The main reason Zhang Xuan wanted to accept Kong s.h.i.+yao as his direct disciple was to form the golden page, and his goal had finally been achieved."Get up!" Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he helped the young lady up.
With this, he should be able to resolve the crisis surrounding the Kunxu Domain.
"Teacher!"
"Is that our Little Junior?"
Zhang Xuan turned his head around and saw Zhao Ya and his other direct disciples looking at him in agitation.
Kong s.h.i.+yao"s Ancient Sage Ordeal had caused such a ma.s.sive phenomenon to occur, shaking the entire Tianxuan Kingdom. As Ancient Sage cultivators, there was no way Zhao Ya and the others would not be alarmed by the happenings.
"Little Junior?" Kong s.h.i.+yao was a little conflicted to hear that term.
She was the number one genius of the Kunxu Domain, a descendant of Kong s.h.i.+… To call a bunch of youths younger than her "senior", she really could not bring herself to do it.
Just as Kong s.h.i.+yao was at a loss as to what to do, Zhang s.h.i.+ suddenly spoke up. "She can"t be considered your junior yet. She isn"t my direct disciple but a normal student that I have accepted."
"A normal student that you have accepted…" Kong s.h.i.+yao"s body trembled at those words.
It was just a moment ago that she had thought that it would be incredibly awkward being their Little Junior, but Zhang Xuan spoke as if she did not even have the rights to be their Little Junior…
She turned to glare at Zhang Xuan with gritted teeth, wanting to protest against that clear insult, only to have Zhang s.h.i.+ turn to her and ask, "Do you think that I am humiliating you?"
Knowing that it would be improper for her to challenge her teacher publicly, she swallowed her indignation and lowered her head. "I wouldn"t dare!"
Nevertheless, the clenched fists by her side fully expressed her true feelings. As the phoenix of the Kunxu Domain, she felt that it was ridiculous that she did not even have the right to become the Little Junior of a bunch of youths.
"It"s fine, there"s no need to hold back before me. I know your thoughts. Why don"t we do this then? Zhao Ya is my direct disciple, and in terms of age, she"s much younger than you," Zhang Xuan said as he gestured toward Zhao Ya. "Without any weapons in hand, the two of you will just fight with your raw strength. If you are able to win against her, I"ll accept you as my direct disciple and allow you to become their senior!"
"Very well!" Caught up in the moment, Kong s.h.i.+yao looked at Zhao Ya with fighting will burning in her eyes.
The other party appeared to be eighteen or so, which made the other party much younger than her. If she could not even defeat such an opponent, what right did she have to be Kong s.h.i.+"s descendant?
After receiving Kong s.h.i.+yao"s approval, Zhang Xuan turned to look at Zhao Ya and said, "Just do what you usually do, and it will be enough."
"Yes!" Zhao Ya replied with a nod before moving toward the empty clearing ahead. With a polite gesture, she invited Kong s.h.i.+yao forward. "Please!"
Kong s.h.i.+yao also quickly walked over.
There was no exchange of words or taunting before the battle started, but with their dignity on their line, a tense and compet.i.tive atmosphere could be felt between the two.
Kong s.h.i.+yao did not use her bloodline ability, but as a top-notch genius and a Blood Reincarnation realm cultivator, she executed innumerable battle techniques one after another impeccably, making her movements appear like an elegant dance.
On the other hand, Zhao Ya activated her unique const.i.tution, causing a cold aura to grip the entire area. Beautiful snowflakes fell from the sky as a result of her ability.
Her cultivation had reached Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm primary stage after the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination on the newly inaugurated Sovereign Chen Yong a month back.
However, over the past month, she had received her teacher"s direct pointers and an ample supply of Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage blood, which had allowed her to reinforce her foundations to their limits and eventually reach Great Philosopher realm consummation. While she had not made too many breakthroughs within this period of time, it would be foolish if one simply a.s.sessed her by her cultivation.
It was true that there was a fatal rift between her and Kong s.h.i.+yao"s cultivation, but through her strong foundations and her deep understanding of battle, she was actually able to stand her ground against Kong s.h.i.+yao"s pressing offense.
The intense battle proceeded, and gradually, one could see anxiety seeping into Kong s.h.i.+yao"s eyes.
There should have been an absolute gap in their strength, given her higher cultivation realm and her prowess as Kong s.h.i.+"s descendant. Yet, in a fair battle where both of them were wielding no weapons, she was actually unable to claim the upper hand.
How in the world did Zhang Xuan"s eighteen-year-old or something direct disciple become so powerful?
