Chapter 1129: Saint 2-dan Heaven’s Path Divine Art
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“This…”
Seeing even the most talented genius of his Martial Arts Division bowing to the young man, Division Head Feng was completely bewildered.
What in the world happened?
Aren’t the combat masters of our Combat Master Hall supposed to be prideful individuals who never bow to anyone?
The young man left the trial just moments earlier, and all of them had already acknowledged him as their teacher?
Unable to stand it any longer, Hall Master Xing walked up to Elder Qi and asked, “Elder Qi, this… what is going on?”
“Sun s.h.i.+ imparted some pointers on how one could more effectively utilize battle techniques… and it was deeply enlightening!” Elder Qi replied with a face flushed crimson from agitation, and his fingers were trembling non-stop. It was as if even he was tempted to acknowledge Sun s.h.i.+ as his teacher as well.
“Just some pointers on effectively utilizing battle techniques have left them in such a state?” Division Head Feng could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Their Martial Arts Division had a huge collection of insights from preceding combat masters on how one could maximize the effectiveness of their battle techniques in battle, but most of them were conflicting with one another. Each of them made sense in their own ways, thus making it impossible to tell the correct insights from the incorrect. For Sun s.h.i.+ to win the reverence of everyone here just by lecturing a bit on the subject… Wasn’t that a little too exaggerated?
“You are only saying that because you didn’t hear the content of his lecture. Forget it, it’ll be difficult to explain it to you at the moment. Just grab a combat master and ask him about the matter later on!”
Those who had not listened to the lecture would never comprehend how profound and novel that young man’s interpretation of the subject was. Ignoring the confused Division Head Feng, Elder Qi rushed up to Zhang Xuan and clasped his fist respectfully.
“Sun s.h.i.+, we meet again. Thank you for saving my life back in the Jingyuan City!”
Even though Sun s.h.i.+ had altered his appearance, there was not much change to his voice. Just by hearing him speak, Elder Qi was certain that the young man before him was the middle-aged man who had saved him back then.
“It’s you! What are you doing here?” Zhang Xuan was surprised.
To his astonishment, the elder before him was the Eccentric Old Man whom he had met in Jingyuan City. Back then, the Eccentric Old Man had been plagued by a lethal poison, resulting in a languis.h.i.+ng aura around him. However, in this moment, his face had a healthy red glow to it, and his aura felt more vigorous and livelier than ever. Had the other party not addressed him directly, he would not have believed that the person standing before him was actually the same old man he had met back then!
“It’s all thanks to Sun s.h.i.+’s help. I was able to successfully make a full recovery after you cured my poison. Just a while ago, I successfully made a breakthrough, so I decided to return here to exact my vengeance!” Elder Qi replied.
Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
Without a doubt, Elder Qi’s poison was the result of someone’s malicious deeds. Considering how long he had suffered under the torture of the poison, there was no way he would be willing to let the culprit get away scot-free, especially since he had managed to regain his strength!
“Don’t worry about it. I have already received your medicinal herbs as compensation, so we’re even now,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile. Then, he turned to Division Head Wei and said, “I have defeated the puppet earlier, so I should have cleared the trial, right? May I trouble you to lead me to the book collection?”
“Of course!” Division Head Wei’s lips twitched a little as he swiftly nodded.
Those who cleared the trial were able to access Division Head Feng’s collection of books. As this was the rule Division Head Feng had set himself, there was no one who would complain about that. There was no need to trouble Division Head Feng over this matter.
Besides, if the other combat masters were to learn of this matter, Division Head Feng would probably die of embarra.s.sment.
Following behind Division Head Wei, Zhang Xuan soon entered a library.
On the other hand, upon noting Zhang Xuan’s departure, Hall Master Xing and the others hurriedly rushed up to Elder Qi and asked, “Elder Qi, is he… really the Sun Qiang you were talking about?”
The reason Elder Qi had hurried over so anxiously was to confirm whether the other party was the benefactor who had saved him previously.
“Un, he’s definitely my benefactor. It doesn’t seem like he’s the Zhang Xuan person whom you were talking about!” Elder Qi nodded.
Given that he was acquainted with Sun s.h.i.+ back at Jingyuan City, there did not seem to have been any need for the other party to disguise himself as another person back then. Going by this logic, it did not seem likely for the other party to be Princ.i.p.al Zhang.
“Thank goodness!” Hall Master Xing heaved a sigh of relief.
Noting the other party’s response, Elder Qi asked in bewilderment, “What’s wrong? Do you have a conflict with Princ.i.p.al Zhang? He’s well-respected in the Hongyuan Empire, and there’s hardly any discredit to his name. Did he offend the Combat Master Hall in some way?”
