Library of Heaven’s Path

Chapter 1172: The Engagement

Boom!

The powerful aura that had burst forth from Zhang Xuan’s body left the black-robed elder feeling as if the heavens and earth had shattered, and the sun and moon had fallen. In that instant, he thought that he had witnessed the end of the world.

Under the suppression of the overwhelming aura, the black-robed elder’s body froze in fear as his mind whirred to a stop.

In just the blink of an eye, it was as if a deity had descended from the heavens. The inviolable aura that the other party emanated had dispelled any thought of retaliation in his mind. Not only so, he felt as if his knees would cave in at any moment, as if his body instinctively wanted to worship the figure before him.

It took a while before the black-robed elder could speak once more. With quivering lips, he asked weakly, “You are… Yang shi? No, that’s not right. A will that Yang shi has left behind?”

For the aura of the young man before him to surge so abruptly, there was only a single possibility. In order to protect his own student, Yang shi had specially left a sliver of his will in the latter’s body. Only in the face of absolute crisis would he show himself.

“If I didn’t appear, were you going to kill my student?”

There was no difference in the external appearance of the young man, but it was as if another person had taken control of the body. Be it his disposition or his voice, it was completely different from before.

This was especially so for his gaze. Cold, impassive, and unfathomable, as if a lofty deity from the heavens. Before this powerful figure, the black-robed elder dared not move in the slightest.

He feared that the slightest movement could instantly bring death upon himself.

Even though he was a Saint 7-dan cultivator, he knew that before those who stood at the very pinnacle of the Master Teacher Continent, his strength was not even worth a mention.

Even the hostile intent from an expert of that caliber was too much for him to bear, let alone facing one in a proper battle!

Despite his trembling body, the black-robed elder asked with a hint of doubt in his voice, “Are you really… Yang shi?”

He had once had the honor of meeting Yang shi, and the latter’s voice did not sound like that. On top of that, his aura felt a little different as well. It did not seem likely that they were the same person.

“Luo Chengxin, are you doubting me?”

The young man took a step forward.

Huala!

In an instant, the aura intensified, and the surrounding air crackled furiously. It was as if even the world was unable to withstand the overwhelming strength emanated by the young man before him.

“I dare not!”

The face of the black-robed elder paled, and he quickly clasped his fist and lowered his head respectfully. At this point, he did not even dare to breathe loudly.

He had only felt such overwhelming pressure from the old ancestor. Who could have thought that the other party wielded such immense strength as well?

And more importantly, he was certain that he had never said his name throughout the entire encounter, not even once! Yet, the other party was still able to identify him correctly. This meant that the other party knew who he was!

To call himself Yang Xuan on top of that… could he really be that legendary figure?

But… he had only met that legendary figure once, and before that figure, he was even less than an ant. It was only because of the old ancestor that he had been able to meet that figure, and he did not even dare to report his name for fear that he would sully the other party’s ears.

So how could the other party possibly know his name?

“You dare not? It doesn’t seem that way to me.”

Completely different to the humble young man from a moment ago, the person that stood before him at this moment carried an air of disdain for all lifeforms, as if a being who had transcended the world.

“The Luo Clan’s bloodline is powerful, and the ‘Art of the Dimension Silencer’ is a masterpiece. Despite your fortune of being born in the Luo Clan, you still managed to make a wreck of yourself. You have reversed the Yin-Yang of your San Jiao 1 Yin Meridians and introduced filth into your zhenqi, resulting in your inability to concentrate your strength. Not only that, your Seven Acupoints of Primordial Chaos are plagued with turbidity, and three of them are even reversed.

“During your breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit realm, the shortcut you attempted to take ended up damaging your foundation, resulting in the corruption of your internal state. Yet, instead of devoting your time to resolving these problems, you chose to head down here to take advantage of my student. Is it because you think that you are too powerful?”

At this point, a faint, disdainful smile surfaced on the lips of the young man. “Shall I play with you?”

