Library of Heaven’s Path

Chapter 1175: All at Once

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “How many Combat Master Halls will there be? Will they be… bringing many concentrated high-tier spirit stones with them?”

He was currently about to go insane from a lack of money. If the Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls that were coming over for the friendly spar were wealthy, he could try to think of a way to earn some from them.

As soon as the words ‘concentrated high-tier spirit stones’ came out of Zhang Xuan’s words, Hall Master Xing could immediately guess what the other party was thinking about, and a helpless smile surfaced on his lips. “There are three Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls coming over. They are of the same tier as our branch, so it’s unlikely that they will have many concentrated high-tier spirit stones on them!”

“Same tier?”

“Indeed. There is a total of eight Conferred Empires under the Empire Alliance. Four of them belong in the upper tier whereas the remaining four, which includes our Qingyuan Conferred Empire, belong to the lower tier. The ones that are coming over for the friendly spar this time around belong to the latter group. The friendly spar is actually a selection exercise for us to select twenty candidates out of the four Combat Master Halls for the opportunity to train in the Qianchong Conferred Empire,” Hall Master Xing explained.

“In previous years, our Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall has only been able to acquire two slots at maximum, putting us at the lowest rank among the four Combat Master Halls. But this time around, seeing that our combat masters have made massive improvements after training with the Xuanxuan Faction, I hope to try to vie for a few more slots.”

“Train at the Qianchong Conferred Empire? Is there some kind of blessed land for cultivation there?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Back then, he had headed to the Huanyu Empire in order to access the Cleansing Lake, which was said to be beneficial to soul cultivation. Could it be that the Qianchong Empire had something similar to that as well?

“Speaking of blessed lands, there is indeed one of them there. The Qianchong Empire has a sword pool, which harnesses boundless sword intent and sword art. If a cultivator tempers themself in the sword pool, it will sure enhance their fighting prowess by leaps and bounds. As such, this slot is very important to our Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall. On top of that, the headquarters also reward the Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls according to the number of slots they obtain. The more slots a certain Combat Master Hall obtains, the more resources it will be entitled to!” Hall Master Xing said.

“Resources?” That single word triggered Zhang Xuan’s interest, and his eyes immediately lit up.

“Indeed. In the previous friendly spar, the Chongyuan Conferred Empire obtained the most slot, and the headquarters rewarded them with a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones,” Hall Master Xing replied.

“You said… a hundred concentrated high-tier spirit stones?” Zhang Xuan’s hands began trembling in excitement.

If he were to obtain so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones, it would definitely be more than sufficient for him to push for a breakthrough straight to the Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle!

“That’s right.” Hall Master Xing nodded. “To be honest with you, while it’s called a friendly spar, in essence, it could be regarded as a military display for the Combat Master Halls as well. Each Combat Master Hall will send out the strongest expert for each cultivation level and pit them against one another, and to the side that obtains the most victories, the headquarters will not hesitate to award them more resources. In a sense, it serves to motivate the subordinate Combat Master Halls and combat masters to work more diligently than ever.”

Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

If one were to view the Combat Master Hall as an army, this friendly spar would be similar to a tournament among the different units.

In times of peace, competition could pressure the Combat Master Halls and their combat masters into pushing themselves to greater heights. Otherwise, without any concrete aims and goals for them to strive for, the morale and discipline of the combat masters could gradually slacken.

“If Principal Zhang can help offer some pointers to our combat masters and help them clinch the top position, I am willing to share half of the awarded concentrated high-tier spirit stones with you. That’s already the most that I can give you within the limits of my authority, so I am really unable to share any more with you…” Hall Master Xing said.

The young man before him did not just possess superior fighting prowess, granting him nigh invincible might among his peers, his comprehension of combat and battle techniques had also achieved an unfathomable level.

While he rarely offered any guidance to others, his pointers were always spot-on, leaving one deeply enlightened by his teachings. If they could really engage his help, the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall could very well surpass its previous results and reach a new peak.

It was with this in mind that Hall Master Xing had offered Zhang Xuan such generous terms upon seeing the latter.

“Deal!”

Before Hall Master Xing could finish his words, the young man before him had already interjected decisively.

Was there any need to hesitate over the matter?