Zhang Xuan’s name was resounding in the Hongyuan Empire, to the extent that his reputation surpa.s.sed even that of Emperor Yu Shenqing. Countless youths regarded him as their idol.
Putting aside the many incredible feats and merits he had accomplished, there was not a shred of dishonor to his name. Given so, it should be safe to a.s.sume that he was a person of n.o.ble stature. Why would Hall Master Xing fear such a person so?
“There are no conflicts between us. It’s a long story.” Hall Master Xing realized that he had acted inappropriately upon hearing Elder Qi’s question, so he quickly waved his hand.
Division Head Liao sent a telepathic message to Hall Master Xing. “Hall Master Xing, since it’s confirmed that Sun s.h.i.+ isn’t Zhang Xuan, and considering his incredible talent and outstanding comprehension of battle techniques, if we could have him represent our Combat Master Hall in the exchange with the Xuanxuan Faction…”
Hearing those words, Hall Master Xing’s eyes lit up.
Indeed. After witnessing it with his own eyes, even he had no choice but to admit that the Xuanxuan Faction was a formidable foe. He had been confident of victory given that he had achieved a breakthrough and obtained the highest secret art, Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra, of the Combat Master Hall, but on second thought, there was still a huge gap between their combat skills. If the Combat Master Hall were to win by sheer strength and not skill, it would not reflect too well on them either.
However, Sun s.h.i.+ was different.
In terms of combat skills, he could use a battle technique that he had learned moments ago to overwhelm Division Head Feng. In terms of state of mind, even the founder of the Heart Division had approved of him and willingly given him the highest control over the Heart Division’s formations. In terms of zhenqi, he could shatter ten stone walls in the Trial of Inner Breath simultaneously. In terms of real fighting prowess, he could escape from a collaborative offense from the three of them.
No matter how one looked at it, Sun s.h.i.+ was an expert among experts. There were none who could rival him in the same level!
If they could have him represent the Combat Master Hall in the exchange against the Xuanxuan Faction, the reputation of the Combat Master Hall would surely be boosted significantly. At the same time, it would also immensely increase their chances in bringing the Xuanxuan Faction under them.
“That’s a good idea!”
After another moment of deep contemplation, Hall Master Xing continued. “However… he’s ultimately not from our Combat Master Hall. If we have him fight on our behalf and others learn of it… will the reputation of our Combat Master Hall be sullied?”
“That won’t be a problem. We could have him represent our Combat Master Hall in the fight against Princ.i.p.al Zhang. If he wins, the Xuanxuan Faction will come under our Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall. Once that happens, not only will our reputation not take a dip, it will even soar to unprecedented heights,” Division Head Liao said.
“You’re right.” Hall Master Xing nodded.
That was indeed the case.
If they could have the bunch from the Xuanxuan Faction join the Combat Master Hall, their Qingyuan Empire’s branch would surely grow stronger and stronger. With time, they might even become a powerhouse within the Alliance.
Even if the Xuanxuan Faction had complaints then, they could deal with it internally. It would not affect their overall situation.
“But… what if he loses?” Hall Master Xing was still a little worried.
Sun s.h.i.+ was indeed a formidable opponent, but Princ.i.p.al Zhang was not a pushover either!
No matter what, he was the man who single-handedly groomed their potential Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang, and he was also the man behind the overwhelming strength of the Xuanxuan Faction!
There was no way such a person like that could possibly be weak!
“If we lose, there will be no way around it. At the very most, our entire Combat Master Hall will join the Xuanxuan Faction!” Division Head Liao said grimly.
“This…” Hall Master Xing fell silent upon hearing those words.
“We have no other option at this point. Once it becomes known that Division Head Zhou, Division Head Lu, and the others have already defected to the Xuanxuan Faction, it will surely cause a huge uproar. With time, more and more combat masters will turn to the Xuanxuan Faction!” Division Head Liao said bitterly.
It was not that he wanted to do this, but they were truly cornered at this point.
In terms of overall prowess, the Xuanxuan Faction was definitely no match for the Combat Master Hall. However, their comprehension of combat had reached an unfathomable level; it was inevitable that the strength-seeking combat masters would be drawn to them.
Of course, this was not necessarily a bad thing. If the combat masters could learn from the Xuanxuan Faction, their fighting prowess would be brought up to a whole new level.
The only issue at the moment was who wielded the dominant position. If the Combat Master Hall was forced to be subservient to a lesser organization, they would become a laughingstock.
