Library of Heaven’s Path - Chapter 1191

Chapter 1191: I Am the Qingtian Emperor!

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The person before him was none other than Tian Qing!

But wasn’t the other party fighting with Wu shi and the others?

More importantly, the first time he met the copper-masked figure, Tian Qing had definitely been confined within the Master Teacher Pavilion’s prison. No matter how powerful Tian Qing was, there was no way he could escape from his cell without alarming the Master Teacher Pavilion, so… how could he possibly be the copper-masked figure?

Zhang Xuan could not believe his eyes.

Everything had already exceeded his expectations.

“Indeed. Tian Qing and I are the same person!” Tian Qing nodded.

The young man before him had been putting on a fearless and nonchalant exterior ever since he had been dragged here, so he was delighted to see the shocked expression on the other party’s face.

“No, that’s not right… You aren’t Tian Qing but the Qingtian Emperor, right?” Frowning, Zhang Xuan revealed his deduction.

He had been thinking over the issue over the past few days, and he was confident that the Qingtian Emperor had a part to play in his framing. Else, there was truly no reason for King Zhongqing and Tian Qing to go to such lengths to frame him.

Just that, there were still some details that he had yet to make sense of.

“You are an intelligent person. However, you should know that there are some things in the world that you should never meddle with.” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s words, the Qingtian Emperor’s voice suddenly grew deep and sinister. A burst of killing intent suddenly swept through the surroundings, leaving one feeling as if one had been suddenly plunged into hell.

The killing intent was even purer than the Skyleaf King’s. Those who possessed weaker mental fortitude could have very well fainted as soon as they came into contact with this overwhelming aura.

“Since you have already figured out who I am, there’s no need for me to put on an act anymore then. I am sure you should know about the irreconcilable conflict between the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and the darned humans. Submit to me, and I can grant you a life of wealth and power. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to end your life!” Tian Qing did not deny Zhang Xuan’s accusations. Instead, he gazed down upon Zhang Xuan as if he was looking at a mere corpse.

Since everything had already been revealed, there was no need to beat around the bush any longer.

“If you are both the Qingtian Emperor and Tian Qing… then who is the person fighting outside with Wu shi and the others? You… as an Otherworldly Demon, no matter how good you are at disguising, surely the headquarters would have looked into your background when you became the vice pavilion master, so how could you possibly have passed their checks?” Zhang Xuan uttered in disbelief.

No matter how he thought about the matter, it just did not make sense.

It might be possible for the Qingtian Emperor to act as an ordinary master teacher—the headquarters could not possibly check the background of every single master teacher spread across the Master Teacher Continent after all—but he wielded great power over the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. It was extremely difficult to believe that the headquarters would make such a severe oversight!

If the Master Teacher Pavilion was really so incompetent as to remain unaware when the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had already seeped into their ranks, it would have been destroyed long ago.

With a cold sneer, hostility welled up in the Qingtian Emperor’s eyes as he harrumphed menacingly. “Tian Qing was the incarnation of my will. I slowly forged his identity as a master teacher step by step over a long 800 years, but who would have thought that you would ruin the preparations that I made? Do you know how much I want to kill you right now?”

In order to build up ‘Tian Qing’, he had paid an extremely heavy price, sacrificing the lives of many of his tribesmen.

If not for the damned young man before him, Tian Qing would still have been the vice head of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, wielding great power.

In a short few days, 800 years of his effort had gone down the drain. How could he possibly take something like that lightly?

However, it was fortunate that it was not all in vain. Over the years, he had managed to gather plenty of crucial intelligence, allowing him to obtain the various items that he required.

At this point, he was just one last step away from success.

If not for that, he would have surely killed the young man before him without any hesitation instead of wasting so many words on him.

“Incarnation of your will?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback from a moment before swiftly coming to a realization.

In his previous battle against Tian Qing, he had found that there was a fatal flaw in the other party’s Primordial Spirit, which made it highly unlikely for the other party to ever reach the Leaving Aperture realm in his lifetime. Back then, he had thought that the other party might have just erred in his cultivation somewhere along the way, but it turned out that… the error was actually fundamental!

As the incarnation of a mere will, it went without saying that the soul was bound to be incomplete. It was already a miracle that Tian Qing could cultivate to the Primordial Spirit realm with an incomplete soul; any further than that was nigh impossible.

Perhaps due to Tian Qing being an incarnation, the Library of Heaven’s Path considered him a separate existence from the Qingtian Emperor, resulting in its inability to draw the links between the two.

From the start to the end, Zhang Xuan had never considered such a possibility before because of the sheer impossibility in it.

A will was effectively a fragment of a soul, so it was fundamentally of the yin attribute. It was fatal for a newborn baby to be plagued with yin energy, and the chances of survival were practically null.

Furthermore, such an incarnation was against the laws of nature, an act that the heavens would not condone. Thus, even if the baby survived by some chance, one would have to pay a heavy price in order to prevent the baby from dying.

As such, even if the occupation that boasted the greatest understanding of souls, the soul oracles, were to attempt to reincarnate a will, it was likely that there would not even be a single successful case out of ten thousand attempts.

Otherwise, Mo Hunsheng would not have been so desperate to fuse together with the Nine Hearts Lotus to gain a new body for himself.

On top of that, a will would automatically go into a dormant state upon reincarnation. There were those who were unable to unlock the memories of their previous life until the moment of their death, thus achieving nothing significant in their lifetime. Such a symptom was known as the Void of Reincarnation.

To make matters worse, the attempt to reincarnate one’s will was also highly damaging to one’s soul. This effectively limited each person to a single attempt in their lifetime.

As such, only those who had been cornered would resort to will reincarnation, hoping that the infinitesimal possibility of success would come their way.

To think that the Qingtian Emperor not only succeeded, but his incarnation grew to become a 7-star pinnacle master teacher, governing the Master Teacher Pavilion of a Conferred Empire? While the Qingtian Emperor must have assisted in some ways, it was still a particularly formidable feat.

The Qingtian Emperor harrumphed coldly. “That’s right. I advise you not to test my patience. Since I have already revealed my identity to you, you should know that unless you submit to me and seal a soul contract with me, there’s no way that you are getting out of this. I’ll put you through endless torture and…”

The reason he fearlessly revealed his identity before the young man was because he did not fear the latter leaking the secret. Everything was within his control.

If the young man attempted anything, it would only take a single thought for him to kill the lad.

“Fine, I’ll submit!” Zhang Xuan interrupted the Qingtian Emperor’s words.

“Ah?” The Qingtian Emperor was taken aback.

Having lived among the humans for many years, he knew how firmly master teachers held onto their beliefs and faith. Considering how arrogant the young man before him was, going to the extent of even crashing the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion upon being accused of siding with the enemy, he had thought that it would be a long fight to get the latter to submit to him. Who knew that the latter would agree to it so heartily?

What happened to the unwavering will that master teachers should have?

The Qingtian Emperor eyed Zhang Xuan suspiciously for a moment before harrumphing coldly. “Words are empty. Offer your soul!”

As skeptical as he was about the young man’s intentions, he knew that once the latter offered his soul to him, there was no way the latter would be able to betray him anymore.

“Of course, of course!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “But before that, I would like to confirm one thing first. Will you really give me a suitable Soulless Metal Humanoid so that I can continue living as I did?”

The Qingtian Emperor waved his hand derisively. “You don’t have to worry about that!”

In the end, it seemed like the young man was just another spineless coward who would abandon his beliefs and faith for his own life.

But again, the threat of death was indeed scary, especially to cultivators who boasted long lives. The older one became, the more vivid one’s fear of death and losing everything they had would become, and not even master teachers were spared from this rule. That was also how You Xu had ended up succumbing to the Otherworldly Demons back then.

“Then…” Zhang Xuan hesitated for a brief moment before mustering his courage to ask, “Can you tell me the method of entering a Soulless Metal Humanoid and let me give it a try first? I want to confirm that there’s indeed a way for me to continue living before I submit to you!”

“This…” the Qingtian Emperor frowned. Somehow, he felt like Zhang Xuan was up to something. However, looking at the young man’s innocent face, he suddenly recalled the memories he had seen in young man’s head earlier, and since it was impossible for the young man to turn the tables against him, he eventually relented with a nod. “Alright then. The method to entering the Soulless Golden Humanoid is very simple…”

The Qingtian Emperor swiftly explained the method to enter and control the Soulless Metal Humanoid.

“Alright, I got it.” Seeing that the other party’s explanation was essentially similar to what he had learned from Mo Hunsheng, Zhang Xuan nodded.

In truth, he had already compiled a Heaven’s Path manual regarding controlling a Soulless Metal Humanoid, and he had even practiced it before. In fact, this was the very method that he had used to place his severed soul into the Nine Hearts Lotus to make his clone.

After which, Zhang Xuan pretended to struggle but to no avail. With a helpless tone, he said, “Set me free for a moment. I want to try entering the Soulless Metal Humanoid.”

“Don’t try to pull anything. I am the one who forged the Soulless Metal Humanoid, so it goes without saying that I have a way to destroy it as well. Don’t naively think that you will be able to go against me just because you have gained a body!” the Qingtian Emperor warned callously.

Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed deeply. “As a Saint 2-dan cultivator, I won’t be able to tap into the full strength of the Soulless Metal Humanoid no matter how powerful it is. I won’t be a match for you even if I do try to pull something.”

Hearing those words, the Qingtian Emperor hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding.

It seemed like he was really being too jumpy, worrying over the most insignificant of issues.

The other party was right. As a Saint 2-dan cultivator, the other party could not possibly tap into the full strength of the Saint 4-dan Soulless Metal Humanoid. Since that was the case, what did he have to fear?

Thus, with a light flick of his hand, the altar gleamed brilliantly. Following which, Zhang Xuan felt the bindings holding him in place loosening, allowing his soul to move freely.

“Let me give it a try!” Zhang Xuan said as he made his way over to the Soulless Metal Humanoid.

A moment later, the Soulless Metal Humanoid opened its eyes.

Zhang Xuan tried moving in it a little, and it felt no different from controlling a puppet. He could not help but shake his head in disappointment.

It seemed like a Saint 4-dan Soulless Metal Humanoid was still ultimately a mere puppet.

A real human had senses that allowed him to receive information from his surroundings, but a puppet did not. While it was possible for a soul to survive by housing itself within a puppet, it was effectively no different from driving a corpse.

It was no wonder few would choose to learn soul arts despite the great longevity of soul oracles.

There was more to life than to just continue existing. If a cultivator had to live amid the darkness for their entire life, deprived of everything that made them feel alive, perhaps death would have been a better option.

Watching as the young man entered the Soulless Metal Humanoid, the Qingtian Emperor heaved a sigh of relief.

He had attempted to use his words to distract the young man from it, but the fact was that as the creator of the Soulless Metal Humanoid, he wielded absolute control over it. In other words, it was just another cage to encase the young man’s soul. If he willed it so, he could kill the other party whenever he wanted to.

Nevertheless, to be absolutely safe, he still wanted to bind the young man with a soul contract. Thus, he turned to the other party and said, “Now that you have tested the Soulless Metal Humanoid for yourself, it’s about time for you to offer your soul!”

“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded. Maneuvering the Soulless Metal Humanoid to the altar, he said, “I’ll be offering my soul to you through this altar then!”

After saying those words, a will slowly rose from the glabella of the Soulless Metal Humanoid.

“Un.” Not expecting the young man to be so active about this issue, the Qingtian Emperor nodded in approval. He also walked up to the altar and drew his soul out of his body.

As he cultivated the soul cultivation techniques from the soul oracles, his soul harnessed incomparably frigid yin energy, leaving others not daring to approach.

The foundation of a soul oracle lay in their soul, so it would be better to bind the young man’s soul to his soul instead of his body.

“Start the ritual!” the Qingtian Emperor declared loudly.

He had thought that it would take more effort to deal with this young man, but it seemed like the other party was still too young and inexperienced.

Once the soul contract was sealed, he would be able to peer into the other party’s thoughts. By then, the other party would dare not to formulate the slightest thought of rebellion.

“Alright!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

He maneuvered his Soulless Metal Humanoid to walk around the altar before abruptly slapping its palm on the altar.

Weng!

The inscriptions suddenly lit up, and a powerful suction force drew in the soul of the Qingtian Emperor, wanting to devour it whole.

Horrified by the changes, the Qingtian Emperor exclaimed, “H-how do you know the method to triggering the altar?”

Chapter 1192: A Knife to Me, a Knife to You! Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

 

The altar had been specially crafted by a method known only to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and it required the Zhenqi of Slaughter to activate. More importantly, it concerned a secret of the soul oracles, so how could a master teacher possibly be able to activate it?

The Qingtian Emperor felt as if he was going insane.

Others might not have known how fearsome the altar was, but he did.

Once it was activated, it could draw even the Primordial Spirit of a Leaving Aperture realm expert into it easily!

Tzzzzzzzz!

Before the Qingtian Emperor could even give any further thought to the situation he was in, he suddenly felt the suction force growing stronger and stronger. Despite his resistance, his soul was slowly dragged by the suction force, seemingly about to be taken over to the other side at any moment.

“You are courting death!” Frightened and alarmed, the Qingtian Emperor bellowed furiously. At this point, he was fully aware that he had fallen for the young man’s schemes.

He swiftly extended his soul energy toward the will floating in the air, wanting to grab and destroy it.

However, the will seemed to be completely unaffected by the suction of the altar. It leisurely made its way back into the Soulless Golden Body.

Not expecting the other party to escape from his grasp, the Qingtian Emperor’s rage crescendoed. “Humph, I am the creator of the Soulless Metal Humanoid. It takes nothing more than a mere thought for me to claim your life!”

With a furious roar, the Qingtian Emperor swiftly sealed the pores of the Soulless Metal Humanoid, preventing the young man’s soul from escaping it. After which, he sent the energy harnessed within the metal humanoid into chaos, putting it on the verge of explosion.

As the creator of the Soulless Metal Humanoid, he was able to have it explode at his whim.

This was the exact same method that Zhang Xuan had used to subdue the Jadeleaf King back then.

“There’s no need for you to go through so much trouble,” said Zhang Xuan nonchalantly. Following which, with a resounding ‘puhe!’, the Soulless Metal Humanoid was abruptly ripped in two down the middle.

A massive ten-meter-tall soul appeared from within the body.