What he was lacking at this very moment was concentrated high-tier spirit stones! Putting aside half of the total reward pool, even if Hall Master Xing had offered him just one-third of it, he would still have accepted the request without any hesitation.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had agreed to the request, Hall Master Xing heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s settled then! If nothing goes wrong, the men from the other three Combat Master Halls should be arriving within three days. Principal Zhang, I’ll leave the training of the combat masters completely in your hands, so feel free to do whatever you want. Don’t worry, I’ll order them to abide by your commands unconditionally!”

“You said earlier that the friendly spar is a fight among the strongest cultivator of each cultivation realm. May I know what the specific cultivation levels for the friendly spars are, and have the candidates been chosen yet?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“All in all, there are twenty candidates, and the cultivation levels range from Chrysalis realm primary stage to Spiritual Perception realm pinnacle—all in all, twenty cultivation stages. We have already chosen the candidates,” Hall Master Xing replied.

Chrysalis realm, Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, Void Pursuit realm, and Spiritual Perception realm, and each realm consisted of primary stage, intermediate stage, advanced stage, and pinnacle. This added up to twenty cultivation stages.

Each Combat Master Hall would dispatch their strongest expert for each of the cultivation stages for the friendly spar, and the ultimate winner in that class would be entitled to the nomination slot.

“Where are they? Bring me over to meet them.” Since Hall Master Xing had already chosen the candidates, the remaining part was rather simple. He would just have to find what each individual was skilled in and offer the other party pointers in that aspect so as to maximize the other party’s fighting prowess.

“They are currently in the training hall.” Hall Master Xing smiled as he quickly led the way over.

The training hall was located in the vicinity of the Martial Arts Division, and it was a place where combat masters sparred with one another in their free time. The hall was extremely spacious. There were four dueling platforms erected at the very center with a spectator stand at the outer perimeter. At the same time, there were also seclusion chambers for combat masters to rest in between battles as well.

Even before entering the training hall, the sound of swift air currents could be heard in the air. It seemed like there were quite a few people sparring within the training hall. Excited cheers and anxious shouts could be heard here and there, creating a lively atmosphere.

Walking into the training hall, Zhang Xuan swiftly saw two combat masters clashing with one another on one of the dueling platforms. Elegant moves sprung forth from both parties one after another as their immense strength collided again and again, drawing in fixated gazes on them.

Surrounding the dueling platform was around a dozen combat masters. Whenever they saw a formidable move being executed, they would cheer in excitement.

Zhang Xuan took a swift look through the group, and to his astonishment, he found two familiar faces—Shi Hao from the Inner Breath Division and Jiao Tan from the Martial Arts Division.

These two were top-notch geniuses from the Combat Master Hall, so it was not too surprising that the both of them had made it onto the list of candidates to participate in the friendly spar.

“Hall Master Xing, Zhang shi!”

Upon seeing the two figures walking over from the entrance, the crowd quickly halted what they were doing and clasped their fists respectfully.

Hall Master Xing stepped forward and said, “There’s no need to stand on ceremony. I believe that all of you should be familiar with Principal Zhang, so I shall not waste any time introducing him to you all again.”

The crowd nodded.

In the past few days that Zhang Xuan had spent in the Combat Master Hall, he had paid a visit to all the divisions and caused a huge ruckus in each of them. They would have to have been living under a rock to have not heard of him.

A person who consecutively broke the records of every single trial in the Combat Master Hall, and by an inconceivably large margin at that, at this point, they were filled with nothing but admiration and awe for the other party.

“Our Combat Master Hall has high expectations for the friendly spar with the other Conferred Empire Combat Master Halls that will be coming here in three days’ time. In view of that, we have specially invited Principal Zhang over here to conduct special training for all of you. I expect all of you to cooperate fully with him, got that?”

“Yes, Hall Master Xing!”

Upon hearing that Zhang Xuan was going to train them, the eyes of the combat masters immediately lit up in excitement.

They had witnessed the astounding might of the Xuanxuan Faction with their very own eyes.

To be taught by the person who had transformed an ordinary Master Teacher Academy filled with ordinary master teachers into a power whose fighting prowess exceeded combat masters of the same cultivation… They could not help but shudder in excitement as they imagined how their fighting prowess would soar within the next three days!