Shivers immediately ran down Luo Chengxin’s spine as he quickly lowered his head in abject fear.

The terms that the other party had used, the San Jiao Yin Meridians and the Seven Acupoints of Primordial Chaos, would seem like utter nonsense to any other cultivator, but they left him shaking non-stop, as if he had heard something terrifying.

Those were the unique terms used only in their Luo Clan’s Art of the Dimension Silencer!

The Luo Clan’s bloodline granted the offspring of the Luo Clan with exceptional talent in spatial manipulation. In fact, its ultimate treasure, the Dimension Silencer, was a powerful artifact that could bring about the complete freezing of space.

It was due to this reason that the Art of the Dimension Silencer was completely different from other cultivation techniques, tailored solely to those with the Luo Clan’s bloodline. San Jiao, Seven Acupoints… these were terms that only the core members of the Luo Clan would know of.

Yet, the young man before him spoke of them so easily as if they were nothing at all, accurately identifying the flaws in his cultivation even! This had left his entire body turning freezing cold, and sweat trickled down his back endlessly.

If he had been doubtful whether the other party was Yang shi or not a moment ago, at this moment, he dared not harbor such thoughts.

Regardless of whether the other party was truly Yang shi or not, the other party was definitely of the same caliber as their old ancestor. Otherwise, it was impossible for the other party to see through the problems in his cultivation with a single look.

As one of the inner clan members of the Luo Clan, he had been guided by top-notch master teachers from birth, but limited by his talent, it was inevitable that he erred in his cultivation from time to time. As these errors accumulated, even though it did not hinder him from exerting his strength, it had capped his cultivation. At this point, it was already nigh impossible for him to achieve a breakthrough to higher realms.

This was not uncommon among those of the Sage Clans. After all, no matter how formidable a teacher one had, it was impossible for a teacher to constantly overlook one’s cultivation, not to mention that even advanced master teachers 2 were not infallible either.

Besides, if a cultivator could really avoid erring in one’s cultivation, wouldn’t he be able to advance through the cultivation ranks easily without facing any bottlenecks? That was clearly daydreaming!

But… while it was true that he had errors in his cultivation, it would be difficult for most master teachers to discern it. To be able to see through him with a just a glance, that was clearly the prowess that only 9-star master teachers wielded!

“I-I-I dare not to!” Luo Chengxin’s body trembled uncontrollably upon that realization.

“Humph, if I had not left a sliver of my will in the body of my student, I might have just lost a student today!”

The young man gazed down at Luo Chengxin coldly in his eyes, as if contemplating whether he should have the latter killed for his insolence.

“I… I didn’t intend to make a move on Zhang shi!” Luo Chengxin gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he hurriedly explained, “I watched our little princess grow up, and no matter how reckless I am, I would not dare hurt the person she loves, or else she would hate me for life! No matter what, the relationship between her and Zhang shi is impossible, and I fear that she will be hurt if the both of them get any further involved with one another. That’s why I chose to seek Zhang shi to convince him to step away from the matter.”

“Humph! Are you saying that my student is unworthy of the Luo Clan?” the young man said once more, his tone laced with threat this time around.

“That’s not what I mean…” Luo Chengxin shuddered in fear as he hurriedly explained, “Yang shi, you should know the current circumstances surrounding our Luo Clan as well. The matrimony between our little princess and the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan cannot be changed. At this rate, the both of them will only be hurt in the end. If that is going to be the case, it will be better for us to end it at this point in time to reduce the heartbreak!”

The young man narrowed his eyes. “Their matrimony cannot be changed? Is that due to your Luo Clan or the Zhang Clan? If it’s the latter, I’ll find their old ancestor and talk to him about the matter!”

Luo Chengxin quickly shook his head. “The betrothal between the two was decided twenty years ago. The little princess is also a victim in this matter!”

“Decided twenty years ago?” The young man frowned. “Tell me about it.”

