Library of Heaven’s Path

Not knowing that Dong Xin had already discovered the secret regarding the Byzantium Helios Beast, Zhang Xuan was currently making his way over to the Formation Master School.

Even though he had set up his Aura Sealing Formation impeccably, the formation’s grade was ultimately still too low.

While the Byzantium Helios Beast was tightly squeezed inside the Myriad Anthive Nest, it was still a saint beast with incredible regenerative capability. In just a few days, it had mostly recovered from the wounds it had sustained previously.

Thus, as soon as it was released in the courtyard, it exerted its full might to break the formation so as to escape.

It was fortunate that Zhang Xuan had expected such a situation and had prepared in advance for it. Through utilizing the strength of Vicious and the Otherworldly Demon puppets, he had managed to subdue it eventually.

However, that wasn’t a feasible solution in the long-run.

Zhang Xuan had no choice but to take the Byzantium Helios Beast out in order to interrogate it on the affairs of the Otherworldly Demons, but if he couldn’t trap it properly with his formation, it might just end up escaping while his guard was down one day.

Furthermore, the shattering of the Aura Sealing Formation meant that it was possible for the aura of the Otherworldly Demon puppets to escape, and he might potentially draw in the Saint realm experts of the academy as a result of it. If that were to happen, it would be difficult for him to explain himself.

After much contemplation, Zhang Xuan decided that he should first study a higher grade formation just to be safe.

Thus, he left his manor, and before long, he was already in the Formation Master School.

I should start with the library first!

After confirming the location of the library from the passers-by, he found a small gazebo in its vicinity, sat down in there, and drew his soul out.

The Formation Master School was ranked third in the entire Master Teacher Academy. There was a constant flow of people going in and out of its library, a sight that one would never see in the Terpsichore School or the Demonic Tunist School.

It didn’t take too long for Zhang Xuan to get into the library.

As he was currently a 4-star formation master, he decided to skip the books in the lower levels and head right up to the fifth floor.

Hualala!

As his gaze swept over the shelves, book after book swiftly appeared in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

In four hours, he had already finished taking in all of the books on the fifth and sixth floors, and he compiled them to form the 5-star and 6-star Heaven’s Path Formation Art.

After he was done, he quickly returned his soul to his body and began studying.

When Zhang Xuan finally opened his eyes once again two hours later, there was a bright gleam in them.

At that very moment, his comprehension of formations had reached the equivalent of a 6-star pinnacle formation master. Even against the head of the Formation Master School, he was confident that he would be able to stand his ground.

Should I take the 6-star formation master examination while I am here?

Standing up, Zhang Xuan contemplated with his right hand stroking his lower jaw.

If he could receive a 6-star formation master emblem as well, he would have cleared one of the main prerequisites to the 6-star master teacher examination.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan decided against it. Forget it, I have been taking too many examinations recently. If I continue at this pace, I might just end up drawing doubts upon myself, and that would be troublesome. For the time being, I should focus my effort on interrogating the Byzantium Helios Beast!

He had taken quite a lot of examinations in recent days—blacksmith, terpsichore, physician, apothecary, demonic tunist… The matter had caused a huge uproar in the Master Teacher Academy. Since his cultivation was still too low to take the 6-star master teacher examination, it might be good for him to slow down for the time being.

Once the current heat had dissipated, he could continue as he pleased.

In any case, his knowledge couldn’t possibly escape from him. It would make no difference whether he took the examination now or later.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan returned straight to his manor.

He walked directly to his courtyard and took out a couple to formation flags to set up a grade-6 Breath Isolation Formation.

When he was finally done, he took a look at the work he had just achieved and nodded in satisfaction.

Unlike other grade-6 formations, which were impossible to successfully set up without reaching Chrysalis realm or even Half-Saint, the Breath Isolation Formation could be set up even by those whose cultivation wasn’t up to par.

Zhang Xuan had done some calculations, and he had realized that even if the Byzantium Helios Beast was in its peak state, it would still be unable to break the formation. With this, Zhang Xuan would no longer have to worry about anything escaping from it.

Hu!

Zhang Xuan stepped into the formation and deployed the Otherworldly Demon puppets in the surroundings. After this was done, he released the Byzantium Helios Beast.