Given that this matter concerned the future of the Combat Master Hall, Hall Master Xing had to tread carefully regarding this matter. He thought deeply for a moment before eventually sighing in resignation. “You’re right, we can only do it this way now. I’ll talk to Sun s.h.i.+ about the mater later when he’s done browsing through the books.”
For the Combat Master Hall to be cornered by a lesser organization from a Tier-1 Empire, what a farcical situation they had found themselves in!
But that was indeed what was happening, so he had no choice but to face it.
It might seem absurd, but the Xuanxuan Faction could very well be the greatest crisis they had ever faced. The Xuanxuan Faction’s superior combat skills and philosophy of impartation without discrimination were a bad match for the Combat Master Hall. Putting aside the division heads, if not for the fact that the pride and honor of the Combat Master Hall lay on his shoulders, Hall Master Xing would have rushed over to learn from them as well.
At this point, he could only wish for the best.
…
This is the library of the Martial Arts Division? What an incredible collection of books!
Unaware of the thoughts of Hall Master Xing and the others, Zhang Xuan’s excited gaze was currently fixated on the innumerable shelves of books before him.
As expected of the Martial Arts Division, their collection was nothing short of impressive.
On top of the two hundred Saint-tier battle techniques listed for the Trial of Martial Arts, there were also tens of thousands of Spirit-tier battle techniques as well.
Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement. With these battle techniques, I might just be able to perfect the Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm into a Heaven’s Path battle technique.
What he was lacking the most at the moment was high-tier battle technique manuals. With so many of them, he would be able to raise his comprehension of battle techniques up a notch, thus bringing his fighting prowess to another level.
Flaws!
Zhang Xuan swiftly laid his eyes on the first shelf and began collecting the books into his Library of Heaven’s Path.
Hualala!
Books were appearing in the Library of Heaven’s Path at an incredible speed.
Ten minutes later, Zhang Xuan had finally finished taking in all of the battle technique manuals.
There really is a substantial collection of Saint 2-dan cultivation techniques here!
After browsing through the battle techniques, Zhang Xuan turned his sight to the last few shelves and saw all kinds of zhenqi cultivation techniques. All in all, there were roughly several hundred of them.
There were also a couple of Saint 3-dan and Saint 4-dan cultivation technique manuals, but there were not too many of them, numbering only around four to five each.
Zhang Xuan swiftly glanced over them and collected them into the Library of Heaven’s Path as well.
Compile!
In the blink of an eye, three books appeared before Zhang Xuan’s eyes—Saint 2-dan, Saint 3-dan, and Saint 4-dan.
He swiftly flipped through them.
I have finally managed to form the Saint 2-dan Heaven’s Path Divine Art!
Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement as he heaved a sigh of relief.
Those hundreds of books had allowed him to perfect the Saint 2-dan cultivation technique. Unfortunately, there were still many flaws with the Saint 3-dan and Saint 4-dan cultivation techniques, so he could not cultivate them at the moment.
Nevertheless, he was satisfied.
I should just push for a breakthrough here, Zhang Xuan thought.
There was no one in the library, and it was extremely quiet. At the same time, he could not be bothered to find another place outside, so he headed to a corner and entered the Myriad Anthive Nest.
Considering his cultivation’s strong foundation, his breakthrough would surely cause a commotion. How embarra.s.sing it would be if he were to accidentally destroy the other party’s library in the midst of doing so?
It would be safer for him to do it in the Myriad Anthive Nest.
In the Myriad Anthive Nest, he quickly found himself a quiet place before setting up a grade-7 Spirit Gathering Formation. Following which, he threw several thousand high-tier spirit stones in before sitting in the middle of it.
High-tier spirit stones were starting to become ineffective in his cultivation, so he needed a Spirit Gathering Formation to maximize their effects. Otherwise, if he were to just absorb them normally, it would be difficult for him to build up the momentum required for a breakthrough.
Once all preparations were ready, Zhang Xuan went through the Saint 2-dan Heaven’s Path Divine Art in his mind once more before devouring the surrounding spiritual energy greedily and swiftly converting them into zhenqi.
Saint 2-dan Spiritual Perception realm. At this level, cultivators would open their Incipient Eye, allowing them to perceive their surroundings more vividly than any of their other senses through their Spiritual Perception. While a breakthrough to this realm would not raise a cultivator’s basic strength by too much, the enhanced perception of one’s surroundings would allow one to make more precise movements in battle, and often, that could be the difference between victory and defeat.
This should be enough… Time to open my Incipient Eye!
With his eyes closed, Zhang Xuan’s consciousness slowly crept into his dantian before eventually stopping before his golden Origin Core, which sat at the center of his dantian.