Library of Heaven’s Path

The entire main hall was deathly silent. Including Fei shi, each and every face that could be seen was marked with shock.

Achieving a breakthrough to Half-Grand Dominion realm, that was still acceptable to them. But to make a leap to Grand Dominion realm just three breaths after that due to a single sentence spoken by Zhang Xuan… There was really no words that could describe their current feelings.

They had never heard of anyone being able to make another person achieve a breakthrough so quickly in succession, not even with 9-star master teachers!

“He sure is a resourceful lad!” the leisurely Zhang Yu from a moment ago remarked with narrowed eyes.

“Resourceful?”

“That slap earlier should be an intentional move from Zhang Xuan’s side to anger Zhang Zhuo. The purpose was to push Zhang Zhuo’s secret art to its limits, maximizing his increment in strength!” Zhang Yu said with a nod.

“Secret arts with the ability to raise one’s strength significantly are formidable weapons in battle, but there is a fatal flaw in them. The strength derived from them would be all ‘virtual power’.”

“Virtual power?” The young man not too far away wasn’t too sure what Zhang Yu meant by those words.

“Virtual power refers to strength which doesn’t belong to one. To make a metaphor, it would be like a bubble. It’s possible to increase the size of a bubble to a colossal degree, but as soon as something happens, it would disappear without a trace. Virtual power simply isn’t as concrete as the zhenqi one cultivated, and its attributeless nature would make it easy for others to steal as well.” Zhang Yu harrumphed.

“On the surface, it appeared that Zhang Xuan had chosen to make Chen Leyao fight the battle in his place, but in truth, right from the very start, it was his intention to have Chen Leyao make use of Zhang Zhuo’s virtual power to overcome her bottleneck and reach Grand Dominion realm!”

The young man could hardly believe what he was hearing, “In a battle, the slightest mistake could lead to grievous injuries or even death… To attempt to absorb the power of an opponent and push for a breakthrough in the midst of a battle, isn’t that too risky?”

It wasn’t uncommon for powerful experts to infuse their energy into their juniors in order to raise their strength swiftly. This process was otherwise known as Cultivation Impartation.

Cultivation Impartation could allow one to achieve a breakthrough swiftly, but its requirement was extremely severe as well. Firstly, the ones conducting and receiving the Cultivation Impartation must be from the same lineage, practicing the exact same cultivation techniques. Secondly, both parties must be willing to undergo the Cultivation Impartation, and there must be no resistance in the entire process. Otherwise, the slightest lapse in the process could cause the receiver to lose control of the immense energy being pumped into him and literally explode on the spot.

Given how dangerous Cultivation Impartation was, to attempt to steal the opponent’s strength and push for a breakthrough in the midst of a tense battle… Just how confident must a person be in his own strength in order to do so?

“Zhang Xuan must have investigated Zhang Zhuo’s background beforehand to gain a thorough understanding of the latter’s strength, cultivation techniques, secret arts, and the sort beforehand. Putting that information along with what he knew of Chen Leyao, he would be able to craft out scenarios for Chen Leyao to safely achieve a breakthrough in the midst of a battle with him… It shouldn’t be too difficult to obtain all this information if he were to tap into Chen Leyao’s connections.” A glint flickered across Zhang Yu’s eyes as he saw through the ‘crux’ of the matter.

Stealing the opponent’s strength to push for a breakthrough in the midst of a battle may seem extremely complicated, but as long as one had a thorough understanding of the fighting prowess of both parties and designed a plausible scenario with countermeasures for unexpected situations in place, there was still a good chance that one would be able to pull it off safely.

“More importantly, Chen Leyao probably isn’t as weak as we thought. Most likely, she’s already on the verge of a breakthrough. In other words, as shocking as the situation may seem, she was actually collaborating with Zhang Xuan to play out a show to garner attention. Otherwise, do you think that a Leaving Aperture realm primary stage cultivator, not to mention one that is unaffiliated with any powers, would possibly possess an understanding of cultivation that surpasses Chen Leyao, Zhang Zhuo, and even us?” Zhang Yu said confidently.

“This…”

The young man came to a realization.

Of course, even if one were to make ample preparations beforehand, pushing for a breakthrough in the midst of battle was still an extremely difficult and risky process. Nevertheless, it was at least at a level where the matter wasn’t completely implausible to them anymore.

“Despite his young age, he sure is scheming…” Coming to realize ‘what was going on’, the young man harrumphed coldly.