”You… If you want to kill me, just do it!”

By this point, the Byzantium Helios Beast had already awoken from its previous unconsciousness. It lay motionless on the ground as it glared at the young man before it with deep resentment.

As the tamed beast of the old principal, when had it ever suffered like that before?

If only it wielded sufficient power in its hands, it would have surely ripped the fellow before it into shreds!

”If it was my intention to kill you, I would have already done so on Leiyuan Peak. There would have been no need for me to keep you alive until now!”

Zhang Xuan waved his hands coldly. ”If you don’t want to suffer, you’d better reveal your motive for harming the thirty thousand examinees and the mastermind behind you… If you do so, I can consider sparing your life. Otherwise, believe me, I will make every single day of yours a living hell!”

This fellow was unlike the Ancient Ape on the Cloudmist Ridge.

Soul Search was not an infallible technique. The main reason Zhang Xuan had been able to successfully use it on the Ancient Ape was due to the latter’s fear of him, and the unstable state of mind made it easier to peer into his memories. On the other hand, the Byzantium Helios Beast had a headstrong and loyal personality. Considering how it hadn’t spoken a word despite being pummeled again and again, there was a good chance that Soul Search may fail on it.

If that was the case, Zhang Xuan would lose the only lead he had on the Otherworldly Demons!

Honestly speaking, he also couldn’t help but feel deeply helpless against this fellow.

”Make my life a living hell? Do you think that I’m afraid of that?” the Byzantium Helios Beast roared furiously.

”My master was killed by Otherworldly Demons like you! You want me to submit to the likes of you? Not in a million years!”

His master had devoted his life to fighting against the Otherworldly Demons, and having accompanied by his master’s side for many years, the Byzantium Helios Beast had inherited his moral compass. It had a clear notion of what it should do and what it shouldn’t do.

If it were to side with the Otherworldly Demons, it would be too ashamed to continue living in this world!

Rather than live without honor and dignity, it would rather die!

”Your master was killed by Otherworldly Demons?” Zhang Xuan frowned. ”What do you mean by that?”

The Byzantium Helios Beast harrumphed. ”Your deception is meaningless! You are royalty of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, right? Only the royalty can conceal their aura perfectly and disguise themselves as master teachers without catching the notice of others!”

”Disguise as master teachers?”

Zhang Xuan burst into laughter. He was intending to interrogate the other party on the whereabouts of the Otherworldly Demons, but to think that he would end up being framed by the other party instead…

”Do you think that you can prove your innocence by fabricating such lies? To control so many spirit beasts to attack the examinees of the Master Teacher Academy, even a fool can tell that you have malicious intentions in mind. Who else can you possibly be working for if not the Otherworldly Demons?” Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.

”Attack the examinees? Malicious intentions?” The short-tempered Byzantium Helios Beast’s face turned scarlet upon hearing the accusation. ”I was invited by School Head Mo to facilitate an examination for the examinees, how is that a malicious intention?”

”Facilitate an examination? You had the Myriad Anthive Queen to track down the whereabouts of the students so that the spirit beasts could lay a trap for them to step into… can that even be called an examination? If I hadn’t discovered it in time, who knows how many students would have lost their lives!” Zhang Xuan sneered disdainfully.

Seeing that the other party was trying to soil its honor, the Byzantium Helios Beast explained indignantly, ”Those spirit beasts were captured by School Head Mo, and I had already warned them against killing any of the examinees! The purpose of the examination was to dampen their arrogance and have them understand that the strength of master teachers lies in their collectivity, not the individual!”

Even at death, it would die an honorable beast. It wouldn’t allow anyone to frame it of anything.

”There’s such a way of going about it too?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

At this point, he suddenly couldn’t help but recall the situation back when he was still on the Leiyuan Peak, when he encountered two hundred master teachers surrounded by four hundred spirit beasts. While the situation seemed perilous then, thinking back… it was indeed bizarre how there were no casualties. Could it really have been part of the examination?

If that was the case… could it be that he had misunderstood the Byzantium Helios Beast?

”You… are acquainted with School Head Mo?” Zhang Xuan asked.