“Principal Zhang, why don’t you come up here and say a few words as well?” Hall Master Xing invited with a smile.

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded. Without wasting any time on pleasantries, he flicked his wrist and whipped out some rope before saying, “Hall Master Xing, please tie my hands up.”

“Ah?” Hall Master Xing was stunned.

“Please tie my hands up.”

Hall Master Xing had no idea what Zhang Xuan was up to, but the latter must have had his own reasons for making such a request. Thus, without any further hesitation, he pulled Zhang Xuan’s hands behind his back and tied them firmly together.

Struggling a little, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction when he confirmed that he was unable to break out of his binds. Then, he leaped onto the stage and said, “Suppress all of your cultivation to Chrysalis realm primary stage and… come at me together!”

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan swiftly suppressed his Saint 2-dan pinnacle cultivation down to Chrysalis realm primary stage before standing patiently at a corner of the dueling platform.

“You want all of us to attack you together?”

“Zhang shi, you intend to fight all of us with your hands bound?”

“Is this for real?”

“Zhang shi, I admire your strength, but to think that you will be able to fight against all of us with your hands bound… I have to say that you are really taking us too lightly!”

…

Seeing Zhang Xuan’s actions, the faces of the combat masters flushed crimson, and they could not help but narrow their eyes slightly in anger.

No matter what, they were the geniuses specially picked out by the Combat Master Hall to participate in the friendly spar, the strongest combat masters in their power class.

It was true that Zhang Xuan possessed strength far surpassing theirs, and one-on-one, they would stand no match at all. However, to challenge all twenty of them with his hands bound… Was he not mocking them?

“Why? You dare not accept my challenge?”

Despite Zhang Xuan’s provocations, none of the twenty candidates dared step forward. Thus, Zhang Xuan glanced at them leisurely and continued. “Since that’s the case, I’ll leave behind two footprints here. If anyone of you can make me take a single step away from here, I’ll consider it my loss!’

As he spoke, he stepped lightly on the ground, and two footprints appeared on the sturdy ground of the dueling platform.

“What pure zhenqi…”

The crowd widened their eyes at that sight.

Given that the dueling platforms would have to endure the might of the cultivators fighting above it, they had been constructed with the most resilient of materials. On top of that, there were also several seals cast over them, such that even Saint realm experts would struggle to make a mark on them. Yet, despite lowering his cultivation to Chrysalis realm primary stage, the other party had left such a clear imprint on the dueling platform just by stepping lightly on it.

Only a cultivator with unbelievably pure zhenqi could possibly concentrate their strength to their feet to such an extent!

“The purity of Zhang shi’s zhenqi is indeed incredible. However, to defeat all of us while neither using your hands nor moving your feet… even for an expert of your caliber, that should be an impossible task!”

After a short moment, a combat master suddenly harrumphed before leaping onto the stage. “Why don’t I test it out first? If you are able to defeat me even like that, we will go against you all at once!”

The combat master was none other than Shi Hao!

He was the young man who had suppressed his cultivation for twenty whole years to achieve a new record for the Trial of Inner Breath, only to be outdone by Zhang Xuan a few moments later. After that traumatizing experience, he had managed to achieve a breakthrough, and he was currently a Saint 2-dan intermediate stage expert.

Hearing Shi Hao’s suggestion, the remaining combat masters nodded in agreement.

As fellow peers, they were aware of the immense strength that Shi Hao wielded, and they trusted deeply in his capabilities. Through watching the battle between him and Zhang Xuan, they would be able to discern the fighting prowess of the latter with his hands bound and feet in place.

Geji! Geji!

After stepping onto the stage, Shi Hao wasted no time with words and swiftly suppressed his cultivation to Chrysalis realm primary stage, just like Zhang Xuan.

“Zhang shi, please guide me!” Shi Hao said with narrowed eyes.

Raising his hand, he sent a powerful burst of zhenqi toward Zhang Xuan before charging forward.

Even before Shi Hao’s figure reached Zhang Xuan, the burst of zhenqi he had sent prior had already arrived.

Shi Hao knew of the strength that Zhang Xuan possessed, so he did not hesitate to devote his full strength to the burst of zhenqi. Under the immense might of the burst of zhenqi, even the sturdy ground of the dueling platform could not help but tremble uncontrollably.