Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
Some time later, the lightning finally receded, and Elder Feng climbed out from the ditch he was in an unkempt state. The expression on his face looked as if he had been ravaged by countless savage beasts, wretched and disconsolate.
It was one thing for the Shrine of Seers and library to be completely destroyed, but to be struck relentlessly by lightning when an azure clear sky stood right above him… what was he supposed to make of this situation?
All he wanted to do was to take in a student! It was not as if he had violated some heavenly rules or something, did his actions really warranted being struck by lightning?
It was fortunate that the lightning only sought to punish and not to kill, or else even a Saint 9-dan pinnacle expert like him would have been reduced to ashes too.
“Teacher…” Yu Chen hurriedly pulled Elder Feng out of the ditch. At this moment, he had no idea what he could and should say in this situation either.
This was the first time he had seen his teacher in such a state after coming under his tutelage two hundred years ago.
“It’s all my fault…” Seeing how the lively and energetic old man being reduced to such a state within just a short span of ten minutes, Zhang Xuan lowered his head apologetically.
After all that had happened, it was apparent that the situation was just as what the other party put it out to be—it was retribution from the heavens.
Peering into the secrets of the heavens was something forbidden by the heavens. It would still be fine if they weren’t caught in the act, but once they were… As the master of the Library of Heaven’s Path, unless he were to seal off the Library of Heaven’s Path, coming into proximity with the seers would cause the will of the heavens to swiftly notice the existence of such desecrating actions.
In a sense, it was similar to how students cheating in the examination would be able to get away scot-free with they weren’t caught, but once they were, there was no way they could be let away lightly. Otherwise, how could the school uphold the integrity of the examinations?
The authority of the heavens mustn’t be challenged!
If it were to allow everyone to just peer into its secrets as when they liked, what would become of the world?
Initially, Zhang Xuan was planning to compile a book on Elder Feng to see if he could help the latter treat his injuries, but who could have known that this simple action would result in the will of the heavens noticing the nature of Elder Feng’s occupation and sending a streak of lightning down on him?
And for every time he tried to check, another streak of lightning would fall. After multiple tries, it was finally absolutely clear to him that he was the one who had brought the lightning here…
His primary intention was to save Elder Feng, but his goodwill had only ended up causing even more damage…
Just the thought of it left him feeling deeply embarrassed.
“Given that I’m unable to look at the books of seers or even examine those of the seer occupation… there’s really no way for me to learn the art of divination then…” Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.
No matter what, as an Upper Nine Paths occupation, seers were deeply respected in the society. If he could master the art of divination, his standing would surely rise to greater heights, thus giving him more chips to win Luo Ruoxin’s marriage in hand.
But not only was the Library of Heaven’s Path unwilling to help him compile a Heaven’s Path Divination Art, it was even bent on destroying every single book relating to divination that he lay his eyes upon… From the looks of it, it seemed like he was completely unfated with this occupation.
“Elder Feng, I’m truly apologetic about what have happened here today. If I hadn’t come here, such a situation wouldn’t have happened either…” Zhang Xuan walked up to the dazed-looking Elder Feng, clasped his fist, and apologized earnestly.
As one who possessed the Library of Heaven’s Path, it could be said that he carried the will of the heavens along with him. And to enter a place where others were peering into the secrets of the heavens with the will of the heavens with him…
To be honest, it was already a huge blessing that none of the seers had died in this calamity.
Even though it was completely unintentional, he still couldn’t shirk off responsibility for what that had happened here, so he could only admit to it candidly.
“This has nothing with you…” With lifeless eyes, Elder Feng shook his head and sighed deeply.
In his view, their occupation had simply revealed too many secrets of the world that the retribution of the heavens was falling upon them. No matter how talented the young man before him was, there was no way he could dictate the will of the heavens to attack them.
So ultimately, the fault still lay in them.
“Elder Feng, with all that had happened, I think that you might want some time to yourself, so I won’t impose on you any longer…” Knowing that there was no way for him to explain the matter, Zhang Xuan decided to say no more.
“Alright, you should return first. I’ll come and look for you after I make sense out of what had happened here…” Elder Feng nodded.
