All along, he had been openly using Yang s.h.i.+"s name in order to conceal the existence of his Library of Heaven"s Path. Yet, who could have thought that by some mysterious workings of the world, a character whom he had created at a whim turned out to be truly existent... and not only so, he was even a grand elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, one of the strongest experts in the world!It was already extremely awkward for him to be faking as the other party"s student, but who could have thought that the other party would even be in the Zhang Clan?
If the both of them were to meet, wouldn"t his fake ident.i.ty be exposed on the spot?
Before Zhang Xuan could say a word, Zhang Wuchen had already asked with a frown, "Yang s.h.i.+?"
"Ah, look at what I"m saying. It"s been too long that I have last met teacher that I accidentally addressed him wrongly by mistake!" Zhang Xuan hurriedly glossed over his mistake.
He had been too overwhelmed with shock that he unintentionally addressed Yang Xuan as "Yang s.h.i.+" instead of "teacher".
"Un, Yang s.h.i.+ has been in seclusion at our Zhang Clan for more than a half a year now, so it"s indeed been quite some time since the two of you met," Zhang Wuchen nodded in agreement, seemingly accepting Zhang Xuan"s excuse.
"Would it be inconveniencing my teacher if I were to visit him while he"s in the midst of his seclusion?" Zhang Xuan looked at Zhang Wuchen and asked.
Considering how Zhang Wuchen knew that he was "Yang s.h.i.+"s student", and that given the fact that Yang s.h.i.+ was currently in the Zhang Clan, it was weird that no one had called Yang s.h.i.+ over yet. There could only be two possibilities for this. Firstly, Zhang Wuchen was trying to sound him out. Secondly, Yang s.h.i.+ was in the midst of a crucial point of his cultivation and was unable to leave his seclusion just yet.
Regardless of which of the two it was, they worked out to Zhang Xuan"s advantage.
"Yang s.h.i.+ did instruct us not to allow anyone to interrupt him while he"s in his cultivation. However, he should be coming out in a few days" time. If Zhang s.h.i.+ is in no rush to move, you should be able to reunite with Yang s.h.i.+." Zhang Wuchen said.
"Ah, that"s a relief. I"m in no hurry to leave, so I guess I"ll impose on the Zhang Clan while waiting for my teacher to come out of his seclusion then." Zhang Xuan nodded as he secretly heaved a sigh of relief on the inside.
It seemed like he still had a few more days to spare. However, to be safe, he should still hasten his plan. As soon as he lured the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan out and pummeled him, he should leave straight away. Otherwise, it could pose to be a huge trouble if he were to b.u.mp heads with Yang s.h.i.+!
"May I know where my teacher is in seclusion at the moment? I"ll just head over to pay my respects first without interrupting him," Zhang Xuan asked.
The least he could do was to first confirm the enemy"s location. This way, he would know where he should flee to if he were to hear that the other party had come out of seclusion.
"I"m afraid that I don"t really know. Only the First Elder is aware of where Yang s.h.i.+ had gone into seclusion at." Zhang Wuchen shook his head and replied.
"You don"t know?" Zhang Xuan shook his head in feigned disappointment.
While the two of them were still speaking, the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast and the Inferno Qilin were finally done with their breakthroughs. Incredible energy pulsated from their bodies, and it felt as if it would burst out of their bodies at any moment.
The surrounding crowd couldn"t help but eye the two Saint 9-dan beasts gathered around Zhang Xuan warily, apprehensive of the strength they wielded. Even Jian Qinsheng was a little agitated too.
One must know that even the deputy sanctum head of the Sanctum of Sages was only at Saint 9-dan primary stage, but Zhang Xuan, despite being a student, had already tamed a Saint 9-dan primary stage and a Saint 9-dan pinnacle beast... What this meant was that there was effectively no one else who could stand against him in the Sanctum of Sages anymore!
With such strength at his disposal, he was more than qualified to become an elder of the Sanctum of Sages!
At the same time, conflicted looks appeared on the faces of the Zhang Clan"s offspring. They had come here to teach Zhang Xuan a lesson, but after witnessing the formidable capabilities he wielded in painting and beast taming, they found their resolve wavering.
Zhang Ziqing and Zhang Jiang could already be considered as the two most talented individuals amongst them, but nevertheless, they didn"t even come close to being a match to Zhang Xuan. If they were to challenge the young man at this point, they would only be embarra.s.sing themselves and sullying the reputation of the Zhang Clan further.
As a result, this led to an awkward standstill... Well, awkward for everyone except for Zhang Xuan.
He was simply happy to have his moment of peace. After all, fending off all those pesky challengers was exhausting on his part too!
There was only one opponent he was interested in here, and that was the little prodigy. The rest were simply too weak to even catch his interest.
