Library of Heaven’s Path

“That’s the power of his unique bloodline?” Sensing the abrupt surge in Zhang Zhuo’s aura, everyone was taken aback.

It was just a friendly spar between fellow students! Was there a need to tap into such a mutually harming trump card?

“No, it isn’t the power of his unique bloodline. Rather, it’s a secret art he has been practicing for quite a while. Once it’s activated, even Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage cultivators would struggle to match his might…” a young man from the Zhang Clan explained with a smile.

Tapping into the power of one’s unique bloodline would inflict massive damage upon one, and one would have to rest for at least a month after that. For this reason, not even those of the Zhang Clan would resort to it easily.

But even without tapping into the power of their unique bloodline, the Zhang Clan was still the number one Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent. They possessed plenty of secret arts which could raise their fighting prowess swiftly within a short moment.

Cornered by a young lady whose strength was far beneath his time and time again, Zhang Zhuo’s frustration eventually hit its limit, and unable to tolerate it any longer, he resorted to his secret arts.

“Things are going to get hard for Chen Leyao!”

“Indeed. She might be able to claim the upper hand for the time being with her superior skills, but in the face of absolute strength, she won’t be able to hold on for too long!”

…

The crowd didn’t think that the situation was too optimistic for Chen Leyao.

It was true that technique would allow one to overcome an opponent stronger than one, but there was a limit to that as well.

Otherwise, cultivators wouldn’t have to cultivate relentlessly in seek of greater strength.

In the view of the crowd, Chen Leyao had only managed to clinch a temporary upper hand, but the situation was still unfavorable to her. The massive gap between Zhang Zhuo and her ability would eventually result in the tables turning on her.

Her defeat was inevitable, it was just a matter of time.

Hearing the discussion from the crowd, Chen Leyao’s expression also turned grim.

Just as she was at a loss as to what she should do, Zhang Xuan’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear once more, “Traversing Crane Palm, Third Form!”

At this point, obeying Zhang Xuan’s instructions had already become a reflexive action to her. Without even thinking about it, she had already raised her arm, and reminiscent to a soaring divine crane, she pressed it down upon Zhang Zhuo.

The Traversing Crane Palm was a technique created by a senior in the Glacier Plain Court while watching the flight trajectory of cranes. It was a technique which harnessed very little strength, but the speed of its attacks was extraordinary. Furthermore, the complicated trajectories of its movements also made it even harder for the opponent to cope with the battle technique.

And the Third Form harnessed the very essence of the Traversing Crane Palm. Once activated, a sight reminiscent of a beautiful crane spreading open its wings and soaring into the heavens would unfold before the eyes of the onlookers.

Pah!

The spreading of the wings was swiftly accompanied with the crisp echo of a palm accurately falling on Zhang Zhuo’s face.

“A slap?”

“Zhang Zhuo just got slapped?”

The surroundings were abruptly plunged into silence, and even Chen Leyao was stunned by the situation before her.

Chen Leyao’s attack was extremely swift, allowing her to catch others off guard, but considering Zhang Zhuo’s cultivation realm, he should have been able to dodge her attack easily! Yet, he still ended up being struck squarely in the face, leaving five clear fingerprints on his face… This was simply too shocking!

Not only was Chen Leyao dazed, Zhang Zhuo, who had just undergone a power up after activating his secret art, was completely dumbstruck as well. It took a long while before he recovered from his shock, and his zhenqi began surging from his sheer rage.

“Bastard, I’m going to kill you!” Zhang Zhuo’s eyes turned bloody red, and veins were popping up from his forehead.

It was already a great embarrassment for him to be cornered by a person whose strength was far lower than his, but as if that wasn’t enough, he was even dealt a resounding slap to his face. The humiliation he felt burned down every last shred of rationality he had.

Hong long!

Driven by his rage, his energy began gushing out as if a burst dam, and in an instant, his aura had already grown two times stronger than before. Under the overwhelming power which he was emanating, Chen Leyao was forced to retreat again and again with a pale face.

“She just had to mess with the wrong opponent.” Zhang Yu remarked with a leisure smile as he lay on the table and watched the situation in interest.

“Hm?” A young man seated not too far away from Zhang Yu shot a curious glance over.