It should have been impossible for any soul to escape once the pores of the Soulless Metal Humanoid were sealed. However, by abruptly enlarging his soul by undoing the Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, Zhang Xuan managed to tear the metal humanoid in two.

Seeing Zhang Xuan decisively tearing the Soulless Metal Humanoid in two, the Qingtian Emperor widened his eyes in astonishment. “T-this is your soul? H-how is it so big?”

As a soul oracle, he understood the significance of the size of a soul, and the one before him was actually ten meters large! Just how much soul energy could that ten-meters large soul possibly contain?

“This is impossible! No, wait a moment! You are… a soul oracle?” Realization suddenly struck the Qingtian Emperor as his mouth widened in shock.

Only a soul oracle could possibly possess such an enormous soul, but… wasn’t the other party a master teacher? How could a master teacher possibly be a soul oracle?

The Qingtian Emperor felt as if his mind was going to blow from the insanity unfolding before his eyes.

It had been countless years since the heritage of the soul oracles had disappeared from the face of the world. He had needed to pay a heavy price before he managed to lay his hands on a couple of soul arts, but… who would have thought a master teacher as talented as the other party would actually be a full-fledged soul oracle? This was truly a shocker!

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything much.” Watching as the Qingtian Emperor went into a frenzy from the situation, Zhang Xuan consoled him insincerely as he slowly made his way over to the other party’s immobile body. With a thought, his soul swiftly shrunk back to the size of a human before diving into the glabella of the immobile body.

“W-what are you trying to do?”

This sight immediately sent the Qingtian Emperor into a panic.

That was his body! If the other party were to possess his body, his soul would have nowhere else to go!

“What am I doing? Like I told you, I am not doing anything much. Didn’t you teach me how to utilize a Soulless Metal Humanoid earlier? I’m just trying to see if it will work on your body since the Soulless Metal Humanoid you gave me earlier has exploded.”

As Zhang Xuan spoke, his soul successfully entered the Qingtian Emperor’s body. A moment later, the eyes of the immobile body opened, and it began stretching its neck lazily.

“Hmm, not bad. Feels much better than the Soulless Metal Humanoid!” The ‘Qingtian Emperor’ smiled in delight before casually waving his hand at the soul on the altar.

Boom!

Killing intent burst into the surroundings as immense might poured forth like the relentless rapid tides of a river.

Feeling the strength harnessed within the body, Zhang Xuan could not help but remark, “How powerful!”

Even though he had roughly twenty Otherworldly Demon puppets in his storage ring, they came nowhere close to competing with the one he was currently possessing. To make an analogy, if the strength of the Otherworldly Demon puppets was only a little pond, the body he was currently possessing would be an endless sea!

“You…” The Qingtian Emperor felt as if he would explode from rage.

He was an Emperor of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, but not only did he fall for the ploys of a mere human, more importantly, the latter even used his own body to attack his soul!

Be it his body or his soul, he could not afford to have either of them injured!

“Damn it!” Knowing that he would die if he did not protect himself, the Qingtian Emperor swiftly gathered his soul energy together and formed a devastating force that clashed with Zhang Xuan’s slap.

Boom!

The collision ended with the physical body that Zhang Xuan controlled consecutively retreating eight steps.

He’s a True Leaving Aperture realm expert! Zhang Xuan’s face darkened.

He had thought that the Qingtian Emperor would be at Quasi Leaving Aperture realm as well, the same as Hall Master Xing and Pavilion Master Gou, but who knew that he would be a True Leaving Aperture realm expert, one who had undergone the lightning ordeal!

The souls of soul oracles were of the yin attribute, making it more difficult for them to clear the lightning ordeal compared to ordinary Primordial Spirits. The fact that the Qingtian Emperor had been able to succeed went to show that he possessed exceptional talent in cultivation.

“Come out of my body!” Ignoring Zhang Xuan’s shock, the Qingtian Emperor’s soul rushed forward and launched another wave of attacks. In an instant, Zhang Xuan felt the air freezing around him, making it difficult for him to move.

This was a method similar to what he had faced from Pavilion Master Gou during the pavilion crashing a few days earlier, but its might was several times stronger.

If Pavilion Master Gou had been able to draw forth such strength as well, he would have admitted defeat on the spot, thus resulting in the failure of his pavilion crashing.

After his body was bound in place, Zhang Xuan quickly felt a powerful suction force tugging at his soul, attempting to forcefully pull his soul out from the body.

“Calm down, calm down. I’ll come out, alright?” Knowing that the Qingtian Emperor would not rest until his soul was out of the other party’s body, Zhang Xuan shook his head. He quickly raised his fist and struck his own chest forcefully.

Peng!

Zhang Xuan was knocked back from the sheer impact of that strike, and a mouthful of crimson blood spewed from his mouth. That single strike had nearly killed the body on the spot.

“You!” the Qingtian Emperor roared furiously.

Can you get any more shameless than that?

That’s my body!

Peng!

Flustered, the Qingtian Emperor watched helplessly as the other party sank another palm into his body.

Pu!

More fresh blood spurted into the air.

“Stop it, stop it!” Tightly bound by the altar, the Qingtian Emperor’s soul was unable to break free and protect his body at all. Completely powerless, he could only shout again and again.

At this rate, his body might really be utterly destroyed from the young man’s self-harming. Even if he survived the ordeal, his cultivation would surely suffer a sharp decline!

“You stop first, and then I’ll stop.” Ignoring the Qingtian Emperor’s bellows, Zhang Xuan continued striking his body relentlessly.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop!” With a look dyed with hatred, the Qingtian Emperor gritted his teeth as he reluctantly retracted his hand.

He had no choice but to stop, or else the young man might just destroy his body for good. If so, it would be meaningless even if he managed to force the other party out of his body.

Boom!

However, right after he retracted his control over the surrounding space, freeing the young man to move as he pleased, the Qingtian Emperor suddenly saw a palm enlarging swiftly before him.

It seemed like the other party had no intention of stopping even when he did…

“You @#￥%…” the Qingtian Emperor cursed frenziedly.

When had he, the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, ever suffered such grievances?

There was no way out of this situation at all! The other party would kill his body if he made a move, but if he did not make a move, the other party would continue attacking his soul. He was doomed no matter what he did!

“Stop! I’m telling you to stop!” the Qingtian Emperor howled furiously as he gathered his soul energy once more to fend off the young man’s offense.

However, before the palm strike could reach him, the young man abruptly changed the trajectory of the palm strike to hit himself instead.

Pu pu pu!

The strike was far more vicious this time around. Fresh blood spurted wildly all over the place, a sign that the organs of the body might have sustained irreparable damage.

Panicked, the Qingtian Emperor quickly withdrew his strength to appease the young man, only to see the other party sending yet another palm strike toward him.

“…”

Unable to retaliate, the Qingtian Emperor felt his soul gradually growing weaker and weaker.

To think that he, a Leaving Aperture realm expert and one of the very few soul oracles existing in the world, would be cornered by a Saint 2-dan brat to this extent! He really felt his sanity being challenged!

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

Aren’t you a master teacher?

Shouldn’t master teachers be righteous and honest?

How could you possess my body and hold it hostage as you attack my soul?

This is unfair! Really, really unfair! How am I supposed to fight against that?

I can’t let this continue! At this rate, either my soul will dissipate, or my body will be crippled! the Qingtian Emperor thought grimly.

Admittedly, the young man’s underhanded measures were truly effective. By holding his body hostage, there was no way he would dare make a move against the young man, thus allowing the young man to freely attack his soul.

The Qingtian Emperor racked his mind for a solution to get him out of the quandary he was in, but nothing came to mind. Eventually, as his soul gradually sustained more and more damage, he lost the strength to withstand the suction force from the altar, and ‘hu!’, he disappeared into the altar.

Watching as the other party was absorbed into the other side of the altar, Zhang Xuan’s eyes suddenly widened in alarm. Sh*t!

He suddenly realized that he had made a mistake.

He had used the suction force of the altar to limit the Qingtian Emperor’s movements, but he had neglected the fact that his physical body was still lying on the other side. If the Qingtian Emperor made a move against his body in the meantime, he would be in deep trouble.

I must quickly make my way over as well!

Knowing that there was no time to lose, Zhang Xuan quickly drew his soul out of the Qingtian Emperor’s body and stowed the body into a storage ring.

He had come over in his soul form, so he did not have his storage ring with him. As such, he used the Qingtian Emperor’s one instead.

Without wasting any time, he quickly hid the storage ring at a secret location before swiftly traveling through the altar as well.

Hula!

With a brilliant flash of light, Zhang Xuan vanished as well.

…

Hu!

The Qingtian Emperor’s soul appeared in the underground chamber.

“What’s that?”

“Is that… a soul oracle?”

As the Qingtian Emperor’s soul harnessed overwhelming yin energy, it was swiftly noticed by Wu shi and the others as soon as it traveled over, and they swiftly rose to their feet in alarm.

Why are there so many master teachers here?

Out of worry, Wu shi had called for around thirty master teachers from the Master Teacher Pavilion to guard Zhang Xuan while he was cultivating and explore the underground chamber for clues, but who knew that the Qingtian Emperor would suddenly appear at this moment?

If they capture me, I will be doomed! Goosebumps rose all over the Qingtian Emperor’s body.

In his injured state, there was no way he could match so many master teacher simultaneously. Even as a Leaving Aperture realm expert, he could very well lose his life.

Just as the Qingtian Emperor was scanning his surroundings to formulate a countermeasure, he suddenly caught sight of Zhang Xuan’s unmoving body, and a sharp glint surfaced in his eyes. Wait a moment, isn’t that his body? Hahaha, wonderful! Since you possessed my body, I shall take yours as well!

‘Sou!’, he swiftly flitted his way over.

Since you were the one who started it, don’t blame me for this!

Let’s see who will have the last laugh!

Chapter 1193: Are You Looking for Me?

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Is that soul oracle trying to possess Zhang shi?”

“Quick, stop him!”

Sensing the soul oracle swiftly making its way toward Zhang Xuan, Wu shi and the others narrowed their eyes in astonishment. They swiftly moved to intercept the soul oracle.

Even though the Qingtian Emperor’s soul had been tempered by the Leaving Aperture Ordeal, the cold yin aura that shrouded around it was still very apparent. It was easily discernible through one’s Spiritual Perception.

Hualala!

Many surges of energy burst forth toward the Qingtian Emperor, wanting to strike him down.

“Humph!”

Under the barrage of attacks, even the Qingtian Emperor was unable to get off completely unscathed. Nevertheless, his eyes still narrowed in tenacity and callousness.

The reason he had been completely helpless before Zhang Xuan previously was because the latter had possessed his body, so he had not dared execute his strongest moves for fear that he would injure his own body. On the other hand, while the master teachers before him were not too powerful, they were still insufficient to stop him.

“Seal!” the Qingtian Emperor bellowed as he raised his finger.

Huala!

A ripple swept through the surroundings, and all of a sudden, it was as if the air in the underground chamber had been frozen by some compelling might. In the blink of an eye, it was as if everyone was standing in a marshland, severely limiting their movements and attacks.

“He’s a True Leaving Aperture realm expert!” Zhang Jiuxiao exclaimed anxiously.

One who wielded enough strength to seal all of their attacks simultaneously… there was no doubt about it; the soul oracle had already undergone the lightning ordeal and successfully reached True Leaving Aperture realm!

Against an expert of the other party’s caliber, their numerical advantage did not mean much.

Wu shi also swiftly came to the same conclusion. Knowing that the soul oracle before them was not a weak foe, he quickly bellowed, “Soaring Dragon Formation!”

The Soaring Dragon Formation was a formation that every master teacher in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion would practice in case of emergency situations.

Huala!

A moment after Wu shi issued the command, the disciplined master teachers had already formed the formation. The combined strength of over twenty master teachers quickly overwhelmed the seal that the Qingtian Emperor had cast over the surroundings, causing the seal to shatter as if a glacier breaking into ice shards.

A Leaving Aperture realm cultivator still was not qualified to come into contact with spatial laws yet. As such, the seal that they set up was not, in the truest sense, a sealing of space but a forceful impediment measure set up through their overwhelming strength. If there was another might that had exceeded the strength of the seal they had put up, the seal would shatter in an instant.

On the other hand, the Qingtian Emperor did not expect the master teachers to react so swiftly to his attack and break his seal in an instant. Not daring to hesitate in the least, he used the temporary lapse in the master teacher’s defenses as they were dealing with the seal to dash right toward Zhang Xuan before diving into the latter’s glabella.

“HAHAHA!”

Having successfully entered Zhang Xuan’s body, an inexplicable feeling of joy spread across the Qingtian Emperor’s entirety, and he could not help but burst into hearty laughter.

Trying to kill me?

Now that I am in that bastard’s body, let’s see what you can do about me!

“Principal Zhang!” Watching as the soul oracle successfully bypass their defenses and possess Zhang Xuan, the eyes of Wu shi and the others reddened in panic.

Even with their limited understanding of soul oracles, they knew that once a soul successfully possessed another individual’s body, the individual’s soul would be utterly destroyed!

They had specially been deployed there in order to protect Zhang shi while the latter was cultivating, and yet, such a matter had still occurred right in front of their eyes!

Huala!

Their initial fluster swiftly turned into rage as they surrounded Zhang Xuan’s body with sharp killing intent in their eyes.

“What? You want to make a move against me? Come on then! If you aren’t scared of killing this talented master teacher of yours, give it your best shot…” The Qingtian Emperor howled maniacally as he watched the angry faces around him in joy. However, before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly narrowed in disbelief, as if something inconceivable had just happened. “Ah? W-what is this? N-no, this can’t be! NOOOOOO!”

Putong! Amid the crescendoing scream of agony, Zhang Xuan’s body suddenly collapsed to the ground, convulsing endlessly.

“Ah?” Wu shi and the others were already prepared to make their move to avenge Zhang Xuan when such a sight suddenly appeared before their eyes. They could not help but glance at one another in confusion, not knowing what they should make of the situation before them.

Why would the person who was arrogantly boasting before their faces a moment ago suddenly be reduced to such a state?

“P-please! F-forgive me. I won’t possess your body anymore. Let me leave… Let me leave!” A desperate scream echoed as the Qingtian Emperor’s soul frenziedly tried to break out of Zhang Xuan’s body, only to realize that his pores had been completely sealed. There was no way for him to escape.