After witnessing what had happened to the Shrine of Seers, the young man should be filled with apprehension for the seer occupation at the moment. It would be best for him to first figure out the root of the problem before approaching the young man to alleviate his fears and talk him into becoming his direct disciple.
Otherwise, who in the world would be willing to join an occupation which would put one at risk of being struck by lightning at any moment?
“Farewell then!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist once more toward Elder Feng before leaving the area.
Luo Xuanqing took one last look at the surroundings before quickly leaving together with Zhang Xuan.
As soon as he was in a safe distance away from where Elder Feng’s Spiritual Perception could reach, he finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. He walked up to Zhang Xuan and asked with a hushed voice, “Zhang shi, what exactly happened back there?”
“I’m not too sure either…” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
It wouldn’t be safe for him to talk too much about this matter even if the other party was his future brother-in-law. After all, there were simply too much at stakes here.
“You aren’t sure?” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s response, a displeased frown appeared on Luo Xuanqing’s forehead. But eventually, he still decided against probing any further.
He wasn’t too sure about what had happened either, but without a doubt, it must have something to do with the young man before him.
Otherwise, why would the Shrine of Seers remain perfectly intact for several dozen millenniums, only to collapse completely as soon as he appeared?
Everyone had been saying that he was the King of Destruction, causing devastation and ruination everywhere he went. But within this short period of time that he came to know this young man, somehow, he felt that the young man was far more fearsome than he was.
At the very least, the destruction he caused was explicable, caused mainly by excessive use of strength or failure to rein in his cultivation properly… On the other hand, the young man managed to tear the entire Shrine of Seers down, and no one knew how he did it at all!
This must be the highest realm in the Art of Destruction. It seemed like he still had much to work on.
“I really should interact more with him so as to learn the art of causing destruction inconspicuously…” Luo Xuanqing thought as he stroked his lower jaw contemplatively.
“Right! I have been too preoccupied with all that was going on that I forgot about Zhang Chun!” Luo Xuanqing suddenly recalled something at this moment and smacked his forehead regretfully
He had been too caught up in trying to figure out if what had happened to the Shrine of Seers was related to the young man before him that he forgot his primary motive there.
Zhang Chun was still within the Shrine of Seers, and he hadn’t found an opportunity to beat up that fellow yet…
It wasn’t easy for him to achieve a breakthrough, so how could he let Zhang Chun off without giving him a huge gift?
“It would reflect poorly on you if you were to simply run over to pummel him… In my opinion, there’s no need for you to go to him at all. You should make him come and find you instead.” Zhang Xuan said.
“Oh?” Luo Xuanqing looked over in interest and asked, “How should I go about doing that?”
“Simple. Of the many occupations in the Sanctum of Sages, are there any which the offspring of the Zhang Clan particularly excels in?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Hmph!” Upon speaking of the Zhang Clan, Luo Xuanqing immediately harrumphed in disdain. “While there’s nothing good that can be said about the personality of those of the Zhang Clan, I have to admit that their reputation isn’t just for show. There are plenty of experts amongst them, and their names are often brought up when speaking of the top geniuses of most supporting occupation as well…”
The talents of the Zhang Clan’s offspring didn’t just manifest in their fighting prowess, they also had outstanding accomplishments in other occupations too.
It was due to this reason that they were able to enjoy such a lofty reputation as the indubitable number one influence in the Sanctum of Sages, both feared and respected by the masses.
“That’s good. Other than Zhang Chun, who is the next most renowned offspring of the Zhang Clan? Bring me to him, and I’ll challenge him in his field of speciality!” Zhang Xuan declared. “As long as we do a sweep of all members of the Zhang Clan, it should only be a matter of time before Zhang Chun comes to us personally.”
It was only a matter of time before the matter that had happened at the Shrine of Seers was traced to him. On top of that, the fact that Yang Xuan was a real figure amongst the top echelons of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters was also a ticking time bomb threatening to explode on him at any moment…
It would be one thing if Yang Xuan were to never appear, but once the other party did and denied the teacher-student relationship that Zhang Xuan claimed, it wouldn’t take long before greedy individuals would set their eyes upon him, determined to uncover the secrets behind his swift rise.