“The secret art which Zhang Zhuo is using is called the Searing Blood Formula. It uses one’s blood essence as fuel to temporarily boost one’s fighting prowess significantly. Under normal circumstances, it would only be able to raise one’s strength by 30%, but due to the sheer rage from the humiliation he had suffered, the effects of the Searing Blood Formula ended up being amplifying his strength by twofold instead. At the current moment, Zhang Zhuo’s strength is already comparable to a Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage cultivator… If Chen Leyao hadn’t dealt that slap, she might have still been able to last a little longer in the battle, but now… I can only wish her the best of luck!”

Zhang Yu’s words were very clear.

Chen Leyao had won the battle but lost the war. She might have managed to embarrass Zhang Zhuo, but her actions ended up amplifying his strength instead, and the eventual result of it would be her own suffering.

“From such a sense, Chen Leyao has indeed dug her own grave… Zhang Zhuo has always been known to be a cold person. To him, there’s only friends and foes. He wouldn’t go easy on his opponent just because she’s a lady…” The young man shook his head.

Even he would have trouble coping with Zhang Zhuo after his abrupt surge in strength, let alone that Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle young lady.

While the both of them were chatting, Zhang Zhuo’s strength had finally hit its peak. Just by taking a single step forward, Chen Leyao immediately felt the air around her distorting disturbingly. She suddenly felt as if she was bound by ropes, and no matter how she struggled, she was unable to shake free from it.

“This is really bad…” With a flustered look, the young lady turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “Zhang shi, what should I do?”

She had made her moves strictly according to Zhang Xuan’s instructions, but who could have thought that she would only end up provoking Zhang Zhuo further, resulting in the situation completely going out of control!

“I guess there’s nothing to be done. Given how much his strength has increased, you won’t be a match for him in your current state!” Zhang Xuan said as he stretched his back lazily.

“But…” A hint of despair flickered across Chen Leyao’s face when she heard those words, and she nearly burst into tears.

I also know that I’m no match for him as well, but… am I really going to be beaten up by him?

“You really need to have more flexibility in your thoughts. Since you aren’t able to defeat him with your current strength, all you have to do is to achieve a breakthrough then!” Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.

“Achieve a breakthrough?” Chen Leyao was stunned.

Do you really think I am like you, capable of achieving a breakthrough as and when I like?

If it’s that easy to reach Grand Dominion realm, I would have already succeeded a month ago. I wouldn’t have been stuck at my current realm at so long!

“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “From this moment on, heed my words very closely. There’s no need to be afraid or panic, it’s just a mere breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm. Ten breaths is all it takes!”

“Ten breaths…” Chen Leyao nearly fainted from rage.

Aren’t you bragging a little too much over here?

On top of having one’s zhenqi accumulated beyond a certain point, one must also achieve some comprehension of the spatial laws in order to reach Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm… Due to that, there were simply too many talented geniuses on the Master Teacher Continent who found their footsteps halted at this point, unable to push for a breakthrough.

Even the most talented genius of our Glacier Plain Court took three whole months for her breakthrough!

And you’re telling me that you would make me to do it within ten breaths?

Even the most unreliable of salesman wouldn’t dare to utter such big words!

“Ten breaths?”

“He can’t be serious, can he?”

“In the first place, don’t you think that it’s ridiculous for a Leaving Aperture realm primary stage to offer guidance to a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle in making a breakthrough? To make promises which he’s unable to uphold, that fellow is really unworthy of being a master teacher!”

…

Zhang Xuan didn’t bother concealing his voice, so everyone in the room heard his words loud and clear. They looked at one another with faces marked with disbelief.

You really need to know what you can brag about and what you can’t!

At this rate, you are just only going to be humiliated by your own words!

By the side, a deep frown appeared on Fei shi’s face as well. Even he didn’t think that it was possible for Chen Leyao to make a breakthrough within ten breaths.

“You want to make a breakthrough? Dream on!” Zhang Zhuo roared as he raised his palm, and overwhelming might gushed toward the young lady standing opposite to him.

“I…” Chen Leyao felt her bones being pushed to their limits under the sheer pressure of the palm. She wanted to escape, but she realized that her escape routes had been completely sealed, leaving her completely helpless.

Lost and not knowing what to do, Zhang Xuan’s voice suddenly sounded in her ears once more.