"Zhang s.h.i.+, the guest area is already not suited for your accommodation anymore. I happen to have another residence prepared. Allow me to bring you over." Seeing that the geniuses of the Zhang Clan had thoroughly lost their fighting will, Zhang Wuchen couldn"t help but sigh deeply on the inside.
"Another residence?" Zhang Xuan pondered for a brief moment before nodding, "I"ll be troubling Third Elder then."
Indeed. With the current state of the guest accommodations, there was no way he could stay here anymore.
"It"s no trouble at all. Follow me." The Third Elder nodded.
After instructing Elder Wuzhen to fix up the guest accommodations as soon as possible, he swiftly headed into the distance.
Before leaving, Zhang Xuan didn"t forget to impart the method to stopping the sculptures to the two 9-star spirit awakeners, and before their shocked gazes, he departed into the distance.
Not too long later, he arrived at the residential area of the Zhang Clan members.
"Sword Saint Jian Qinsheng, you can use this room for the moment. After I settle in the other guests, we"ll be holding the tournament for the younger generation. Following that, we"ll be hosting a socializing session so that everyone can exchange cultivation insights and catch up with one another!" After landing in a residence, the Third Elder explained the upcoming events for the day with a smile.
"Alright, thank you." Jian Qinsheng nodded.
He had been to the Zhang Clan for three times now, but this was the first time he had entered the residential area of the Zhang Clan"s core members.
In a sense, he was benefitting from Zhang Xuan"s halo.
The spiritual energy here wasn"t as rich as that in the guest area, but there was a unique aura in the air which seemed to energize one"s body and mind, enhancing one"s rate of cultivation.
"Zhang s.h.i.+, will you accompany me to take a walk around?" After settling Jian Qinsheng down, Zhang Wuchen turned to Zhang Xuan and asked.
"I"ll be pleased to," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.
It just happened that he wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the Zhang Clan in the off case that he ever needed to s.n.a.t.c.h his bride away from them. Since Zhang Wuchen was inviting him for a walk, there was no reason for him to turn him down.
Even if there was danger, he had the Inferno Qilin and the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast to guard him. Besides, he was a guest, and the Zhang Clan seemed to value their reputation too much to make a move on their guests.
"This way, please." Zhang Wuchen gestured with a smile before leading the way forward.
This time, they didn"t fly in the air but walked instead.
After everything that had happened, the sun had already set. A crescent moon was accompanied by a sky of twinkling stars in the night sky, showering the world with a dim, cold light. Somehow, everything appeared particularly cold and forlorn on this very night.
The two men walked along the pavement, one at the front and one at the back.
Silence drifted between the two men before Zhang Wuchen suddenly asked with a casual tone, "Zhang s.h.i.+, where did you come from? Do you have any siblings?"
"I am an orphan. I don"t even know who my parents are, let alone my siblings." Zhang Xuan replied calmly.
Even the previous him had no idea whom his parents are, so of course, he would have even less of an idea over here.
"An orphan, huh…" Zhang Wuchen muttered beneath his breath before realizing that he had allowed his thoughts to wander. So, he quickly pulled his attention back and carried on asking, "Since you are an orphan, why is your surname Zhang? Who gave you your name?"
"Hmmm…" Zhang Xuan pondered contemplatively before shaking his head. "It has been too long. I don"t remember anymore."
In the first place, the memory he had inherited from the previous him wasn"t complete, so how could he be aware of such complications?
Based on the memories of the previous him, it seemed like he had been hung on a noose looped over a tree when he was very young and nearly lost his life, and the man who had saved him bestowed him with the character, "Xuan". As for why his surname was Zhang... well, beats him too.
What was important to him was that his Zhang was not the same Zhang as the Zhang of the Zhang Clan.
"You can"t remember anymore? Your parents must have departed while you were very young…" Zhang Wuchen remarked. Then, he abruptly chuckled softly before asking, "Then Zhang s.h.i.+, what do you think of our Zhang Clan? Do you have any interest in joining our ranks?"
"Thank you for your goodwill, but I"ll have to turn down that offer." Zhang Xuan replied firmly.
After forcing Luo Ruoxin to marry a man who had never taken responsibility for her and despicably scheming to kill him, they still had the cheek to ask him to join them? Dream on!
"I see…" Not expecting the young man to reject his offer so affirmatively, Zhang Wuchen was left in a slightly awkward position.
Silence drifted between the both of them for quite some time before Zhang Wuchen caught something ahead of him, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "We"re here!"
"Here? Where?" Taken aback, Zhang Xuan raised his head and saw two ma.s.sive characters appearing before his eyes.
"Blood Reservoir!"Xuan has the meaning of "hanging" in Chinese.