“I believe that Yang shi should have heard about the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan as well. Even before his birth, he was said to possess the purest bloodline in the Zhang Clan. Twenty years ago, during the birth of that young prodigy, scarlet clouds covered the entire sky, and a sacred ray of light descended from the heavens. Even Kong shi’s tablet rose into the air, as if acknowledging the arrival of his peer.

“On that very day, the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan sought the old ancestor of our clan, and the both of them agreed on this betrothal,” Luo Chengxin said. “The marriage ceremony was scheduled for the third month of next year, and this matter can no longer be changed by anyone!”

“Third month of next year?” The face of the young man darkened, and with a frosty voice, he uttered, “Does a mere marriage ceremony really require an auspicious day to be chosen twenty years prior?”

“It’s not really a matter of it being auspicious or not.” Luo Chengxin shook his head with a bitter smile. “Rather, it seems like there’s something huge tied to it. Our old ancestor has already declared this decision to be final, and no one dares go against his orders…”

“Due to this matter, our little princess has caused a huge ruckus in our clan for quite a while, but as this matter was a promise between the old ancestors of both clans, she was unable to change anything. Eventually, she snuck out of the clan and sealed her cultivation such that no one would be able to find her. I was only able to find her recently, and by the time I did, I realized that she was already deeply in love with Zhang shi. That’s why I decided to talk Zhang shi into backing down!”

“Something huge is tied to their marriage? What is it?”

“I am not qualified to know of the inner secrets of our clan. I only happened to overhear bits and pieces of it, so I don’t know much about it either. However, it should be something very important. After all, as one of the top three Sage Clans, there’s no need for our Luo Clan to bow down to the Zhang Clan,” Luo Chengxin replied.

“Since it’s an engagement decided on at birth, is there a reason why the little princess of your Luo Clan is unwilling to marry the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan?” the young man asked.

Considering that it was a marriage decided at birth and that both clans were of equal standing, it was likely that the little princess of the Luo Clan and the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan had grown up side-by-side, so the relationship between them should not have been too bad. For the little princess to go to the extent of escaping from her clan in order to escape the betrothal, was she not afraid of falling out with her family?

Or was there something about the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan that was so repulsive to her that she would go to such lengths just to avoid marrying him?

Hearing those words, Luo Chengxin could not help but glance at the young man before him with a peculiar look. It felt weird for a figure as powerful as Yang shi to be so interested in the gossip of their clan.

Naturally, he did not dare say those words aloud, and he quickly replied the other party’s question. “It’s just a guess on my part, but I think that our little princess might have rebelled because she’s unwilling to marry a person she has never met before. The young prodigy of the Zhang Clan is a rather mysterious figure. He has been in seclusion ever since his birth, and unlike most offspring of the Sage Clans, he has not attended the Sanctum of Sages either. Not a single person of our Luo Clan has seen him before, and this includes our old ancestor as well. Based on what I have heard, it seems like he is busy undergoing some kind of unique inheritance at the moment.”

“No one has seen him before?” The young man could not help but frown upon hearing those words.

To set an engagement without bringing out the person in question… the Zhang Clan sure was bizarre.

“Indeed. There are many rumors floating around about that young prodigy. Some say that he doesn’t possess the talents that he is rumored to possess. Some say that he has failed in awakening his talent, and out of embarrassment, the Zhang Clan chose to hide him from the world.”

Luo Chengxin sighed. “There are even some who say that he vanished from the world shortly after his birth, and the Zhang Clan has been trying to find him ever since then. In any case, there does not seem to be anyone aside from those of the Zhang Clan who have seen that young prodigy before.”

Thinking about it, the little princess sure was a pitiful person.

To have to shoulder the fate of the entire clan at such a young age, even forced to marry a person she had never seen before, it was no wonder she would feel so repulsed and rebel.

The young man harrumphed coldly. “The Zhang Clan sure knows how to put on airs. To make a betrothal between the two clans and yet hide their own offspring, I have gotten a glimpse into their shamelessness today.

“And that young prodigy as well… I really should teach them a lesson about etiquette!”