This won"t do. At this rate, even if I win, my honor will be sullied…
She wanted to prove that her talents were far beyond any of Zhang Xuan"s direct disciples, but if it was so difficult for her to defeat Zhao Ya despite her higher cultivation, it would actually be no different from suffering a defeat.
Clenching her teeth tightly, she abruptly changed her movement technique, and in an instant, many afterimages of her appeared on the battlefield.
This was the battle technique that Kong s.h.i.+ had specially created for his descendants, as well as the strongest skill that she had at the moment… Ma.s.sacre of the Eight Arms!
Deng deng deng!
Innumerable attacks flew forth from the seemingly omnipresent Kong s.h.i.+yao at a rapid pace. It was not long before Zhao Ya was cornered, and she was forced to retreat again and again.
While Kong s.h.i.+yao had just achieved a breakthrough, there was no questioning that she was someone who had been through four Ancient Sage Ordeals, making her an exceptionally powerful existence even among Blood Reincarnation realm cultivators. If not for Zhao Ya"s superior combat experience, she would have already lost.
"Don"t panic. You are only lacking in absolute strength at the moment… Since that"s the case, all you have to do is achieve a breakthrough!"
With a flick of his finger, Zhang Xuan sent a droplet of the blood essence of the deity over to Zhao Ya.
Hu!
Swallowing the blood droplet, Zhao Ya"s cultivation immediately began surging.
Hong long!
In less than twenty breaths, she had already overcome her current bottleneck to reach the Blood Reincarnation realm.
With the tremendous surge in her strength as a result of her breakthrough, she released a burst of cold energy that swiftly sent Kong s.h.i.+yao flying into the distance before cras.h.i.+ng onto the ground.
"I have lost," Kong s.h.i.+yao muttered with a pale face.
She still had many more moves that she had not used, and she knew that she definitely would have been able to win if she had used her bloodline ability. However, this was not a life-and-death match, and she could not bring herself to use it at this moment.
While the other party"s battle techniques were not as profound as hers, every single one of her movements carried a deep conception behind it, making it hard to fathom her movements. On top of that, the other party seemed to be able to see through her flaws, intentionally striking at places where she could hardly defend. As a result, she was being slowly cornered.
She could still rely on her superior cultivation to bridge the gap in their skills earlier on, but after Zhao Ya"s cultivation reached the Blood Reincarnation realm, it had become a completely one-sided battle.
It was truly laughable how she had looked down on this group of youths prior to the battle. In terms of talent, they were in no way beneath her!
"How is it? Are you still indignant at being called their Little Junior?"
Seeing how the proud genius of the Kunxu Domain was still having trouble coming to terms with her defeat, Zhang Xuan suggested, "If you feel that it"s unfair because Zhao Ya is the strongest of them all, you can feel free to challenge the others. However, I"ll have to ask you to suppress your cultivation in order to ensure fairness."
"This…" Kong s.h.i.+yao turned to look at the rest of Zhang Xuan"s direct disciples.
Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, Wei Ruyan, and the others were looking at her with excited gleams in their eyes. It seemed like they were dying to challenge and bully her so as to put her in place.
"It"s fine. I"m willing to accept my position as the Little Junior…" Kong s.h.i.+yao lowered her head and bowed down.
Since they had all been groomed by the same teacher, it was likely that they would be similar in terms of strength. She had thought that she could suppress Zhao Ya with her superior cultivation, but that did not work in the end. She did not think that she would be able to best the rest of Zhang Xuan"s students.
Since she was not confident in her strength, there was no need for her to go through with that and humiliate herself. It would be best for her to just acknowledge it.
"That would be for the best," Zhang Xuan said. "Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the rest of you, from today on, Kong s.h.i.+yao will be your Little Junior, as well as my ninth direct disciple. You must take care of one another, got it?"
"Yes, we"ll listen to your teachings!"
The others clasped their fists and replied resoundingly.
Seeing that even a descendant of Kong s.h.i.+ had ended up acknowledging Zhang Xuan as her teacher, Ancient Sage Yan Qing found himself rendered speechless. It was not until a long time later that he finally found his voice once more. "Since s.h.i.+yao has achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage and reached the Blood Reincarnation realm, she is qualified to become the new leader of the Kunxu Domain and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!"
Since the Kunxu Domain had been left behind by Kong s.h.i.+ himself, it went without saying that it should be managed by his descendants.
In the past few years, he had just been taking care of the Kunxu Domain and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers in her place. Since Kong s.h.i.+yao had grown and matured, it was time for him to pa.s.s the baton back to her.