While the Master Teacher Pavilion had rules against such actions, it didn’t necessarily have the resources to enforce it. Furthermore, it also had many other strategic goals as well, such as uniting the various powers of the Master Teacher Continent to fend against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. If it had to choose between maintaining friendly relations with a powerful organization and protecting an individual master teacher, even if a talented one, it would indubitably choose the former. Sometimes, for the sake of more important objectives, one had no choice but to compromise and turn a blind eye to other matters.
The only reason why Zhang Xuan was able to remain safe so far was due to his lineage, and this was also an important factor to preventing the top echelons of the Master Teacher Continent from falling into utter chaos.
Kill a disciple, and his teacher would come knocking for vengeance; this was actually just a gross simplification of the effects of a lineage. One had to be extremely careful when dealing with lineages because it was extremely difficult to say for sure just who was connected to whom… For this reason, unless it was a truly irreconcilable grudge, most powers would avoid making a move on one another.
There was an incident in the past where a Tier-3 Sage Clan casually sentenced a Transcendent Mortal cultivator from a minor clan to death for crossing them. But as luck would have it, a 9-star blacksmith turned out to be their great great great grandfather… In the end, the Tier-3 Sage Clan was nearly entirely wiped out from the face of the world.
As such, most cultivators and powers would avoid making a move a person who could have possibly come from a powerful heritage. It was also for this reason that Zhang Xuan was able to rise through the ranks safely, such that there wasn’t even any attempted assassination on his life. The protection he had received from the name ‘Yang Xuan’ had truly been invaluable.
If not for the fact that Yang Xuan really existed, given how he had succeeded in crashing two Master Teacher Pavilions, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would have long sent some men down to investigate his secrets.
In other words, he was currently in a very precarious position. He had to become an 8-star master teacher and remove the seal on the Sanctum Head Token or raise his cultivation to a level where he would be able to protect himself before Yang Xuan came knocking.
If he could become the next head of the Sanctum of Sages, even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would have to think twice before making a move on him.
Just as what Fei shi had said previously, generations of sanctum heads would challenge the students of powerful clans and organizations while they were students themselves in order to build up prestige, and this would allow them would swiftly gain control of the Sanctum of Sages after their inauguration. Since he was going to be the next sanctum head anyway, there was no need for him to hesitate about the matter either.
It just happened that he had the poorest relationship with the Zhang Clan, so it went without saying that he should start from challenging them!
If he couldn’t flip the entire Sanctum of Sages upside down, his surname shan’t be Zhang!
“You want to challenge the Zhang Clan offspring in their field of specialty?” Luo Xuanqing asked with a frown. “I know that you possess incredible means in the field of formations and beast taming, but it won’t be easy for you to defeat them in the other supporting occupations. Are you certain that you’ll be able to emerge victorious?”
It wasn’t that Luo Xuanqing didn’t trust Zhang Xuan, but it was impossible for even the most talented master teacher to be skilled in everything.
While the young man before him possessed exceptional prowess in the field of formations and beast taming, such that he didn’t think that there would be anyone in the Sanctum of Sages who could rival the young man, he couldn’t say the same for the other supporting occupations too. Just recalling the various unbelievable records that the Zhang Clan’s offspring had set in some of the supporting occupations was enough to send shivers down his spines.
It was one thing if they managed to succeed, but if they were to fail in their challenge, things would get really embarrassing for them…
“Don’t worry. As long as I can receive an ample amount of books, it won’t be easy for me to lose!” Zhang Xuan said confidently.
“If you are really confident about it, I guess it should be fine. It happens that I have some business at the Spirit Awakener Guild. Do you want to come along with me?” Recalling the various miracles that the young man had produced, Luo Xuanqing hesitated for a moment before saying.
“Spirit Awakener Guild?” Zhang Xuan turned to Luo Xuanqing. “Are there any offspring of the Zhang Clan there?”
“Zhang Chun’s younger brother, Zhang Feng, is the Inceptive Sage there. However, his proficiency of spirit enchantment has already reached the level of 8-star… Are you sure that you’re able to do it?” Luo Xuanqing asked worriedly.
Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan replied, “Don’t worry, how can a man say that he’s unable to do it? If he’s still of decent character, I’ll let him off after a quick challenge. Otherwise, I won’t be standing on ceremony then…”
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