“Please, I’m begging you! Don’t kill me! I won’t do anything anymore, I promise you! So, please… Nooo!”

Tzzzzzz

The screaming grew louder and louder, as if reflecting the Qingtian Emperor’s deep fear of what he was seeing.

A while later, the voice finally began to soften, and it gradually quietened into silence.

Hu!

A flicker of light burst from the altar, and Zhang Xuan finally returned to the underground chamber as well.

Knowing the immense strength that the Qingtian Emperor wielded, he immediately rushed back as soon as he could. He had only managed to keep the latter in check but holding the latter’s body as hostage, but if the latter were to go on a rampage in Qingyuan City, it could very well spell a calamity!

Thus, as soon as he appeared, he immediately scanned the surroundings to find the Qingtian Emperor, only to see a room full of master teachers instead.

“Another one? Get him!” someone amid the crowd exclaimed.

Before Zhang Xuan could even process what was going on, a barrage of attacks suddenly fell upon him.

Having cultivated the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, Zhang Xuan’s soul was devoid of the usual yin attribute that soul oracles had. As such, it was not easily discernible to cultivators; only when a cultivator had their Spiritual Perception on would they stand a chance in perceiving the presence of Zhang Xuan’s soul.

However, activating one’s Spiritual Perception was extremely exhausting for a cultivator, so they could not afford to have it activated for extended periods of time. It was due to this that Zhang Xuan had been able to slip past most cultivators in his soul form easily.

But as luck would have it, the Qingtian Emperor’s sudden appearance had alarmed the surrounding master teachers, compelling them to activate their Spiritual Perception. On top of that, the flash of light from the altar had also caught their attention, allowing them to instantaneously notice Zhang Xuan’s presence.

Pilipala!

The seemingly omnipresent barrage of attacks heading toward him caused goosebumps to rise all over Zhang Xuan in alarm.

What the heck is going on?

I was only gone for a short moment; why are there so many master teachers in the area all of a sudden?

And why are they attacking me so furiously at that?

Have they… gone mad?

And where is the Qingtian Emperor?

To make things worse, there was no way Zhang Xuan could explain the situation. Otherwise, he would expose his identity as a soul oracle, and that would surely raise quite a huge storm within the Master Teacher Pavilion, bringing him endless trouble in the future.

Self-righteous individuals would impeach him for learning the depraved arts of the soul oracles whereas greedy individuals would possibly seek him out in the hope of obtaining the heritage of the soul oracles from him.

It would be foolish to raise another problem just to solve one.

Feeling so indignant within that he could have vomited blood, Zhang Xuan swiftly compressed his soul together through his Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, allowing him to avoid the barrage of attacks by a hair’s breadth.

After which, making use of the brief opening in the crowd’s attacks, he immediately dashed toward his body as fast as he could.

“Another one that’s trying to harm Zhang shi? You’re courting death!”

“Kill that bastard!”

Everyone’s eyes reddened in rage upon seeing the ‘enemy’s’ movements.

Their previous mistake had allowed the soul before to possess Zhang shi’s body, nearly costing Zhang shi his life. There was no way they were going to allow themselves to make the same mistake again!

Hualala!

Drawing all their strength, they immediately sent another frenzied barrage of attacks toward Zhang Xuan, preventing him from moving a single step further.

“…” Zhang Xuan would have torn all his hair out at that moment if he could.

Instead of dealing with the Qingtian Emperor, why was this group of master teachers so obsessed with stopping him?

“Ding Ding, come over here!” Zhang Xuan immediately called for the Golden Origin Cauldron through the telepathic connection from their soul contract.

“Master!” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s voice, the Golden Origin Cauldron immediately leaped up.

“Quick, bring my body over to the altar!” Zhang Xuan instructed.

Before the endless barrage of attacks in his path, there was no way Zhang Xuan could afford to forcefully push through. As such, he could only engage the Golden Origin Cauldron’s assistance.

“Very well!” Nodding, the Golden Origin Cauldron immediately leaped up toward Zhang Xuan’s body with a resounding ‘hu!’.

“Everyone, make way…” the Golden Origin Cauldron shouted as it rammed its way forward.

It slammed into Zhang Xuan’s body forcefully, sending it flying straight toward the altar.

Pilipala!

The crisp sound of bone cracking.

“…” Zhang Xuan slapped his forehead.

Can’t you treat my body more carefully?

He knew that the Golden Origin Cauldron was not a reliable individual, and this matter only served to further his belief…

As stifled as he felt, he knew that this was not the moment to be concerned about this matter. Watching as his body flew in his direction, his soul swiftly dived into his body.

As soon as he regained control over his body, he immediately drove his zhenqi to heal his injuries before opening his eyes once more.

Standing before the group of master teachers, he asked, “The Qingtian Emperor should have come by earlier. Did any of you see him…”

But before Zhang Xuan could finish his words, he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere was not right. Somehow, he felt as if everyone’s killing intent was directed toward him.

Thus, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you all trying to do?”

“Who are you? Even if you possess Principal Zhang’s body, do you think that we will allow you to get out of here alive?” Wu shi bellowed furiously.

Through their Spiritual Perception, they had personally witnessed the soul that had just arrived earlier diving into Zhang Xuan’s body, possessing it. That sight had nearly made them erupt on the spot.

It was one thing for them to fail to stop the earlier soul from possessing Zhang Xuan’s body, but for the second soul to succeed as well…

Do you honestly think that our Master Teacher Pavilion is full of pushovers? Do you think that Zhang shi’s body is your playground?

Seeing that the crowd was only showing such a response out of worry for him, Zhang Xuan shook his head and patiently explained, “I am Zhang Xuan. I’ve just awoken from my earlier cultivation…”

“Do you think that we’ll believe your words?” Wu shi roared angrily.

The rage of the other master teachers did not alleviate at all either. If anything, the hostility in their eyes seemed to have further deepened.

You opened your eyes right after the soul entered Zhang shi’s body, and you still dare to claim that you are Zhang shi… Do you really take us for fools?

“You don’t believe me?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “Wu shi, the attack you used on me earlier was the seventh move of the Six Harmony Swords. Your execution has eight flaws in total, namely inept swordsmanship, lack of control in your breathing, unrefined execution of strength, incomplete conception in the technique…”

Knowing that there was no way he could explain his way out of this, Zhang Xuan decided to resort to another method to convince them of his identity instead.

Flaw identification was a capability that master teachers were the most adept at. Naturally, it was also the best way for him to verify his identity.

“This…” Hearing how the young man sharply pointed out all the flaws in his technique with ease, Wu shi could not help but widen his eyes in astonishment.

“Last but not least, your soul has sustained some degree of damage from the demonic tunes back at the Qiu Wu Palace, and it has not recovered since then. As such, it has affected your execution of techniques to some degree. May I know if what I have said is correct?”

Wu shi was stunned for a moment before hurriedly nodding. “Y-you’re right…”

“Then… am I Zhang Xuan?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

“Y-yes, you are…” Wu shi quickly nodded affirmatively.

To be able to point out all his flaws while being aware of the happenings back at the Qiu Wu Palace, who else could the young man before him be if not Zhang Xuan?

After seeing that he had successfully convinced the crowd of his identity, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Then, with a confused frown, he asked, “What happened earlier? Why are all of you attacking me?”

Knowing that there could very well be master teachers on the other side, he had made sure to proceed very carefully. And yet, he still ended up being exposed in an instant and even nearly lost his life as a result of it. Furthermore, even if he was an unidentified intruder in their eyes, their rage seemed to be a little too excessive. Without a doubt, something must have happened before he arrived.

“It’s like this…” Wu shi quickly filled Zhang Xuan in on the earlier happenings.

“You are saying that… a soul dived into my body, and shortly after, he began screaming in agony?” Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head.

Was that Qingtian Emperor a fool? His body was filled with Heaven’s Path zhenqi, the very nemesis of soul oracles. And yet, he brazenly dared to possess his body… That was no different from leaping into a pool of toxic for him!

He had been feeling a little vexed about the Qingtian Emperor’s escape earlier, but who would have thought that the latter would be so dumb as to end his own life?

Or maybe, he felt too indignant from seeing me possessing his body, and blinded by rage, he wanted to possess mine to return the favor… Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.

Who would have thought that the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, would meet his end in such an unintelligent manner? Judging by Wu shi’s account, the Qingtian Emperor should have been reduced to ash from being burned by his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, thus dissipating from the face of the world.

Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I was cultivating a unique cultivation technique earlier, which temporarily deprived me of my awareness of my surroundings. If I’m not mistaken, those two soul oracles should have died from the passive ability of one of the secret arts I cultivate.”

“I see, that’s a relief.”

Hearing that the matter concerned Zhang Xuan’s secret art, the crowd decided not to ask any further.

On the other hand, Wu shi knew very well what was going on.

Zhang Xuan was a Celestial Master Teacher, and how could the body of a Celestial Master Teacher be taken away by a soul oracle so easily?

“Thank you for protecting me earlier.” Knowing that the crowd was doing it all for him, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and thanked them.

The crowd quickly clasped their fists back and replied, “There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Zhang shi.”

After trading some pleasantries, Zhang Xuan took his leave before curiously assessing the internal state of his body.

Even if the Qingtian Emperor had been killed by the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, there should still have been some traces of the other party within his body.

At this moment, a bone-chilling voice suddenly sounded in his mind, as if a specter.

“Hehe, are you looking for me?”

Chapter 1194: An Eye

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Who is it?” Zhang Xuan suddenly felt all his hair stand on end.

For the other party to get into his mind without his noticing it… Who could it be?

He quickly turned his attention to the area where the voice came from, and a pitch-black tunnel appeared before him. It seemed to extend on and on, into a dark abyss.

The bone-chilling voice spoke once more. “Come over!”

Following which, Zhang Xuan felt his consciousness falter, and by the time he came to, he was already standing right before the tunnel.

To think that he would be completely helpless before the other party’s strength!

“Who in the world are you?” Zhang Xuan asked with an awful complexion as he swiftly scanned his surroundings. It did not take him long to realize that there was a massive eye right before him.

The gaze of the massive eye was deeply unnerving. It seemed to peer right into the depths of one’s mind, intensifying whatever dark thoughts one had.

“No wonder you were able to land my subordinate in such a pitiful state…” A cold sneer echoed from the massive eye. “A Celestial Master Teacher, huh? It has been many years since Kong shi, so it’s probably about time for another one to appear.”

“You can tell?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in alarm as he felt tension clutch his heart.

Even a Saint 7-dan expert like Luo Chengxin was unable to see through his identity, and yet, the fellow before him was able to tell with just a single glance. Just how powerful could the other party be?

The eye harrumphed coldly. “If I could not even tell this much, the years I spent fighting against Kong shi would have really been wasted!”

“Years spent fighting against Kong shi? You are… Vicious?” Zhang Xuan asked with a deep frown.

Previously, the Vicious that he was sealed within his Book of Heaven’s Path had already told him that the secret art to nabbing souls had been created by him, and it was highly likely that there was another body part of Vicious in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows. But who would have thought that the other party would appear here!

In the form of a massive eye at that!

“You have heard of my name?” the eye asked curiously. “Well, that is to be expected. I managed to trap Kong shi within Chen-Cai, nearly killing him. Even if you master teachers wish to preserve Kong shi’s honor, there will inevitably be some records of me!”

“Trap Kong shi?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

Due to the tremendous damage he had suffered prior to his death, the memory of the Vicious that he had sealed within his Book of Heaven’s Path was fragmented. As a result, that Vicious had remembered very few details concerning Kong shi.

On the other hand, the Vicious before him seemed to know much more.

While he did not have as deep respect for Kong shi as compared to the other master teachers, he had always known the latter to be an invincible existence on the Master Teacher Continent. Yet, for Vicious to have successfully trapped Kong shi in Chen-Cai and nearly killed the latter… just how powerful could Vicious have been at his peak?

“Hmm? It seems like you are unaware of that. Well, it does not matter anyway. If I devour a Celestial Master Teacher, I should be able to recover a significant portion of my strength. With that, I will be able to struggle free of my restraints and become a free man once more!” A sharp glint emerged in the massive eye as Vicious’ voice sounded with a tinge of excitement in it.

“For that, you will have no choice but to die!”

Hu!

Right after those words were spoken, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt an incomparably powerful suction force pulling him in from the depths of the tunnel, forcefully dragging his soul in.

Sh*t… This is the soul nabbing secret art? Zhang Xuan’s face immediately turned incredibly awful.

He had nearly succumbed to the soul nabbing secret art when it was executed by the Qingtian Emperor, and now that it was being executed by Vicious himself, the creator of the technique, how could he possibly stand a chance?

Watching as his soul was being dragged toward the tunnel, goosebumps rose all over Zhang Xuan’s arms.

As expected of the individual who had once fought toe-to-toe with Kong shi! Even if Vicious retained no more than a small fragment of the strength he possessed earlier, it was still not something that he could withstand.

There was simply too huge a difference between them!

At this rate, it’s just a matter of time before I get swallowed whole!

Even though he had no idea what was at the end of the tunnel, his instincts told him that he would be doomed if he was pulled over to the other side.

Thus, clenching his jaws, he drove his soul energy to the maximum and firmly persevered on. At the same time, he discreetly established a telepathic connection with the Book of Heaven’s Path and asked Vicious about the current situation.

“If I’m not mistaken, that should be my head and my eye,” Vicious quickly replied.

“Do you have any idea how I can deal with this?” Zhang Xuan asked anxiously

“As powerful as the soul nabbing secret art is, its effectiveness is limited across vast distances. In such circumstances, a medium may be required. For example, the Qingtian Emperor only managed to faze you through amplifying the prowess of the secret art through the altar.

“Well, back when I was at my peak, I was able to kill any Saint 2-dan cultivator easily as long as they were within a million li 1 from me, but given the current state that I am in… there’s a high chance that the other party is using some kind of medium as well. As long as you destroy the medium, the soul nabbing secret art should be undone!” Vicious quickly explained.

Back when he was at his peak, as long as he had a droplet of the other party’s blood to trace the other party down, he would have been able to easily kill a Saint 2-dan expert even from a million li away. However, with his body parts scattered around the continent, he was currently nothing more than a shadow of his former self. Even if the other Vicious had recovered to a greater degree than him, it still should not have been possible for the other party to cast the soul nabbing secret art over a great distance.