“Those who come to the Sanctum of Sages dream of leaving a mark on the Master Teacher Continent, and the best way to do so is to trample on the name of the Zhang Clan. That Zhang Xuan sure is an ambitious fellow!” Zhang Yu sneered coldly.

“Do you want me to teach him a lesson in your stead?” the young man asked.

“There’s no need for that. He can do whatever he likes as long as he doesn’t trample on my toes. If he really is so brazen as to do so, I don’t mind teaching him a lesson which he would never forget.” Zhang Yu waved his hands leisurely before falling silent.

To him, while Zhang Xuan did possess some talent, he wasn’t a person who posed any threat to his position.

While the two of them were discussing this matter by the side, in the middle of the hall, Zhang Zhuo was nearly losing his mind.

The secret art he had used ended up being used as nourishment for Chen Leyao’s breakthrough. That was another tight slap on his face! His body trembled from the overflowing rage coursing through his body, and with a wrathful roar, he dashed forward once more.

“Alright. Since you have achieved a breakthrough, he should pose no threat to you anymore. It’ll do for you to knock him out. Take three steps back using the Seventh Form of the Lonesome Steps and execute the second move of the Vacuum Palm!”

Before Zhang Zhuo’s attack could strike, Chen Leyao heard Zhang Xuan’s voice in her ears once more.

Without any hesitation, she carried out what was being said, and half a breath later, Zhang Zhuo stared at Chen Leyao with eyes widened with disbelief before collapsing powerlessly to the ground.

“I won… I actually won!” Overwhelmed with agitation, Chen Leyao rushed back to Zhang Xuan’s side and exclaimed in delight.

Zhang Yu thought that Zhang Xuan had a thorough grasp of her strength, which allowed him to design a situation where she would be able to tap into Zhang Zhuo’s power to push for a breakthrough. However, as the person in question, Chen Leyao knew very well that she had only met Zhang Xuan the previous day, and even though they had spent some time together, she had never executed her moves or displayed his cultivation to him before.

In other words, prior to her battle with Zhang Yu, Zhang Xuan knew nothing about her abilities at all!

Relying solely on his eye of discernment, he was able to analyze the depths of her abilities in the midst of a battle and offer spot-on pointers for her to turn the tables around, not to mention, even allowing her to achieve a breakthrough within five breaths!

His ability had far exceeded her wildest expectations.

It was no wonder why he was able to modify the Yin Formula and Yang Formula and resolve the problem which had plagued the Glacier Plain Court for countless dozen millenniums!

“You should be thankful that this is just a friendly spar. If it had been a life-and-death battle, you would have been long killed!” Seeing how excited Chen Leyao was, Zhang Xuan poured a bucket of cold water over her with his words.

In truth, it was only possible to carry out such a situation in a friendly spar. Otherwise, if Zhang Zhuo had executed killing blows one after another right from the start, there would have been nothing Chen Leyao could have done to reverse the situation.

As such, it would be nigh impossible to replicate this success again.

“Furthermore, considering that you have achieved a breakthrough by absorbing the strength of another, the foundations of your cultivation is bound to be rather shaky. I’ll prepare a cultivation technique for you to reinforce your cultivation later on, so make sure to practice it well so that you don’t leave behind any traumas in your cultivation.” Zhang Xuan continued.

Considering that Chen Leyao had made a breakthrough on Zhang Zhuo’s ‘virtual power’, her current breakthrough could be said to be built upon weak foundations. She would have to work hard on reinforcing her cultivation so as to ensure that this wouldn’t cause any problem in the future.

It was a little troublesome, but this couldn’t be helped. After all, not everyone was as talented as him.

“I understand.’ Chen Leyao nodded. At this moment, she suddenly recalled the agreement they had made earlier and flicked her wrist, “Here are three bottles of Wintry Spirit Essence. That’s all I have at the moment. If Zhang shi has a need for them, feel free to take them.”

Just as what she had said before, as long as Zhang Xuan could help her achieve a breakthrough, she would give the Wintry Spirit Essence to the other party for free.

And since the other party had managed to carry out the end of his promise, she wouldn’t renege on her words either.

“Thank you.” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up as he took the bottles of Wintry Spirit Essence unreservedly.

To be honest, without his guidance, it took take at least half to an entire year of accumulation before Chen Leyao would be able to make a breakthrough to Grand Dominion realm. Considering how much time he had saved the other party, it wasn’t too much for him to receive these as compensation.

Zhang Xuan uncorked the bottle and felt the concentrated spiritual energy and frigid chill emanating from within. Without any hesitation, he gulped down the entire bottle of Wintry Spirit Essence.