”Of course! I am the tamed beast of the Master Teacher Academy’s old principal. How could I possibly not know who School Head Mo Zhu is?” the Byzantium Helios Beast said with clenched jaws.

”You can kill me, but don’t even dream of prying my mouth open!”

”The tamed beast of the old principal…” Zhang Xuan’s mouth twitched upon hearing those words.

During his time in the Master Teacher Academy, he had that the old principal’s tamed beast had disappeared, and back then, he had thought that it was the doing of Otherworldly Demons…

To think that the culprit… would be him instead!

Oblivious to Zhang Xuan’s shock, the Byzantium Helios Beast roared resolutely, ”Indeed! My master might have already left me, but there is no way that I will side with Otherworldly Demons! Impossible!”

”Side with Otherworldly Demons… Are you saying that I am an Otherworldly Demon?” Zhang Xuan asked with a bizarre look on his face.

”Is that not it? To be protected by the will of an Otherworldly Demon expert and so many Otherworldly Demon puppets… Who else can you be if not an Otherworldly Demon!” the Byzantium Helios Beast spat.

”This…” Glancing at the Otherworldly Demon puppets in the surroundings, Zhang Xuan blinked his eyes in a daze.

If one were to see so many Otherworldly Demon puppets all of the sudden without knowing of the inside story, they would indeed assume that to be the case…

It seemed like the entire matter was just a huge misunderstanding…

He had thought that the Byzantium Helios Beast was a subordinate dispatched by the Otherworldly Demons to harm the Master Teacher Academy’s examinees, and the other party thought that he was royalty of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…

What the heck!

If he’d known this was a misunderstanding, he would never have been so harsh on the Byzantium Helios Beast!

Taking a look at the other party’s state, he didn’t even look like a beast anymore…

Recalling the sight of how his puppets had pummeled the other party viciously just earlier that afternoon, Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched uncontrollably…

It seemed like… somehow, things had gotten out of hand.

In terms of standing, the tamed beast of the old principal was comparable to a school head. To pummel the other party viciously, leaving it on the verge of death multiple times… If others were to learn of it, he would be a goner!

The entire academy would be raising their pitchforks toward him, hunting him down to the ends of the world.

Currently, there are only two solutions before me. One is to kill the other party and ensure that no one learns that I am the culprit. The other is to tame it and make it my tamed beast. Otherwise, it will surely rally others against me as soon as I set it free! Zhang Xuan’s mind swiftly whirred into action upon realizing that this was a huge misunderstanding.

Given the other party’s standing, even if Zhang Xuan were to prove that he wasn’t an Otherworldly Demon, there was no way it would be willing to let Zhang Xuan off the hook just because he had left it on the brink of death multiple times. If he were to release it, there was no doubt that he would be in for a round of misfortune.

The easiest and safest way out of this was to… just kill the other party!

I can’t. I should try the second solution instead!

It was admirable and touching how the Byzantium Helios Beast refused to budge even in the face of death, choosing to take the secrets of humanity with it to its grave instead. It was one thing if Zhang Xuan was unaware of it, but now that he had learned of it, he would surely regret it for life if he were to kill the other party.

Taming might be difficult, but Zhang Xuan felt that it was the only acceptable solution out of this mess.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply before turning to the Byzantium Helios Beast and said, ”I am not from the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. I am a real master teacher!”

”Stop putting on an act here, do you think that I’ll believe you?” The Byzantium Helios Beast didn’t believe Zhang Xuan at all.

If the other party wasn’t an Otherworldly Demon, how could he have so many Otherworldly Demon puppets protecting him? On top of that, the will of an Otherworldly Demon expert had even pledged loyalty to him…

Don’t even think that you can fool me that easily just because I am a beast…

Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed. ”Consider our plight, is there really a need for me to lie to you? I really am not an Otherworldly Demon. There is a huge misunderstanding between us!”

The next moment, the aura that Zhang Xuan exuded abruptly changed. In that very instant, his presence felt like an inviolable deity from the heavens, a figure whose authority one could never challenge.

”This is…”

Sensing the aura, the Byzantium Helios Beast was bewildered briefly. Then, a thought struck it, and its eyes immediately widened in astonishment.

”You are… a Celestial Master Teacher?”