The only possibility was that the other Vicious, just like the previous Qingtian Emperor, was using something nearby as a medium for his technique!

A medium? Wait a moment… Hearing those words, a thought streaked across Zhang Xuan’s mind. The Qingtian Emperor’s soul!

Considering that it was just a moment ago that the Qingtian Emperor’s soul had entered his body before the other Vicious’ abrupt emergence, it was very likely that the medium was the Qingtian Emperor’s soul!

It seems like that fellow still has a breath left in him. Humph, let me see where you are hiding! With a direction in mind, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. While pushing his soul energy to his limit to fend off the suction force, he extended his Spiritual Perception throughout his entire body to find the hiding Qingtian Emperor.

Found you!

It took just a moment for Zhang Xuan to notice a fragmented soul hiding in a corner of his mind.

When uncontrolled, the Heaven’s Path zhenqi could circulate through his entire body, but it could not reach his mind. It seemed like the sharp-witted Qingtian Emperor had swiftly noticed this and dived for his mind, thus surviving the ordeal.

Humph! Zhang Xuan swiftly drew his Heaven’s Path zhenqi toward his mind to destroy the remnants of the Qingtian Emperor’s soul.

” Ahhh! ”

Amidst the Qingtian Emperor’s cry of agony, Zhang Xuan felt the suction force growing weaker and weaker. At the same time, the massive eye also began to fade from existence along with the tunnel.

“You noticed it? Well, it matters not. You might have survived this time around, but I’ll eventually get you…” With a menacing bellow, the massive eye vanished with a resounding ‘hu!’

Zhang Xuan’s surroundings abruptly morphed, and in the next moment, he found that he was still standing in the underground chamber, as if nothing had happened at all. However, the cold sweat that he was drenched in reminded him of how close he had come to death.

In just an instant, the other Vicious had successfully put him in a trance and nearly devoured him whole.

That was a close one! Even though he was finally out of danger, Zhang Xuan found that his heart just would not calm down.

It was too scary!

Had he not reacted swiftly, his soul could have been dragged over to the other side!

He might have managed to outwit the Qingtian Emperor, but it would not have been easy for him to do the same to Vicious.

“Master, pardon me for not making a move then. I could not do anything in that situation, or else I would have exposed my existence. Once that fellow knows of my presence, he’ll surely pursue you with even more extreme methods, and that would have just placed you in greater danger!” Vicious explained from the Book of Heaven’s Path.

“I understand.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

The other party was right.

While the Book of Heaven’s Path had limited his Vicious’ activity, the divine aura that shrouded it had concealed his presence as well, preventing the other Vicious from perceiving his existence. However, if his Vicious were to make a move, the other Vicious would surely sense his existence.

Every single independent Vicious was trying to seek and devour the other Viciouses so as to regain his strength. While their side was trying to hunt down the other Viciouses, there was no doubt that the other Viciouses had the same intentions in mind as well.

They were currently still unprepared to deal with the other Vicious, so it would be unwise for them expose themselves.

Furthermore, once the other Vicious learned of the existence of his Vicious, the other Vicious would surely raise his guard, making their chances of overwhelming him very slim.

At the very least, with his Vicious hidden in the shadows, he would have another effective card to play against the other Vicious. This would put them in a more advantageous position.

“How strong is the other party? Are you a match for him?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Vicious hesitated for a moment before replying. “I can’t clearly gauge his current strength, but from the looks of it… he’s is at the Leaving Aperture realm at the very minimum! I am no match for him in my current state. However, if I could devour the Qingtian Emperor’s soul, I should be able to reach Leaving Aperture realm as well!”

“Devour the Qingtian Emperor’s soul?” Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before nodding in approval.

Even though the Qingtian Emperor was an Otherworldly Demon, he had inherited the heritage of the soul oracles, and his cultivation had even reached the True Leaving Aperture realm. If Vicious were to consume the Qingtian Emperor’s soul, it would surely benefit him greatly.

“Thank you!” Vicious replied in gratitude.

Zhang Xuan paused for a moment before adding, “Wait a moment first, I wish to interrogate him first. I’ll pass him over to you once I’m done.”

Trapped by the Heaven’s Path zhenqi and grinded down from the earlier clash, the Qingtian Emperor no longer posed any threat to him.

There were still some doubts in his mind that he wanted to clarify with the Qingtian Emperor.

“Principal Zhang…”

While it seemed to have been a lengthy encounter, in truth, only ten seconds had passed since the appearance of the black tunnel. Raising his head, he saw Wu shi looking at him with a worried look.

“I’m fine. Wu shi, I need you to follow me somewhere. Oh right, get your men to move the altar to the Master Teacher Pavilion and hand it over to the envoy from the headquarters once he arrives. That would serve as evidence of the activities of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe here,” Zhang Xuan said.

“Noted!” Wu shi quickly issued some instructions before following Zhang Xuan out of the underground chamber.

Returning to Chen Zhe’s residence, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and began scanning the area once more. It did not take long before he identified a direction and swiftly began heading in it.

Chen Zhe’s residence was located in the suburbs of Qingyuan City. As such, it did not take long for Zhang Xuan and Wu shi to travel beyond the city walls and into the depths of the mountain forest. Soon, a tattered, wooden hut appeared before their eyes.

Finally arriving at the destination, Zhang Xuan remarked in astonishment, “Here it is… I never thought that the two would be so far away from one another!”

He had thought that the two altars should be in proximity with one another, but who would have thought that there would be a distance of several dozen kilometers between the two? To be able to drag his soul across such distance, Vicious’ secret art was truly fearsome!

Entering the wooden hut, Zhang Xuan swiftly retrieved the storage ring that he had hidden earlier.

“This…”

On the other hand, a look of disbelief surfaced on Wu shi’s face when he noticed that there was an identical altar in the wooden hut as well.

“Take a look at who this is…” Zhang Xuan drove his Heaven’s Path zhenqi to destroy the Soul Imprint of the storage ring before flicking his wrist. A corpse materialized before him.

“Isn’t this… Vice Pavilion Master Tian? Didn’t he explode earlier?” Wu shi was taken aback.

Tian Qing had exploded right before his eyes, and he had sent the other party’s body back to the Master Teacher Pavilion for investigation. How could there be another corpse here?

Furthermore, this body was completely intact, and it commanded an even stronger aura than Vice Pavilion Master Tian’s!

“This is his disguise,” Zhang Xuan said as he flicked his hand over the Qingtian Emperor’s body.

Huala!

The corpse suddenly grew much bulkier, and its height abruptly increased to more than two meters. While there was no significant difference in its facial features, a fearsome killing intent abruptly burst forth from him.

“He’s an Otherworldly Demon?” Wu shi’s eyes narrowed in shock.

“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Not only is he an Otherworldly Demon, he’s the Qingtian Emperor!”

“The Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage?” Wu shi could not believe what he was hearing.

How could Vice Pavilion Master Tian have been an Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage?

If that was true, how could he have failed to notice it despite having known the other party for several centuries?

“It’s like this…” Zhang Xuan swiftly filled Wu shi in on the story.

“This…” Wu shi’s lips quivered in horror.

To think that the Qingtian Emperor would have successfully incarnated his soul and even risen to the position of the vice head of the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion without their notice! This was truly a horrifying oversight on their part!

If this was the case for Qing Tian, how many other master teachers in their Master Teacher Pavilion were Otherworldly Demons in disguise?

Chapter 1195: Celestial Amulet of Legacy

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“You should understand why I asked you to come here with me alone. This matter must not leak out at any cost, or else it could stir a panic among the populace!”

Seeing that Wu shi had understood the severity of the issue, Zhang Xuan instructed, “Nevertheless, it’s still of paramount importance that we uncover the traitors of mankind, or else they could bring catastrophe upon us. Thus, you must conduct the investigation privately and destroy whatever lingering influence the Qingtian Emperor has in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion once and for all!”

“I understand!” Wu shi nodded.

He knew that Zhang Xuan was right. If they could not purge the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion of its spies, it would only be a matter of time before the spies did them in.

“I’ll leave this corpse to you. When the envoy from the headquarters arrives, use it as evidence and report the matter to him,” Zhang Xuan said.

It was true that the body of the Qingtian Emperor wielded incredible strength, but it was not as agile and nimble as being in his own body. As such, he did not think that there was a need for him to retain the Qingtian Emperor’s body for his own use.

More importantly, a vice pavilion master was even involved in the matter. In view of that, it would not be convenient for him to use the body in public. As such, it was best to leave the matter to Wu shi.

“Thank you.” Wu shi clasped his fist in gratitude before stowing the corpse into his storage ring.

To be honest, if not for the young man before him, he never would have believed that the meritorious Vice Pavilion Master Tian was the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage!

“Alright, you should return back to the Master Teacher Pavilion to deal with the matter. I also want to take a rest,” Zhang Xuan said.

Hearing those words, Wu shi bade his farewell before leaving.

After Wu shi left, Zhang Xuan swiftly stowed the altar before him into his storage ring. Following which, he took out the Qingtian Emperor’s storage ring and extended his consciousness into it.

As the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, the Qingtian Emperor would have plenty of treasures in his possession.

Hu!

A painting materialized in Zhang Xuan’s hands. It was the grade-8 painting that he had appraised a while back.

Placing the painting aside, he continued looking on.

A moment later, he delightfully took out a few jade boxes from the storage ring.

Slowly opening them, a concentrated surge of spiritual energy suddenly gushed into Zhang Xuan’s face, leaving him feeling refreshed.

Concentrated high-tier spirit stones!

Six jade boxes with five concentrated high-tier spirit stones each… That means there’s a total of thirty of them here! Zhang Xuan thought in agitation.

He had only managed to obtain 18 concentrated high-tier spirit stones from the emperor of the Qingyuan Empire, and yet, who could have thought that the Qingtian Emperor would actually have thirty of them in his possession.

The Qingtian Lineage sure was wealthy!

With this thirty, I should be able to advance to the Embryonic Soul realm easily! Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

Strength was the foundation he had to build up before he could pursue anything.

Only with sufficient strength would he be able to vie for the slot to the Sanctum of Sages, rise through the ranks, and gain the ability to negotiate on equal terms with the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan.

Time was truly not on his side. He only had until the third month of next year.

He did not want to see his lover getting married to a ‘so-called’ talent of the Zhang Clan whom she had not even met before!

After obtaining the concentrated high-tier spirit stones, Zhang Xuan decided to leap straight into the Myriad Anthive Nest.

It was quieter within the nest, and he did not have to worry about being interrupted by anyone in there.

Crossing his legs, he placed the thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones in front of him before muttering, “Time to start!”

Concentrating his focus on his soul, he moved his soul toward his Origin Core once more, and this time, he managed to successfully infuse his soul into the Origin Core without any problems.

At the same time, he swiftly devoured the spiritual energy contained within the concentrated high-tier spirit stones and channeled it through his meridians toward his Origin Core.

In order to reach the Embryonic Soul realm, he would have to fuse his soul and Origin Core together and morph it into the shape of an embryo. He had already compiled the cultivation technique required for the morphing process, and all that he had been lacking was spirit stones.

Driven with immense power, the massive congregation of spiritual energy crashed toward the Origin Core with astounding momentum.

Boom!

As the rate at which Zhang Xuan absorbed spiritual energy increased, a vortex of spiritual energy quickly formed around him. Under the massive impact from the crashing spiritual energy, a gap finally opened in his Origin Core.

A small hand slowly crept through the small gap in his Origin Core.

Knowing that this was the crucial period, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up as he channeled all the spiritual energy he had absorbed toward his Origin Core at maximum speed. “Break!”

Sila!

The Origin Core finally broke open, and a small infant slowly climbed out from it.

This is… an Embryonic Soul?

Seeing his Embryonic Soul, Zhang Xuan’s lips could not help but twitch uncontrollably.

It was true that his Embryonic Soul did resemble a baby, similar to that of other cultivators, but… his Embryonic Soul was ten meters tall!

Imagine a ten-meter-tall baby… This was truly frightening!

An ominous feeling suddenly arose in Zhang Xuan’s heart. This… Just how much spiritual energy will I require to develop it into a Primordial Spirit…

If his Embryonic Soul was this much bigger than that of the other cultivators, did it not mean that the spiritual energy he would require to achieve a breakthrough would surely be much greater others? Other cultivators might only require a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone to cultivate through the entire Embryonic Soul realm or even achieve a breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit realm.

But with the size of his Embryonic Soul, he really could not begin to imagine how many concentrated high-tier spirit stones he would require.

Sighing deeply, Zhang Xuan continued absorbing the spiritual energy within the concentrated high-tier spirit stones to raise his cultivation.

Some time later, when the final concentrated high-tier spirit stone broke, Zhang Xuan slowly opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly.

Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage…

He had thought that thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stone should suffice for him to reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle, but who would have thought that they were completely depleted by the time he reached Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage?

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in frustration. At this rate, I’ll require at least fifty more concentrated high-tier spirit stone before I can reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle…

Even finding a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone felt like finding a needle in a haystack. Where in the world was he supposed to find the fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stone required for him to reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle?

In the first place, it was doubtful that he could find so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones even if he flipped Qingyuan City upside down!

Sighing deeply once more, Zhang Xuan consoled himself. At the very least, despite the fearsome rate of depletion of spirit stones, my fighting prowess did rise proportionately to the consumption.

While it did pain his heart to see thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones vanishing so swiftly, admittedly, he was still rather satisfied with the rise in his fighting prowess.

Previously, he would have struggled to be a match for Pavilion Master Gou, relying heavily on his superior combat skills and adept use of formations to achieve victory. However, with his newfound strength, he would be able to match even the Leaving Aperture realm Qingtian Emperor!

In other words, despite possessing only a cultivation of Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage, he was already on par with a Leaving Aperture realm primary stage cultivator!

With such strength, it could be said that he had finally reached the peak of the Qingyuan Empire!

When he first arrived at Qingyuan City, he was only a Saint 1-dan pinnacle rookie, only able to match Saint 3-dan cultivators. Even Primordial Spirit realm cultivators would have been able to do him in easily. But now, even Hall Master Xing was not a match for him.

Ah, time sure flies…

Just thinking of it evoked some reminiscence within him.