Then, he paused for a brief moment before gulping down the other two bottles as well.

Time waits for no one.

It had been nearly a day since he had arrived at the Sanctum of Sages, but he had only raised his cultivation by two cultivation stages so far. This was too slow, too slow!

Since he had already compiled the full Leaving Aperture realm cultivation technique, he should just push for a breakthrough on the spot!

“He drunk all three bottles at once?”

Chen Leyao knew that the young man before him possessed means far beyond her imagination, but even so, she couldn’t help but shudder in terror when she saw the young man swallowing three whole bottles of the Wintry Spirit Essence at one shot.

As soon as the Wintry Spirit Essence entered his body, Zhang Xuan immediately drove his Heaven’s Path Divine Art, and it didn’t take long for his depleted zhenqi to be restored completely. Following which, as more and more spiritual energy was converted into zhenqi and deposited into his dantian, his aura grew stronger and stronger.

“It’s truly an honor to be able to witness such an exciting breakthrough. As expected of geniuses of the Elite Division, the means that every single one of you possesses are truly astounding!”

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to push for a breakthrough to Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle in a single go, he suddenly heard Fei shi’s voice sounding beside him.

He turned his head over and saw that Zhang Zhuo had already regained consciousness, and he was currently sitting gloomily by the side. On the other hand, Fei shi was looking at him with deep agitation reflected on his face.

While he harbored the same thoughts as Zhang Yu, thinking that Chen Leyao’s breakthrough was a carefully planned maneuver between the two beforehand, that didn’t hinder his deep respect for the young man.

Even the most meticulously designed plan could flop if it were to be executed badly.

“However, I would just like to re-emphasize something over here. No matter what the outcome of the duel is, please consider it as a friendly spar to learn from one another. Don’t harbor any grudges against one another over a matter as minor as this.” Knowing that the previous battle could very well incur the ire of Zhang Zhuo or even the Zhang Clan toward Zhang Xuan, Fei shi stepped in and spoke with a smile

“Most of you have come from powerful clans and backgrounds, so I believe you should understand the importance of building up your connections. It’s fate that brought all of you together in the same class, so I hope you can treasure the relationship you have with one another. Even if you were to rise to a great position in the future, these connections you forge with one another here will surely help you all greatly in the future…”

“Indeed, there’s no need to sour relations with one another over a friendly spar.”

“Don’t worry, Fei shi. We understand that!”

Knowing the rationale behind Fei shi’s words, the crowd swiftly chirped in with a smile.

Coming from powerful clans and backgrounds, even if they didn’t enroll in the Sanctum of Sages, they would still be able to rise through the ranks with ease. The two reasons why they went through the trouble to do so was to, firstly, temper their state of mind through the characters that Kong shi had left behind and the atmosphere that drifted in the Sanctum of Sages, and secondly, build up their connections.

With powerful connections, they would be highly valued even when they returned back to their clans, which would aid them in vying for a greater degree of authority in the future.

“Alright, I won’t impose on you all any further. Feel free to speak and interact with one another, and don’t forget to select a teacher suited for you later on…” Seeing that everyone understood his intentions, Fei shi decided to speak no more.

The crowd also knew that it wasn’t easy for them to be gathered together in one place. Once they started cultivating, they would be scattered all over the place. So, they deeply treasured this opportunity to socialize with one another.

Looking at this situation with a smile, Fei shi slowly made his way over to Zhang Xuan.

“Zhang shi, I have taken a look at your background, and I must say, it’s truly astounding that someone of your age is able to come this far from Tianxuan Kingdom. Not only did you become the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, you have also successfully crashed two Master Teacher Pavilions. To be honest, even I am deeply in awe with your talent.”

As the person in charge of this class of the Elite Division, he had read Zhang Xuan’s profile in advance, and even for someone like him, he couldn’t help but find himself filled with respect for Zhang Xuan.

Even if it was in a remote location like Qingyuan Empire, the fact that he could successfully crash the Master Teacher Pavilion was more than enough to prove his talent and strength.

“Fei shi is too polite.” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist in response.

Fei shi nodded slightly before continuing on, “Possessing talent is important, but so is forging connections with others… The Zhang Clan is the number one Sage Clan in the Master Teacher Continent, so I hope that you can make reconciliations with them. It won’t be good for you to get into a conflict with them.”

It hadn’t been a day since the young man had arrived in the Sanctum of Sages, but he had already pummeled three students from the Zhang Clan. This was really putting him at a spot.