“Lonesome Footsteps, Second Form. Drive your zhenqi using the Glacier Formula into your Tianmen acupoint and Qixin acupoint.”

“… Alright.” Knowing that she had no other choice but to put her trust in Zhang Xuan, she gritted her teeth and made her move.

Instead of retreating, she chose to head forward instead.

The Second Form of the Lonesome Footsteps was a forward dash maneuver.

“I’m doomed…” With a pale face, Chen Leyao prepared herself for the very worst.

She moved instinctively upon hearing the instructions, not bothering to think the actions through.

Even from afar, Zhang Zhuo’s palm was already one which she couldn’t withstand. Charging right over would only increase the force of the other party’s palm, pushing her further down the cliff.

Barely after dashing forward by two meters, the pressure before her had already increased by twofold. Not only were her bones tightly pressed together now, even her muscles were pushed to their limits, as if they would be torn to shreds at any moment.

“Forget it, I have no other choice now! I’ll just have to put my trust my Zhang shi’s judgement!” Chen Leyao despaired, but she knew that there was no longer any alternatives before her.

Thus, she began driving her zhenqi according to the Glacier Formula, channeling her energy toward her Tianmen Acupoint and Qixin Acupoint.

These two acupoints were the crux to achieving a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm. Naturally, she had attempted to open these two acupoints several times in the past, but her attempts had all ended in failure.

But surprisingly, she felt her zhenqi flowing smoother than ever instead. The immense pressure weighing down on her was facilitating the movement of her zhenqi forward!

In this moment, she couldn’t help but feel that the other party wasn’t attacking her but aiding her in her breakthrough!

Boom!

Under the furious torrent of zhenqi channeled to them, the Tianmen acupoint and Qixin acupoints were swiftly opened up. Following which, Chen Leyao’s vision suddenly blurred for a moment. Lines had appeared before her. She couldn’t tell for sure, but they appeared to be the folds of space.

She instinctively reached forward to grab at them, and a surge of power suddenly coiled around her body.

Half-Grand Dominion realm, reached!

“She really achieved a breakthrough?”

“How did she do it?”

Everyone was flabbergasted to see Chen Leyao successfully overcoming her bottleneck in less than two breaths after dashing into Zhang Zhuo’s attack. The sight was simply so shocking that it seemed to sap the oxygen out of their lungs.

Every single one of them had thought that Zhang Xuan was just bragging, but who could have thought that… he really wielded the power to make the impossible happen!

Not only was the crowd shocked, even Chen Leyao’s body was shaking from sheer agitation. Disbelief could be seen in her eyes, reflecting how inconceivable the situation was to her as well.

She had pushed herself time and time again for a breakthrough, but no matter what she did, she was simply unable to break through the ceiling that was capping her strength. It was unbelievable to her how that ceiling could be shattered so easily.

“Switch to the Yang Formula, drive your zhenqi through the Three Meridians of the Yin Formula…” In her moment of agitation, Zhang Xuan’s voice continued sounding.

Not daring to hesitate in the slightest, Chen Leyao swiftly drove her zhenqi strictly to how the young man had instructed her to do so.

Boom!

There was a slight jolt in her meridians, and all of a sudden, Chen Leyao felt the palm strike which Zhang Zhuo was pushing toward her lightening considerably. Following which, a feeling of unprecedented harmony resonated through her body, and the power which had coiled around her body previously began to expand outward.

Under normal circumstances, if one’s zhenqi was unable to keep up with the expansion of one’s Dominion, one would suffer severe injuries. However, due to her driving her Yang Formula toward the Three Meridians of the Yin Formula, it ended up creating a powerful suction force around her, reminiscent of a black hole.

Tzzzzzzzz!

It took only a mere instant for the attack which Zhang Zhuo was sending over to be devoured clean, and Chen Leyao unhesitatingly used it to fuel the expansion of her Dominion. Before long, a stable five meters light barrier formed around her.

“I… really achieved a breakthrough?” Feeling the Dominion that had formed around her and the overwhelming strength flowing through her body, Chen Leyao’s body froze in shock. She could hardly curb the agitation she was feeling inside.

“I really achieved a breakthrough! And it has only been… five breaths!”For those who are wondering, Dominion works something like gravity to oppose one’s movement. So if Chen Leyao’s movement backward is sealed, she would still be able to move forward.