This should be the eighth day since I arrived in Qingyuan City, Zhang Xuan remarked internally as a slight tinge of redness slowly crept across his face.

Eight whole days, and yet, he had only advanced less than two realms. Zhang Xuan could not help but feel deeply ashamed of himself. It seemed like he really needed to work harder from now on.

Forget it. I should check on that fellow now.

Tossing aside his stifled feelings, Zhang Xuan tapped the area before him, and a soul appeared before his eyes.

At this moment, the Qingtian Emperor had already been ground down by the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, retaining only half of his original strength. Severely wounded, he seemed to be spiritless and lethargic, reminiscent of a person on his deathbed.

Nevertheless, upon catching sight of Zhang Xuan, flames of hostility began burning in his eyes.

“You son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!” Roaring furiously, the Qingtian Emperor charged forward to tear the young man before him apart. However, before he could even deal any damage, a single finger abruptly appeared before his eyes.

Padah!

The next moment, the Qingtian Emperor found himself firmly pressed down on the floor, unable to move at all no matter how hard he struggled.

“Y-y-you… How can you be so strong?” The Qingtian Emperor narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

It was just a while ago that the other party had been no match for him at all. How could the other party have become so much stronger in the blink of an eye?

To be able to render him powerless with a single finger… just what kind of cultivation realm had he reached?

Since he could not be bothered to waste his breath with the other party, Zhang Xuan got straight to business. “As an Otherworldly Demon, how did you manage to cross over to the Master Teacher Continent? How did you become acquainted with Vicious and inherit the heritage of the soul oracles? How many spies of yours are there in the Master Teacher Pavilion? Speak! I’ll just say this once; I have plenty of time to play with you. Confess, and I’ll consider giving you a painless death. Otherwise, I’ll become your worst nightmare…”

The reason he did not let Vicious swallow the Qingtian Emperor directly was because he wanted to find out these things from the other party’s mouth.

“Hahaha!” Raising his head proudly, the Qingtian Emperor obstinately declared, “Do you think that I’ll submit to human scum like you? Dream on! I am the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, death brings no fear to me…”

However, before he could finish his words, a kick suddenly fell on his head, smashing it into the ground.

Following which, he heard the voice of the young man once more. “Vicious, as long as I retain his soul energy for your consumption, it won’t matter if I kill his consciousness, right?”

“Very well, I won’t stand on ceremony then.”

Right after saying those words, the other party’s palm rose up, and a surge of burning Heaven’s Path zhenqi gathered in his grasp.

The palm gradually lowered toward the Qingtian Emperor, leaving him with a burning sensation that was intensifying by the moment.

The Qingtian Emperor tried to struggle free but to no avail. When the palm finally fell on his soul, a wretched scream escaped from his lips. “You… AHHHH!”

He had been planning to grit his teeth and bear the torture until the very end, but in the very next moment, he saw the other party flicking his finger and pulling a thin thread from his soul.

The eyes of the Qingtian Emperor immediately widened in horror. “Soul Search!”

As a soul oracle, there was no way he would be unaware of the technique that Zhang Xuan was executing. Known to be one of the most violent techniques of the soul oracles, it would put the victim through excruciating pain and deal irreparable damage. Even if his soul did not dissipate at the end of the process, the chances were that he would have become mentally retarded.

For a person as proud and lofty as the Qingtian Emperor, the thought of living life mentally retarded was unacceptable to him, and it filled him with tremendous fear.

“I’ll speak, I’ll speak!” the Qingtian Emperor immediately exclaimed.

“I already gave you a chance earlier. It’s too late now.” Unwilling to waste his breath on the other party, Zhang Xuan forcefully tugged on the string and pulled it out.

Toward his enemies, he was not so patient and kind as to offer them second chances. It was only out of consideration of Vicious’ needs that he had spared the Qingtian Emperor for so long. However, since Vicious did not require the latter’s mind to be intact, there was no need for him to hesitate any longer.

At this point, he could tell that the other party’s mental fortitude had already fallen, so he would be able to acquire whatever he needed through the Soul Search.

Tzzzzzzz!

After drawing out the other party’s memory, Zhang Xuan began studying it carefully.

Two hours later, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply before rubbing his glabella.

Through his Soul Search, he had already gained a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the incident.

Around two thousand years ago, this Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage had unwittingly established a connection to Vicious’ consciousness in the midst of a ritual.

Making use of that opportunity, Vicious had used a secret art that tapped into the energy from the tributes to teleport the Qingtian Emperor over and imparted the cultivation techniques of the soul oracles to him.

In order to infiltrate the higher ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he had bid his time while kidnapping young infants who showed some talent for cultivation, intending to reincarnate his will within them.

This secret art was extremely complicated, and it would deal severe damage to one’s soul as well.

Even tapping into Vicious’ deep comprehension of souls, he could only afford to use the technique once every ten years. It had taken 120 attempts before he managed to succeed with Tian Qing.

As for why the Qingtian Emperor would go through so much trouble to infiltrate the higher ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion personally, the reason was detailed in his memory as well.

“It’s for Kong shi’s ‘Celestial Amulet of Legacy’!” Zhang Xuan muttered with a grim expression.

Chapter 1196: The Friendly Spar Between the Combat Master Halls Begins!

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Before Kong shi disappeared, he left behind six Celestial Amulets of Legacy. One was known to be with the Master Teacher Pavilion whereas the other five had disappeared from the face of the world.

Legend had it that the gathering of all six Celestial Amulets of Legacy would herald the opening of the Temple of Confucius, and those who entered it would be able to obtain his ultimate treasure… the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn!

It was for this reason that many people had been seeking the Celestial Amulets of Legacy over the past several dozen millenniums, but it was a pity that they were nowhere to be found.

Or perhaps, they might have already been found, just that no one dared proclaim their ownership of them.

After all, this was linked to Kong shi’s ultimate treasure. Even master teachers would lose their rationality before it.

It was through the mouth of Vicious that the Qingtian Emperor had learned of the news concerning the Celestial Amulets of Legacy, and in a bid to lay his hands on it, he had set up elaborate plans.

Through his Soul Search, Zhang Xuan realized that there was a reason that the Qingtian Emperor was so determined to find the Qiu Wu Palace. “Based on the Qingtian Emperor’s memories, there should be a key to finding a Celestial Amulet of Legacy within the Qiu Wu Palace, but… it doesn’t seem like anything is there at all.”

Rather, he had made the decision to seek out the Qiu Wu Palace only after tracing down the clues he had. On top of learning that there was a key to the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, he had also discovered that there was a sliver of Kong shi’s will that lingered in there as well.

If things had gone well, he might even have been able to uncover the precise location of the Temple of Confucius while obtaining the Celestial Amulet of Legacy.

The Temple of Confucius was a heritage that Kong shi had left behind for the later generations. It was hidden within the void, and there was no one in the world who knew where it was located.

It seems like the intelligence that the Qingtian Emperor has obtained is untrue… Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He had looked through the Qiu Wu Palace twice, but there was nothing reminiscent of a key in there! In fact, there was not a single thing in there that pointed to the Celestial Amulets of Legacy at all.

Well, how could the elusive Celestial Amulets of Legacy be obtained so easily?

Other than the Qiu Wu Palace, the Qingtian Emperor had also learned that a painter had chanced upon a Celestial Amulet of Legacy, and he had detailed it with a painting of Kong shi’s silhouette.

After hearing the rumors, the Qingtian Emperor had swiftly captured the painter to interrogate him, but to no avail.

Three years ago, he had unintentionally found the heritage that the painter had left behind, and within the heritage was a certain grade-8 painting. He had suspected that the painting might have been the one mentioned in those rumors, and as luck would have it, he discovered a seal on it. That had further supported his deduction. Unfortunately, he had been unable to find a way to decipher the seal.

After many failures, he had eventually decided to turn to the head of the Qingyuan Empire Appraiser Hall, Guild Leader Mu, for help.

And the rest was as how Zhang Xuan remembered it.

Zhang Xuan frowned. Does that mean that the place that I saw in the painting was the location where the Celestial Amulet of Legacy is located?

While the clue concerning the Qiu Wu Palace had led to a dead end, it was a fact that he had seen Kong shi’s silhouette within the grade-8 painting, so there should have been no mistake about it.

Zhang Xuan made up his mind. I really must investigate where the mountain range is after I return and find it…

On top of uncovering that, Zhang Xuan also managed to obtain a list of traitors from the Master Teacher Pavilion as well.

There were more a hundred of them, and they were scattered throughout the Qingyuan Empire.

The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was blessed with long lifespans, far exceeding the thousand years that a human Saint realm cultivator would have. Thus, it had not been too difficult for them to plant a few spies here and there.

Not all master teachers were strong-willed enough to withstand the sweet whisperings of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, so some of them had eventually succumbed and become their puppets.

Zhang Xuan swiftly jotted down a copy of their names before sending them over to Wu shi through his Communication Jade Token. After that was done, he heaved a long sigh of relief.

With this, they would be able to root out the Qingtian Emperor’s influence in the Qingyuan Empire once and for all.

“Vicious, I’ll leave him to you.”

After uncovering all that he wanted to know, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and passed the soul of the Qingtian Emperor over to Vicious.

In the two thousand years that the Qingtian Emperor had spent living among the humans, he had stained his hands with the blood of countless master teachers. To be honest, Zhang Xuan thought that the other party was getting off too lightly.

“Thank you, Master!” Vicious replied excitedly.

Getting to his feet, Zhang Xuan stretched his back lazily as he began pondering over a new plan to obtain more concentrated high-tier spirit stone. However, in that moment, he suddenly recalled a certain matter, and his lips began twitching wildly.

I forgot that I promised Hall Master Xing to train his combat masters. Earlier, he said that the combat masters from the other three Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls would be arriving in three days…

He had headed right for the Master Teacher Pavilion for his promotion to 7-star master teacher right after preparing the training regimes for the combat masters. After getting caught up in an entire string of matters, four days had passed in a flash.

In other words, the combat masters from the other three Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls should have arrived by now, and the friendly spar might have already begun!

I should rush back to take a look!

Swiftly leaving the Myriad Anthive Nest, Zhang Xuan realized that the sun was hanging high in the sky. It was already the noon of the fourth day.

Back then, Hall Master Xing had told him that if he trained the combat masters well and led them to victory in the friendly spar, he would split half of the reward from the Combat Master Hall headquarters with him. This was a precious source of concentrated high-tier spirit stones for him! No matter what, he needed to witness the exchange with his own eyes.

At this point, he could only pray that those fellows had obediently followed his training regime. Otherwise, if they lost… that would be fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stones!

Just the thought of it was sufficient to make his heart bleed in pain!

Hu!

Anxious, he rushed all the way toward the Combat Master Hall.

…

In the training hall of the Combat Master Hall…

Countless combat masters were gathered in the area, their eyes fixated on the dueling platforms in the middle.

At the very forefront of the spectator stand, ahead of the crowd gathered in the area, sat four elders. One of them was Hall Master Xing.

“Hall Master Xing, I heard rumors that your combat masters have joined that… what is it called again? Xuanxuan Faction? According to what I have heard, it seems to be an organization from a Tier-1 Empire, right?”

Before the friendly spar had even begun, the other three elders had already turned sharp gazes toward Hall Master Xing as they questioned him with deep frowns on their faces.

The Combat Master Hall represented the highest fighting prowess in the Master Teacher Continent, and yet, the combat masters of the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall had actually lowered themselves to joining a master teacher organization of a Tier-1 Empire… This was truly inconceivable!

It was true that the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall was the weakest of them all, but surely they did not have to lower themselves to such an extent!

To band themselves together with a group of ordinary master teachers… they were practically tossing aside the dignity of the combat masters!

“Yes, that’s right,” Hall Master Xing replied.

The ten thousand men of the Xuanxuan Faction were currently living in the Combat Master Hall. There was no way he could possibly conceal the matter from them at this point.

An elder with a goatee harrumphed coldly as he glared at Hall Master Xing sharply. “I don’t want to interfere in the affairs of your Combat Master Hall either, but are you serious? To actually have your combat masters join a Tier-1 Empire organization, just what is going through your mind? Does the dignity and honor of the Combat Master Hall mean nothing to you?”

That was the head of the Chongyuan Empire Combat Master Hall, Zhao Yi.

“It’s not what you all think it is. I concede that the Xuanxuan Faction is a student faction from a Tier-1 Empire, but their comprehension of combat is superior even to us combat masters. As Kong shi once said, learn from the capable, regardless of their standing…” Hall Master Xing explained, but he was interjected halfway through his words.

Another elder harrumphed. “Enough! We are not interested in hearing whatever explanation you have. I hope that you can at least get a single slot for the Sword Lagoon of the Qianchong Empire so that you don’t embarrass yourselves any further.”

The head of the Haohai Empire Combat Master Hall, Liu Qinshan.

The third elder shook his head. “Allow me to give you a word of advice. The Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall might be the weakest of the Conferred Empires now, but don’t test the patience of the headquarters. They could very well call for your closure. When that happens, I don’t know how you intend to face your predecessors!”

The head of the Qianyun Empire Combat Master Hall, Wei Qianshu!

Of the Eight Great Conferred Empires, the weakest four were namely Chongyuan, Qianyun, Haohai, and Qingyuan.

Qingyuan used to be ranked third, but the assault from the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe twenty years ago had been a crushing blow to it, and it had not been able to recover from the devastating damage since then. As such, be it their national power, regional Master Teacher Pavilion, or Combat Master Hall, unfortunately, they could only be placed in very last place.

Seeing that the three hall masters were clearly looking down on him, Hall Master Xing frowned in displeasure. “Thank you for your kind advice, but even if our Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall has not recovered from the damage we suffered twenty years ago, we are still making a swift recovery. You won’t be let down in the friendly spar later on…”

Halfway through his words, cheers suddenly erupted behind him. The candidates that would be participating in the friendly spar were making their way into the training hall.

“Haha, indeed. I am not let down at all!” Zhao Yi burst into laughter upon seeing the candidates from Qingyuan.

“Hall Master Xing, has your Combat Master Hall run short of funds? So, this is what the elites of your Combat Master Hall look like, huh?” Wei Qianshu frowned in disapproval.

