he gulped.

"He used the most concentrated blood essence of our Zhang Clan to set up a Time Acceleration Temporal Formation within Zhang Jiuxiao's head. By limiting the time acceleration effect to just the consciousness, he was able to lower the cost to the bare minimum!" Sword Saint Xing remarked with a nod.

Others might not have been able to see through what Zhang Xuan was doing, but as an ex-head of the Zhang Clan, as well as one of its top experts, he was able to easily see through his son's motives.

Under normal circumstances, the activation of one's bloodline was extremely demanding on one's blood essence. There were often cases where offspring of Sage Clans completely depleted their blood essence barely after executing one or two battle techniques.

Zhang Xuan used a unique secret art to alter only the flow of time for Zhang Jiuxiao's consciousness. Through this, not only was the consumption of blood essence extremely low, the acceleration of time could also be enhanced manyfold.

"Even if he's able to accelerate time by more than a hundredfold, that would only amount to a couple of days at most. Will Zhang Jiuxiao really be able to gain the strength to defeat Tantai Jiankui within just a few days?" the elder who had spoken earlier asked uncertainly.

While the means of their clan head were indeed astounding, Zhang Jiuxiao's starting point was simply too low. Even with the clan head's time acceleration, would a couple of days really be enough for him to defeat Tantai Jiankui?

Most of the elders of the Zhang Clan had devoted several centuries of their lives to studying temporal arts, but they had barely been able to make any progress in it.

Paying no heed to the skepticism among the crowd, Zhang Xuan returned to his seat and closed his eyes. He seemed to be assimilating the knowledge that he had just taken in from the several hundred thousand books.

The reason he had used his Spiritual Perception to flip through the books was simply to put up a cover before the Hundred Schools of Philosophers and the Zhang Clan. In truth, with just a scan of his eyes, he had already collected all of the books, memorized their content, and successfully formed the Heaven's Path Temporal Art.

The manuals that he had imparted to Zhang Jiuxiao were the simplified version of it, and right now, what he was planning to do was cultivate the complete version.

The predecessors of the Zhang Clan did have a deep understanding of time... Zhang Xuan thought in awe as he went through the Heaven's Path Temporal Art in his mind.

He really had to say that many of the predecessors of the Zhang Clan had achieved great things in the field of time. It was no wonder the Zhang Clan had been able to rise to the position of the number one Sage Clan on the continent, becoming an existence that none could surpass in the past tens of thousands of years.

Through their hard work, they had managed to decipher much of the secrets of time.

...

Some time later...

Boom!

Zhang Xuan suddenly felt as if he had grasped upon something tangible, and everything suddenly cleared up before him. A thought emerged in his mind, and it was slowly growing stronger and stronger.

At the same time, a phenomenon similar to what had happened in the Luo Clan's ancestral hall was happening in the Zhang Clan's ancestral hall. Unfortunately, all of the members of the Zhang Clan were too preoccupied with the duel against the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, so none of them noticed the phenomenon.

Hu!

When Zhang Xuan finally opened his eyes, there was a brilliant light shining from his eyes.

I have finally comprehended the Time Quintessence... It seems like the Zhang Clan's Time Quintessence is centered around the idea of time acceleration for oneself.

After fully comprehending the Zhang Clan's Time Quintessence, Zhang Xuan finally came to understand the crux of the Zhang Clan's heritage.

Basically, the Zhang Clan's Time Quintessence allowed one to accelerate one's time, thus allowing one to move at a speed faster than anyone could react.

It was incapable of emulating the effects of the Master Teacher Pavilion's Hall of Spring and Autumn, where a year inside was equivalent to a month outside.

Nevertheless, there was no denying that it was a formidable ability.

At the very least, it had brought his fighting prowess up to a whole new level.

Previously, a droplet of the Zhang Clan blood essence would be depleted after activating time acceleration twice. However, with my deepened understanding of temporal laws, I am now able to store it within my body and use it at will without wasting any of its energy! A droplet of blood will now be able to last me dozens of uses easily! Zhang Xuan thought in delight.

Of the three droplets of Zhang Clan blood essence that Sword Saint Xing had given him, he had spent a droplet dealing with the Dragonbone Divine Spear and another droplet to accelerate Zhang Jiuxiao's time. As such, he only had one droplet left.

That being so, with his enhanced understanding of the Time Quintessence of Acceleration, he would be able to use it with far greater efficiency than before.

Thinking back, he had really been too wasteful with the first droplet that he had used against the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

It could be said that ninety-nine percent of its energy had been wasted without achieving anything!

However, with his enhanced control over temporal laws, he would now be able to effectively utilize every sliver of energy within the blood droplet. As such, even though he only had a single droplet left at the moment, it would suffice to last him through dozens of uses!

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