“Run short of funds?” Uncomprehending of what they were saying, Hall Master Xing turned his gaze over to his combat masters, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

He saw that Shi Hao was still dressed in the clothes he had worn while cleaning the toilet bowls, and he was still equipped with a feather duster in hand. Jiao Tan was still holding onto his fly swatter; Xiao Qin was carrying a bird cage in his hand; Dong Rui had large bumps all over his head…

It was as if they were pitiful beggars picked off the street!

Caught off guard by the happenings, Hall Master Xing swiftly turned his head toward Division Head Liao. “Division Head Liao, what is going on?”

“Hall Master Xing, Principal Zhang’s training regime was simply too much for them to finish within three days! They all carried out their training until the very last moment before rushing over in a hurry,” Division Head Liao quickly explained.

Zhang Xuan’s training regime was truly harsh; it was clearly impossible to finish it within three days! Division Head Liao could not tell whether the candidates were possessed or brainwashed, but despite the impossible mission that they had been tasked with, the candidates had carried out their training diligently without a single word of complaint. It was only when the friendly spar was about to begin that they had reluctantly halted their training to rush over.

Hearing that explanation, a bitter look surfaced on Hall Master Xing’s face.

Had he known that this would happen, he never would have entrusted the training of the candidates to Zhang Xuan. With this, their Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall would surely become the laughingstock of the other Conferred Empire Combat Master Hall for many years to come.

Cleaning the toilet bowl, swatting flies, capturing birds, leaping off trees… Just what was Zhang Xuan up to? Was he really trustworthy?

While Hall Master Xing was still staring at the situation before him with a desolate look in his eyes, a shout suddenly sounded from the dueling platform. “I am Ling Xuan from the Chongyuan Empire Combat Master Hall. My cultivation is at Saint 2-dan intermediate stage. Are there any friends from the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall who would like to spar with me?”

A combat master had already leaped onto one of the dueling platforms, and he was staring at Qingyuan’s candidates intently.

Hall Master Xing clenched his fists tightly. “To challenge us right from the start… they are intending to suppress our morale.”

There was a proper order to how the friendly spar should have been conducted, and yet, that Combat Master Ling Xuan had leaped up onto the dueling platform to challenge Qingyuan’s candidates. That was clearly an intentional act to destroy their confidence right from the start.

Furthermore, as the host of the friendly spar, it would make them appear weak if they turned down the challenge.

“I’ll face you!” Jiao Tan leaped onto the dueling platform.

Jiao Tan was a genius from the Martial Arts Division, and his cultivation had long reached Saint 2-dan intermediate stage. He was the candidate that the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall had chosen for the friendly spar for this cultivation stage.

“You?” Seeing the other party’s work clothes and the fly swatter in his hands, Ling Xuan could not help but burst into laughter. “Very well then, make your move! Let me see the formidable strength of the Qingyuan Empire combat masters!”

Huala!

Right after saying those words, he channeled his zhenqi toward his palm, and a deafening rumble reminiscent of thunder echoed from his hands.

“That is Chongyuan Empire’s famous Bolt Lightning Palm!”

“It’s said that the palm art is as swift as a bolt of lightning, making it nigh impossible for cultivators of the same tier to withstand it!”

“According to what I know, it’s extremely difficult to cultivate as well. Countless geniuses have found themselves completely clueless before it. However, judging from the resounding thunder from Ling Xuan’s palm… most likely, he has already reached Major Accomplishment in the battle technique!”

“Major Accomplishment? That should be Consummation! Ling Xuan is said to be the most talented individual of Chongyuan Empire Combat Master Hall’s Martial Arts Division, and despite having yet to reach his thirties, he has already broken several records and successfully cultivated 34 battle techniques to date!”

“He’s so formidable?”

Such discussions could be heard throughout the crowd.

However, seemingly oblivious to the words of the crowd, Jiao Tan calmly walked up to Ling Xuan with the same fly swatter in his hand.

Chapter 1197: Pah Pah Pah!

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“That bamboo fly swatter is delicate and powerless, and yet, he intends to use it to deal with Ling Xuan’s Bolt Lightning Palm?”

“Is there something wrong with that fellow’s head?”

“Jiao Tan is the number one genius of the Martial Arts Division, and his comprehension of battle techniques has reached an incredible height as well. In normal circumstances, even if he is no match for Ling Xuan, he would at least be able to put up a spectacular fight. But to walk up with a fly swatter in hand… is he out of his mind?”

Seeing how Jiao Tan was acting, everyone was dumbfounded. Hall Master Xing and Division Head Liao felt so crazed that they wanted to tear out all their hair on the spot.

They had placed so much hope in Jiao Tan, and yet, after a few days of undergoing Zhang Xuan’s training regime, he was suddenly off his rockers!

It would have been tolerable if Jiao Tan had chosen to wield an ordinary sword, a chair, or even a brick! A fly swatter was flexible and fragile, making it unsuitable to exert strength through it. To face Ling Xuan with such a weapon was practically committing suicide!

Thinking that Jiao Tan was making light of him, Ling Xuan’s face reddened in fury. “Are you sure you want to face me with that?”

Even though it was just a friendly spar, it was still a formal event. It should have been a solemn and dignified occasion, and yet, the other party was actually insulting him by facing him with a fly swatter. That was blatant humiliation toward him!

Jiao Tan nodded earnestly. “Un. If you think that you are disadvantaged, you can wield a weapon if you want. There’s no need to hold back!”

“You…” Jiao Tan’s words caused a mini explosion in Ling Xuan’s mind, and he clenched his jaws so tightly together that his teeth nearly chipped. Waving his hands furiously, he harrumphed. “There’s no need for that! I’ll use my palms to teach you a lesson and make your Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall understand the gap between us! No matter how hard you work, you will never be able to catch up to us!”

Huala!

Right after saying those words, with a thunderous roar, his palm shot forth with a speed as swift as a streak of lightning. In the blink of an eye, his lightning-like aura permeated the entire dueling platform. It felt as if the slightest wrong move would bring a crushing blow, seemingly forcing Jiao Tan into a cornered situation.

“I’ll look forward to it then,” Jiao Tan replied leisurely before raising the fly swatter in his hand. With a swift motion, he struck the lightning before his eyes.

“You’re seeking death!” Seeing that the other party obstinately wanted to face him with a fly swatter, Ling Xuan gritted his teeth furiously as his palm flew toward Jiao Tan.

He was going to use his full strength to inflict a crushing defeat upon the other party so as to let the other party understand what a true expert was!

Hall Master Zhao Yi shook his head and said, “There’s no need to watch any further. The victor has already been decided.”

“Indeed. An aura suffused with lightning, a palm overflowing with strength. Even though Ling Xuan is only a Saint 2-dan cultivator, his might is more than sufficient to overwhelm any Saint 3-dan cultivator. Even a Half-Saint weapon could be crushed into pieces before his Bolt Lightning Palm! There is no way that fellow will be able to match Ling Xuan with just a bamboo fly swatter!” Hall Master Liu Qinshan sighed.

“From the looks of it, it seems like the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall won’t be able to obtain a single slot…” Hall Master Wei Qianshu sneered coldly. However, before he could finish his words, a ‘pah!’ suddenly echoed resoundingly throughout the training hall.

“Hmm?”

Taken aback, the three hall masters quickly turned their gazes back to the dueling platform, only to see that before Ling Xuan’s Bolt Lightning Palm could reach Jiao Tan, a fly swatter had struck his face squarely, leaving a dense congregation of red lines in its wake.

“Ahhh, I’ll kill you!” Ling Xuan had clearly not expected the other party’s fly swatter to move so swiftly as to slap him right before everyone else. Seething with rage, he dashed forward and thrust another palm forward.

Pah!

But again, before his palm could connect, another crisp echo sounded throughout the entire training hall. Once more, the fly swatter had struck his face.

“I…” At this moment, Ling Xuan really felt as if his mind would blow up.

With a swift step, his silhouette flickered, and five illusory figures appeared on the dueling platform, making it difficult for one to discern which was true and which was false.

As a combat master, he had been through plenty of battles. Even though he felt humiliated by the two consecutive slaps, he knew better than to allow his emotions to dictate his actions. While his opponent was dressed in a bizarre get up, it was apparent at this point that he possessed superior fighting prowess. Thus, he immediately executed his strongest movement technique.

Artful Steps of Seven Specter!

It was a Saint intermediate-tier battle technique, and if perfectly executed, it could generate seven lifelike illusions of one to confound one’s opponent.

While its power was beneath that of the Bolt Lightning Palm, its reputation far exceeded the latter. Ever since he successfully mastered the technique, there had been none who had been able to break his Artful Steps of Seven Specter through skill.

“Five illusions! He has already refined his Artful Steps of Seven Specter to an incredible level, such that even I can’t accurately discern his true figure within the illusions…” Hall Master Zhao Yi remarked while stroking his beard.

But once again, before he could finish his words, ‘pah!’.

And once again, the fly swatter struck Ling Xuan’s face squarely.

” Ahhh! ” Flying into a frenzy, Ling Xuan hastened his footsteps, making his movements even more indiscernible to the eye.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

But even so, three consecutive strikes still landed accurately on Ling Xuan’s face. It was as if Jiao Tan could see right through the illusions!

Seeing how his comrade was being slapped time and time again without laying a single finger on his opponent’s body, a combat master from Chongyuan Empire could not hold himself back any longer and shouted, “Ling Xuan, since he is using a weapon, use your sword too!”

“Alright!” Knowing that the fellow before him was a tough nut to crack, Ling Xuan flicked his wrist and whipped out a Saint low-tier sword. Flicking the sword furiously, a relentless barrage of sword qi burst forth, instantly covering the entire dueling platform.

“Freezing Rain Sword Intent… That’s the unique Sword Intent that Ling Xuan comprehended while standing under the winter rain when he was 23. No one has ever succeeded in dodging it before…” Hall Master Zhao Yi commented proudly, but once again, before he could finish his words, Jiao Tan, who was surrounded by the barrage of sword qi, raised his fly swatter nonchalantly and…

Pah! Pah! Pah!

Yet another three consecutive slaps. At this point, Ling Xuan’s face was already swollen red from all the slapping.

Huala!

Furious, Ling Xuan drove his sword forward and sent sword arts of all kinds toward Jiao Tan.

However, Jiao Tan easily avoided all of Ling Xuan’s attacks as if a butterfly flitting through a field of flowers. And more importantly, his fly swatter never stopped moving throughout.

Pah! Pah! Pah! Pah!

It was a steady and rhythmic melody, sounding surprisingly like an orchestra.

“This…”

The three hall masters widened their eyes in disbelief, unable to believe what they were seeing. Even Hall Master Xing, Division Head Liao, and the others could not process what exactly was going on.

They had witnessed Zhang Xuan’s training regime with their own eyes, and they had nearly been convinced that it was a prank. And yet… how could Jiao Tan undergo such a huge change, as if a caterpillar metamorphosed into a butterfly?

“Incredible, I never thought that fly swatters would make such powerful weapon!”

“That’s only because of Jiao Tan’s exceptional control. I saw him hunting down flies inside the toilet, and he could even accurately strike a fly’s front legs without hurting the rest of its body!”

“What? Is that true? Given how small and nimble flies are, is it really possible to do it to such an extent?”

“If that’s really true, the precision of his control is truly frightening!”

A couple of Qingyuan combat masters discussed as they watched the duel.

Hearing the conversation among the combat masters, Division Head Liao smacked his thigh and exclaimed in realization, “Ah, I get it now!”

Division Head Wei turned his head and asked, “What did you get?”

“Jiao Tan is a genius of our Martial Arts Division,” Division Head Liao explained, “but due to the huge variety of battle techniques he has cultivated, he isn’t focused in any of them, and this has prevented him from drawing out his full fighting prowess…

“It might seem nonsensical for Principal Zhang to have instructed him to hunt down flies, but there’s actually a deeper meaning behind it! Every single fly moves in a unique trajectory, and in order to strike it accurately, one has to closely observe its movements and predict it in advance.

“More importantly, this training served to enhance his focus and rid his recklessness. With greater focus, he is now able to immerse himself into the battle technique he is executing and bring forth its maximum strength.”

“This…” Division Head Wei fell into deep thought.

That did seem to make sense.

As a genius of the Martial Arts School, Jiao Tan was an extremely proud individual. He would surely find hunting down flies to be a deeply demeaning and unengaging task. However, if he could overcome this part of himself, his state of mind could be elevated to greater heights, and this would be beneficial in his execution of battle techniques as well.

It was due to his incredible focus that no matter how Ling Xuan altered his movements, he was unable to escape Jiao Tan’s swatter. Since he was even able to accurately strike a fly’s legs, there was no reason he could not evade and strike something as big as a human!

Pah pah pah pah!

The sound gradually crescendoed.

“Stop! I admit defeat!”

It did not take long before Ling Xuan had used all of his battle techniques, and yet, he did not even manage to nick the other party’s body. Realizing that it was impossible for him to win, he could only surrender miserably.

At this moment, his face resembled nothing like a human’s. It was swollen so badly that it resembled a doughnut.

“Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall’s Jiao Tan is the victor!” Since Ling Xuan had already admitted defeat, the referee could only award the victory to Jiao Tan.

Huala!

A well-built young man leaped onto the stage.

“I am Bai Xun from the Qianyun Empire Combat Master Hall. My cultivation is at Saint 2-dan primary stage, and I would like to challenge the experts of the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall as well!”

“My cultivation is at Saint 2-dan primary stage as well. I’ll be your opponent,” Shi Hao said as he walked onto the stage.

“Bai Xun is the genius of Qianyun Empire Combat Master Hall’s Fist Division. His steel fists are known to be invincible among his peers. I don’t think that cleaner stands much of a chance against him.”

“Cough cough, he’s not a cleaner. He’s actually the genius of our Inner Breath Division, Shi Hao!”

…

As the duo walked up the stage, the combat masters of both Combat Master Halls could not help but clench their fists nervously.

“Hall Master Xing, how is the strength of this combat master of yours?” Hall Master Liu Qinshan asked curiously.

Just a moment ago, everyone had thought that the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall had already given up on themselves, but the overwhelming prowess that Jiao Tan had displayed had really opened their eyes. At this point, it would have been truly foolish of them to continue underestimating the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall.

“I… I don’t know either!” Hall Master Xing shook his head.

Principal Zhang’s training regime was simply too bizarre! Even someone as experienced in combat as him could not comprehend the rationale behind it at all!

To instruct the proud genius of the Inner Breath Hall to clean the toilet bowls throughout the Inner Breath Division… If things went wrong, Shi Hao’s fighting prowess might even decline instead!

“It’s impossible for that lad to beat Bai Xun!” the head of the Qianyun Empire Combat Master Hall, Wei Qianshu, remarked proudly. “I have absolute confidence in him! He’s my direct disciple, and there has never been anyone who could match him in the field of fist arts. There’s just no way your combat master will be able to win against him!”

Hu hu!

While the hall masters were chatting, the battle on the dueling platform had already begun.

With the opportunity to train in the Sword Lagoon of the Qianchong Empire on the line, Bai Xun had no intention of holding back at all.

From the very start, he threw out a fist with his full strength harnessed in it.

Just as the fist was about to strike Shi Hao, the latter suddenly raised his hand and scraped the other party’s face forcefully, reminiscent of how he had scraped the toilet bowls with his feather duster throughout the Combat Master Hall over the past three days.

“You!” Seeing this, flames of fury lit up in Bai Xun’s eyes.

With a furious roar, he sent another powerful fist forward.

The fist wielded astounding might that caused a deafening sonic boom. However, before it could reach Shi Hao, the latter raised his hand once more and swiped Shi Hao’s face forcefully, digging out a huge lump of dirt while doing it.

“You… How long has it been since you last washed your face?” Shi Hao disdainfully wiped his hand on his shirt.

“…” Bai Xun.

With a livid expression, Bai Xun swiftly stepped back and equipped his knuckleduster before charging forward once more. “You bastard, I’ll kill you!”

The combat masters of the Fist Division relied on knuckledusters to draw forth greater strength from their fist arts.

On the other hand, seeing that his opponent had drawn his weapon, Shi Hao also unhesitatingly flicked his wrist, and a feather duster appeared in his hand.

“Glacier Smashing Fist!” With a furious bellow, a brilliant light flashed from the knuckleduster, and Bai Xun thrust his fist forward furiously, seemingly intending to utterly destroy the figure before him.

But just as the fist was shooting forward, still a distance away from connecting, Bai Xun suddenly saw something flying toward him with a speed reminiscent of a streak of lightning. Before he could process what was going on, a feather duster had already been stuffed into his mouth before swishing around.

In an instant, a harmony of indescribable flavors filled his mouth.

Chapter 1198: Xuanxuan Faction, Luo Qiqi

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Shi Hao possesses an incredible zhenqi capacity, so relying on his strength, he prefers to overwhelm his opponent with his sheer might. While it allows him to defeat weaker opponents easily, it puts him at a critical advantage against opponents who are equal or stronger than him. His careless use of zhenqi would only cause him to run out of strength first, so it was not a particularly wise fighting style,” Division Head Liao remarked hoarsely as he watched the duel unblinkingly.

“A feather duster is fragile, and an excessive use of strength could easily cause it to break. By instructing Shi Hao to clean toilet bowls with that, he was trying to temper Shi Hao’s use of strength, granting him a finer control over his zhenqi. Over the past three days, he has scrubbed tens of thousands of toilet bowls diligently, and his effort has not gone to waste. It’s clear that his use of zhenqi has become more refined, and his execution of strength is also more controlled. It’s these two factors that allowed him to achieve victory easily!”

“As for Xiao Qin, he has an impatient personality. As such, the training regime he was put under, capturing birds, served to temper his patience. Furthermore, the agility of birds makes them difficult to deal with, so the training further refined his dexterity too…”

“Lu Jianling has a cowardly personality, so by having him confess to everyone he meets, teasing men even, he was able to embolden his guts and temper his state of mind. Don’t think that confidence is of little importance just because of how vague it sounds; it can actually allow a person to make decisions more decisively, granting him a significant boost in his fighting prowess…”

“Even though Dong Rui is a genius from the Guardian Division, the defenses of his head were slightly lacking. Through a continuous cycle of falling from a tree, the defensive ability of his head could be tempered. At the same time, this also served to build his courage. If he could willingly embrace pain, he would be able to charge fearlessly into hordes of enemies and display his true prowess… The crux of the Guardian Division lies in their invincible physical prowess. If they cower in face of the enemy, there would be no way they could bring out their full strength…”

“As for Chen Xiaoxu…”

With each passing battle, the excited gleam in Division Head Liao’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

In just a few moments, ten matches had already passed. Everyone had thought that the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall would perform below average this time around, but who knew that every single one of them would successfully clinch victory, not losing even a single round!

It was only in this moment that it dawned on them how fearsome Zhang Xuan’s training regime was.

“He managed to see through the flaws of all twenty candidates with a look and tailor a training regime suited to their needs! Scrubbing toilet bowls, swatting flies, capturing birds… All of those may seem simple, but there was a deeper meaning to each of those actions, allowing the candidates to grasp a more profound interpretation of combat!”

Hall Master Xing’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as he began to understand the rationale behind Zhang Xuan’s training regime.

He had been utterly dumbfounded when he first saw the training regime, and he had thought that Zhang Xuan was just fooling around. However, after seeing the performance of Qingyuan’s candidates, he realized that the other party’s training regime was truly spot-on!

Combat masters were constantly tempering their skills every single day, and while their diligence allowed them to sharpen their combat prowess to levels far exceeding that of ordinary master teachers, it had also led to a rigidity in their combat senses and even reflexes. Clearly, it was infeasible to overthrow what they had learned within just three short days.

As such, Zhang Xuan had made them carry out activities that ordinary humans would do so as to loosen their state of mind, making it easier for them their mind and body to absorb new things. Through having them repeat the actions again and again, the training they carried out was eventually integrated into part of their instincts as well.

It was just like how Shi Hao used his hands to scrub the other party’s face viciously. In truth, he was not doing it intentionally. Rather, it was a habit he had unintentionally cultivated from three days of relentlessly scrubbing toilet bowls.

“I really should have more confidence in Principal Zhang and them…” Hall Master Xing shook his head with a bitter smile.

He had been deeply worried that their candidates would stand no chance against the geniuses from the other Combat Master Halls after undergoing such a nonsensical training regime, but it seemed like Zhang Xuan had the situation tightly in his grasp all along!

It was no wonder he was even relaxed enough to head off to the Master Teacher Pavilion, staying out for the entire three days. From the looks of it now, it was apparent that he had absolute confidence in the training regimes he had assigned to the candidates!

The minds of the true experts were truly different from ordinary folk like them!

In an instant, Zhang Xuan’s position in Hall Master Xing’s heart had been elevated to a greater height.

While Hall Master Xing was reveling in the overwhelming prowess his candidates were showing, the other three hall masters, whose chins had been tilted up in disdain earlier, were panicking over the unexpected situation.

They never could have imagined that that bunch of unkempt, beggar-like combat masters would actually wield such tremendous strength!

The combat masters whom they had gone through much effort to find and groom had actually turned out to be no match for them at all! It was an utter annihilation!

What the heck was this?

Unable to take it any longer, Hall Master Zhao Yi turned to Hall Master Xing and asked, “Hall Master Xing, what is going on with your combat masters?”

Long years of competition between both Combat Master Halls had granted both sides a clear grasp over the strength of the other. Even if the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall had made massive improvements over the past few years, it still did not make sense that all of their candidates would actually lose! Something was clearly off!

But regardless of what it was, there was one thing that was certain—the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall was no longer the weakling it had once been.

“To be honest, three days ago, the fighting prowess of my candidates was still beneath that of the geniuses from your Combat Master Halls. It was due to special last-minute training that they managed to metamorphose into the experts that you see now!” Hall Master Xing revealed the truth.

“Special training? They managed to attain such strength just by undergoing special last-minute training?”

“How in the world can that possibly be true?”

“Three days wouldn’t even be sufficient to master the simplest Saint-tier battle technique!”

…

The three hall masters found Hall Master Xing’s words inconceivable.

Other cultivators often used decades as a unit of measurement of how long they have trained! Three days… What the hell could one possibly do in three days? It would probably pass in a flash before one could even fully digest the principles behind a Saint intermediate-tier battle technique!

“I understand your skepticism. I also thought that it was impossible as well, but the leader of the Xuanxuan Faction that I told you about earlier specially designed training regimes tailored to resolve their individual flaws. It was thanks to those that they were able to improve at such an astounding pace!” Hall Master Xing replied with a hint of pride in his voice.

“The leader of the Xuanxuan Faction?”

The three hall masters glanced at one another in bewilderment.

“Indeed!” Hall Master Xing nodded. “He might be from a Tier-1 Empire, but his comprehension of combat and battle techniques has already reached a realm that I can hardly fathom. It’s due to that reason that I allowed our combat masters join to the Xuanxuan Faction. Through their expertise, I hope to bring the strength of our Combat Master Hall to greater heights!”

“A master teacher from a Tier-1 Empire was able to grant your candidates the strength to achieve a complete victory in our friendly spar through just three days of teaching?”

Despite Hall Master Xing’s explanation, the other hall masters still found the matter a little doubtful.

Huala!

At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out on the dueling platform, and countless agitated shouts echoed from the spectator’s stand.

Raising their heads, the hall masters saw that the victor of the final match had been decided. All sixty candidates from their three Combat Master Halls had been defeated.

In other words, the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall had managed to win all twenty slots to the Qianchong Empire’s Sword Lagoon for themselves!

“This…”

The eyelids of the three hall masters twitched wildly. They really could not accept such an outcome.

They had thought that they would be able to claim roughly six slots each at the very least, but who could have imagined that the friendly spar would end with them obtaining none at all!

It was truly a complete defeat for them!

However, knowing that the results were already decided, the three hall masters could only sigh deeply and reluctantly accept it.

A moment later, Hall Master Wei Qianshu asked, “Where is the leader of the Xuanxuan Faction? Can you bring us to meet him? I would like to meet the man whom you are full of praise for!”

“He isn’t in the Combat Master Hall at the moment,” Hall Master Xing replied.

According to the news he had heard, Zhang Xuan had gone off to the Master Teacher Pavilion to take his 7-star master teacher examination, so it would not be appropriate for him to interrupt the young man at this moment.

“He isn’t in the Combat Master Hall? Since that’s the case, can you take us to the Xuanxuan Faction to take a look?” Hall Master Zhao Yi asked. “I am interested to see just what kind of capability that Tier-1 Empire organization holds that you would even go to the extent of seeking their assistance!”

“This…” Hall Master Xing hesitated for a moment, but recalling how the other three hall masters had treated him prior to the duel, he eventually relented. “Alright then.”

It was no big deal to take them to the Xuanxuan Faction to take a look.

Besides, based on what he recalled, the members of the Xuanxuan Faction were also very welcoming toward combat masters. After all, they were the perfect cannon fodder for them to test their skills on.

Thus, Hall Master Xing stood up and led the other three hall masters toward the accommodation of the Xuanxuan Faction. Not too long later, he saw a young lady walking in his direction.

Hall Master Xing clasped his fist and said, “Lady Qiqi, greetings. Allow me to introduce to you. These three are the heads of the Chongyuan, Qianyun, and Haohai Empire Combat Master Halls respectively. They are interested in having an exchange with the Xuanxuan Faction, so may I know if now is a convenient time?”

He recognized the young lady before him. She was the strongest expert of the Xuanxuan Faction, Luo Qiqi.

In just a few days of absence, the young lady seemed to have made some advancement in her cultivation, rising from Saint 1-dan pinnacle to Saint 2-dan primary stage.

“An exchange?” Luo Qiqi glanced at the trio beside Hall Master Xing and smiled. “Sure! Suppress your cultivation to my level and come at me all at once!”

“This…”

Hearing the other party asking them to come at her all at once, Hall Master Zhao Yi frowned in displeasure. “Young lady, we are the heads of our regional Combat Master Hall, Leaving Aperture realm experts. Do you think that you will be able to match us just because we have suppressed out cultivation?”

Hall Master Wei Qianshu shook his head in disapproval. “Without a doubt, you are a talented individual to be able to attain such strength at your age. However, that is no reason for you to act with such conceit!”

“When we were your age, we were able to match ten cultivators of the same cultivation realm easily. Even though we have already grown old, I believe that we still have more than enough in us to subdue a young lass like you!” Hall Master Liu Qinshan frowned.

“Give it a try then,” Luo Qiqi replied with a leisure smile.

“Since Hall Master Xing was full of praise for the Xuanxuan Faction, allow me to experience your incredible strength for myself!” Seeing how lightly the young lady was taking them, Hall Master Zhao Yi shook his head. He took a step forward while suppressing his cultivation to Saint 2-dan primary stage.

The other two also suppressed their cultivation as well.

Hu!

With a powerful step, Hall Master Zhao Yi appeared before Luo Qiqi in an instant. As if a massive dragon had risen from the ocean, his presence suddenly felt extremely heavy and powerful, compelling others to bow before him.

Even though he had already suppressed his cultivation, he was still a Leaving Aperture realm expert. The overwhelming strength of his Primordial Spirit was able to collapse the mental resilience of any Saint 2-dan cultivator easily, rendering the other party completely helpless.

“Heh!” As if unfazed by the pressure from Hall Master Zhao Yi, Luo Qiqi also made her move. She raised her palm and thrust it forward forcefully, and astonishingly, it dispelled the might of Hall Master Zhao Yi’s assault in an instant.

Hall Master Zhao Yi could not help but narrow his eyes in shock.

In a clash between fellow experts, one move was all it took to gauge the other party’s strength.

From that move, he realized that the young lady, when at the same cultivation realm, was actually even stronger than him!

That explained why she was able to act so haughtily despite learning of their identities.

“Humph!” Hall Master Zhao Yi’s expression turned grim, and the previous disdain in his eyes disappeared without a trace.

He executed a movement technique and darted forward with astounding speed, wanting to catch the young lady off guard and nab her. However, before he could reach her, her figure suddenly appeared before Hall Masters Wei Qianshu and Liu Qinshan, and she thrust her palms at the both of them simultaneously.

Just as she had said earlier, she would deal with the three of them at once.

Boom boom!

Under the young lady’s powerful assault, the other two hall masters had no choice but to join the fray as well. Thus, the battle became three against one.

Pipa! Pipa! Pipa!

Ten breaths later, Hall Master Zhao Yi’s face had already reddened from exhaustion. There were two clear palm prints on his chest, but only his clothes were ripped. The attacks did not deal any considerable external or internal injuries to him. Clearly, the young lady had gone easy on him.

Twenty breaths later, Hall Masters Wei Qianshu and Liu Qinshan were forced to retreat several steps in a fluster. A stifling sensation choked up their chests, rendering them unable to speak.

The trio clasped their fists simultaneously and bowed. “We have lost…”

Despite collaborating with one another, they were still unable to defeat the young lady before them. They never would have believed such a thing to be possible in the past, but with it happening right before their eyes, there was no way they could deny it anymore.

Furthermore, it was apparent that the young lady had gone easy on them. Otherwise, every one of them would have been severely wounded.

As stifled as Hall Master Zhao Yi felt from his defeat, he had to concede that the strength wielded by the young lady was truly extraordinary. Out of curiosity, he could not help but ask, “May I know how I should address you?”

The least he could do was to find out the name of the person who had defeated him.

On the other hand, the young lady placed her hands behind her back and tilted her chin upward. A faint smile surfaced on her lips, and in an instant, it felt as if a field of flowers had blossomed.

“Xuanxuan Faction, Luo Qiqi!”

Chapter 1199: Decree of the Progeny of Combat

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Luo Qiqi?”

The trio etched the name into the depths of their hearts.

As the heads of their regional Combat Master Halls, they were existences who were looked up to by countless combat masters, revered for the overwhelming strength they wielded. Even within the Leaving Aperture realm, there was nearly no one who was a match for them. Yet, they were not a match for the young lady at all. This went to show the young lady’s astounding prowess!

“May I know if Lady Qiqi is interested in joining our Chongyuan Empire Combat Master Hall?” Hall Master Zhao Yi stepped forward and clasped his fist.

“I am not interested,” Luo Qiqi replied curtly.

If she was truly interested in joining the Combat Master Hall, she would have long taken the examination for it. There was no need for her to have dragged it out till now. And to be honest, she was only interested in staying by her teacher’s side at the moment. If only she could, she would willingly stay with him until the end of time…

“This…” Hearing the other party’s unhesitating rejection, Hall Master Zhao Yi knew that it would be impossible for him to convince the young lady otherwise, so he could only give up with a bitter smile.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, a resounding horn reminiscent of the roar of thunder reverberated deafeningly throughout the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall. It was so loud that it felt as if it would tear through even the heavens.

The sound was coming from the very heart of the Combat Master Hall, the Great Combat Master Atrium!

“It’s the Combat Master Assembly Decree!”

The eyes of the four hall masters widened in astonishment.

The Combat Master Hall was in charge of maintaining the security of the region, and for that purpose, they devoted most of their time to training and cultivating. However, once the horn was blown, all combat masters that heard the sound had to assemble immediately. Even the slightest delay would not be tolerated!

“Let’s head over!”

Knowing that this was not the time to speak, they hurriedly rushed over to the Great Combat Master Atrium.

The fact that the horn had been blown meant that something major had occurred.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the concourse right before the Great Combat Master Atrium. At this moment, all the combat masters in the Qingyuan Empire had assembled in the area. With grim expressions, they stood upright in neat rows, as if soldiers awaiting their commands.

Hula!

Right after the four hall masters landed at the very forefront of the crowd, a powerful energy suddenly rippled in the Great Combat Master Atrium, forming a massive screen in midair.

“It’s news from the headquarters!”

Upon seeing this, Hall Master Xing and the others heaved a sigh of relief.

They had been worrying that there had been an invasion and that they would have to march onto the battlefield. Fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.

If it was a war, the headquarters would have sent a command straight into their minds and had them set forth as soon as possible. They would not have gone to the trouble of producing this massive screen.

Boom!

While the four hall masters were trying to deduce what was going on, the voice of an elder suddenly sounded from the massive screen, echoing in the hearts of every single combat master present.

“The candidate that the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall nominated, Zheng Yang, has successfully cleared the Dragon Gate Formation, and I hereby declare him the Progeny of Combat of our Combat Master Hall!

Hula!

Following which, a silhouette gradually surfaced on the massive screen. It was a young man holding a spear in his hand. He commanded a sharp aura that felt as if it would pierce through the heavens.

The current Zheng Yang looked much keener than before. Under Zhang Xuan’s tutelage, he had already been extremely formidable, but having never experienced the cruelty and the bloodshed from life-and-death battles, it was inevitable that he would appear a little immature. However, at this moment, the presence that he commanded was formidable, and it exerted immense pressure on those before him.

It felt as if the sharp blade of a dagger was pressed on their skin, threatening to part their skin and flesh.

“Progeny of Combat?”

Hall Masters Zhao Yi, Wei Qianshu, and Lin Qinshan narrowed their eyes in astonishment, and their bodies froze on the spot.

It had been three hundred years since the passing of the previous Progeny of Combat of the Combat Master Hall. They were well aware of the significance behind this declaration.

They had thought that the Qingyuan Empire was just a declining empire that would soon fall out of its ranks and that its Combat Master Hall had fallen into a spiral of frailty. Yet, who would have thought that a combat master from their ranks would actually succeed in clearing the Dragon Gate Formation and become the next Progeny of Combat?

Putting the rest aside, just the ‘gratitude of nomination’ was more than enough for them to rise to unprecedented heights.

That realization left the trio with a hoarseness at the back of their throats, and they found themselves unable to speak a single word.

They had still been lamenting their bad luck from being unable to claim a single slot from the friendly spar, but after witnessing the sight before them, they realized that it had not been bad luck at all. From the very start, the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall wielded strength far exceeding theirs!

At the same time, Hall Master Xing could not help but narrow his eyes either.

In truth, when he sent Zheng Yang over to the Combat Master Hall headquarters, he did not bear much hope for success. But contrary to his expectations, the young man really managed to pull it off!

Progeny of Combat… That was the man who would become the next head of the entire Combat Master Hall, the future Combat God of the Master Teacher Continent!

And that man had actually come from their branch!

Weng!

While he was still overwhelmed by emotions from that realization, the sight on the screen suddenly changed as Zheng Yang swept his spear toward a massive dragon ahead of him.

“This is… challenging the Dragon Gate Formation?” Hall Master Xing remarked.

In order to become the Progeny of Combat, one had to first clear the Dragon Gate Formation.

The Dragon Gate Formation was divided into three stages: Dragon’s Tail, Dragon’s Back, and Dragon’s Head. In every single stage, the challenger would have to face three challengers with consecutively ascending cultivation stage, ranging from an equivalent cultivation to eight cultivation stages higher!

Furthermore, the fighting prowess of the three cultivators was further enhanced by the Dragon Gate Formation, making it extremely difficult to defeat them.

It was for this reason that no one had cleared the Dragon Gate Formation in the past three hundred years.

“The headquarters are playing the recording of the Progeny of Combat clearing the Dragon Gate Formation to all combat masters in order to muster their morale through the strength of the new Progeny of Combat, as well as to show them that the trial was carried out fairly!”

The sight was recorded using the Record Crystal in the headquarters, and naturally, it was played to the combat masters for a reason.

The intent was clear as well.

It was to force all the combat masters to acknowledge the strength of the Progeny of Combat, thus building up authority and respect for him. This was a necessary procedure for the Progeny of Combat to lead the Combat Master Hall in the future.

Hu la!

While Hall Master Xing was pondering over the matter, he saw Zheng Yang making his way over to the Dragon’s Tail.

His spear shot forth with a speed so swift that it was nearly indiscernible, flying forth as if a streak of lightning.

“Too strong…” Even though it was only a video, Hall Master Xing still could not help but shudder upon seeing the speed of the spear.

If he were to face the Progeny of Combat at the same cultivation realm, there was no doubt that the spear would have pierced through his throat before he could even respond.

But before this despairing strength, the combat masters in the Dragon’s Tail actually manage to react to the spear. They swiftly moved to meet Zheng Yang’s spear with their own, and a powerful shockwave burst into the surroundings.

Despite having his assault foiled, Zheng Yang did not show the slightest hint of apprehension. He took a leisure step forward, and despite his light movement, for some reason, his body still moved at an exceptional speed. In the blink of an eye, he was already standing before one of the combat masters.

Peng!

With a quick flick of his spear, he sent the combat master flying out of the field. After which, he continued executing his spear art relentlessly toward the two remaining combat masters, overpowering them swiftly. In just three moves, the both of them were subdued as well. With this, the Dragon’s Tail had fallen.

“What swift spearmanship…”

The combat masters in the concourse could not help but tighten their fists in agitation.

At the same time, the eyes of the combat masters from the Martial Arts Division lit up as they watched the fight.

All in all, Zheng Yang had used five moves to deal with the Dragon’s Tail. Even though it appeared that he had only used the most straightforward movements, a pierce and a sweep, they had been infused with the very essence of spearmanship, making it extremely difficult to guard against them.

Even if they were to devote their entire lives to the spearmanship, they could not see themselves pulling off the same spear that Zheng Yang had used.

However, this was not the end of the Dragon Gate Formation yet. The Dragon’s Tail could only be said to be the starter, and there was still the Dragon’s Back and Dragon’s Head to go.

The trio on the Dragon’s Back had a cultivation of three, four, and five cultivation stages higher than Zheng Yang.

Similarly, it did not take too long for Zheng Yang to subdue them. He met with slight difficulties in the midst of doing so, but it did not pose too much of a problem.

“He has used 17 moves in total!” Hall Master Xing exclaimed in shock.

After clearing the Dragon’s Back, Zheng Yang moved on to the Dragon’s Head.

The three cultivators in the Dragon’s Head were of six, seven, and eight cultivation stages stronger than him. The moment they made a move, a powerful gale blew furiously in the surroundings as overwhelming auras crushed down in the area.

It was as if a true dragon had surfaced in the area, causing ominous clouds to gather in the sky, as if the entire world was cowering in fear before its might.

On the other hand, Zheng Yang seemed like a withered leaf floating on the surface of a raging ocean. It seemed as if he would be submerged under the furious might of the three cultivators, but somehow, he still managed to remain firmly afloat.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Sometime later, the clouds finally scattered, and Zheng Yang’s figure surfaced once more. He was panting heavily, and beads of sweat trickled relentlessly down his forehead.

He was severely wounded; there were many bloodied gouges all over his body. However, his three opponents were lying unconscious on the floor, leaving him the only one standing on the field. Without a doubt, he had successfully cleared the Dragon’s Head trial as well!

“Now, for the final Dragon’s Pearl…”

Unlike the simplified Dragon Gate Formation, the complete Dragon Gate Formation in the Combat Master Hall headquarters contained a Dragon’s Pearl as well, and it was also known to be the most difficult phase of the entire trial.

Over the past three hundred years, there had been around ten cultivators who were able to clear the simplified Dragon’s Gate Formation, but not a single one of them had managed to clear the Dragon’s Pearl.

Standing on the spot, Zheng Yang took in a few deep breaths to recuperate slightly from his wounds before proceeding forward. Blood was still trickling down from his wounds, leaving a crimson trail behind him.

Despite so, his footsteps were firm and steady. It was as if there was some kind of faith that granted him the courage to march on fearlessly, not cowering even in the face of death.

Boom boom boom!

Soon, a cultivator stood before him—the guardian of the Dragon’s Pearl.

Without any hesitation, the duo began clashing with one another.

The guardian of the Dragon’s Pearl was an incredibly powerful cultivator. Every blow of his harnessed immense strength that seemed to warp even space itself, and halfway into the battle, Zheng Yang’s spear even broke in a direct clash against the guardian.

Nevertheless, Zheng Yang did not give up. Fist art, movement art, leg art… He utilized every kind of technique at his disposal, executing profound moves one after another. Eventually, through utilizing his body as a spear, he successfully breached the cultivator’s defense and achieved victory.

“388 blows… It really isn’t easy to become the Progeny of Combat!” Hall Master Xing remarked.

Even though Zheng Yang had managed to defeat the Dragon’s Pearl in the end, he had also come to the very limits of his body. At this point, there was not a single unwounded patch of skin on his body, and his body was trembling weakly.

However, he still remained firmly standing.

Completely astounded by the sight before them, all the combat masters fell silent. They had a feeling that they would never be able to erase this sight from their minds.

To be honest, if they had been in Zheng Yang’s place, they would have already given up at the Dragon’s Back. This had nothing to do with their strength but their willpower.

It was as if Zheng Yang carried an unwavering faith within him. No matter how many gorges one pierced through him, he still firmly stood his ground, determined to defeat his opponent.

This undying spirit was what set them apart from him.

“I, Zheng Yang, was only an ordinary spear practitioner from the humble Tianxuan Kingdom!”

The recording cut off from the Dragon Gate Formation, and when Zheng Yang appeared once more, he was already cleaned up, and his wounds had recovered as well.

“It’s the blessing of the heavens that I met my teacher. Not only did he impart the strongest spearmanship to me, he also taught me important values, correcting me patiently whenever I stray off from the path. It’s thanks to his guidance that I was able to become the person I am today.

“In cultivation, the aim is not only to cultivate one’s strength, but more importantly, to cultivate one’s character. The Way of the Spear is but a means to that. The reason I was able to become the Progeny of Combat isn’t due to strength but the principles, values, and aims that I hold onto dearly! I hope that all of you will come to comprehend this someday…

“Last but not least, I shall make my first decree as the Progeny of Combat!”

The crowd in the Combat Master Hall swiftly got to their knees and clasped their fists. “We will humbly listen to the decree of the Progeny of Combat!”

In the absence of the hall master, the Progeny of Combat Decree was effectively the Hall Master Decree, an order that all combat masters had to comply to unconditionally.

“I am deeply indebted to my teacher. Without him, there would be no me. Thus, I hereby order everyone in the Combat Master Hall, regardless of strength or position, to honor and respect him as a teacher!”

“Yes!” A resounding response sounded from the crowd.

The teacher of the Progeny of Combat was effectively the teacher of the entire Combat Master Hall.

Anyone who dared disrespect him would be disrespecting the entire Combat Master Hall as well.

“My teacher has always been humble, so no one is to speak of his identity outside of the Combat Master Hall. Anyone who dares leak any detail about him shall be executed on the spot! Understood?” Zheng Yang commanded authoritatively.

“Yes!” the crowd replied thunderingly.

“Very well. Etch the name of my teacher into your minds lest you cross him…

“My teacher is Zhang Xuan!”