Library of Heaven’s Path

“Sect Leader Zhang, the four sects have dispatched several hundred thousand disciples to comb through all of the cities in the Azure, but no one has seen or heard of Miss Luo Qiqi!” the elder clasped his fist and replied.

“There’s no news at all?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

Since Luo Xuanqing said that Luo Qiqi had overcome the dimension barrier of the Master Teacher Continent to ascend to a higher world, there should be a good chance that she had come here… So how could there be no news on her at all?

Zhang Xuan trusted the competency of the information network of the four sects. If they weren’t able to find her within ten days, there was indeed a good chance that she wasn’t on the Azure then…

If she didn’t come to the Azure after ascending from the Master Teacher Continent, where else could she be?

I’ll have to think about this matter carefully later on… Zhang Xuan thought.

There was nothing he could do about this matter at the moment, so he shook his head and headed to where his disciples were cultivating.

Over the past ten days, his disciples had made great advancements. Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others had managed to reach True Immortal realm within this period of time.

Even Yuan Tao, who tended to lag behind the others, managed to reach Heavenly Pseudo Immortal realm.

As for Bai Ruanqing, she had successfully achieved a breakthrough to High Immortal realm, making her one of the strongest experts in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion of her generation!

Seeing that they were cultivating diligently, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Then, with a heavy heart, he began trudging his way back to the silent chamber to go into seclusion once more when he suddenly heard a commotion not too far away.

“Young Master, you must redress my grievances! I, your beloved Sun Qiang, has been accompanied you for so many years. We have been together since our time in Tianxuan Kingdom! You can’t possibly be thinking of replacing me with this darned bandit, right?”

A particularly exaggerated exclamation sounded in the distance as a fatty ran into the courtyard.

It went without saying that this fatty was Sun Qiang.

Over the past ten days, he had managed to make his way from Xuanjiang City to the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. With Zhang Xuan’s weapon serving as a symbol of his identity, it wasn’t too difficult for him to gain entry. And alas, he eventually had his fated meeting with the bandit Cao Chengli.

The two of them proclaimed themselves as Zhang Xuan’s one and only butler, and the argument got so heated that they even came to blows with one another.

While Cao Chengli was an expert of the Azure, his cultivation had also only reached Ancient Sage 4-dan too, which was roughly the same level as Sun Qiang. As a result, the battle was inconclusive.

However, none of them was contented with leaving things just like that. So, when they heard that Zhang Xuan had come out of seclusion, they immediately ran over godspeed.

“Young Master, this fellow popped out of nowhere and claimed that he is your butler. Not only so, he even dared to make a move on me!” Cao Chengli was a feisty man who wouldn’t back down in the face of an argument.

The already exhausted Zhang Xuan felt like his head was ringing from all of the shouting going on. He waved his hands in irritation and said, “It’s just a mere butler position, is there a need for the two of you to fight like that? Don’t you find it embarrassing?”

“Things aren’t as simple as that! As a butler, we must be sharp on our feet in order to tend to our Young Master’s every need. Too many soups would only spoil the broth! If we were to come to a disagreement as to what to do, who should we listen to then?” Sun Qiang exclaimed indignantly.

Young Master! I have followed you for so long, and I dare say that there’s no one in this world who knows you better than I do. There’s no way this half-baked rascal who popped out of nowhere will be able to service you better than I do!”

You…” Cao Chengli gritted his teeth in fury. “Young Master, this fellow is obviously unreliable with just a single glance! As a butler, we have to make sure to keep the big picture in mind so that we can share your burden. I don’t believe that this fellow is up to the task at all!”

Seeing how these two were bickering with one another yet again, Zhang Xuan could only rub his glabella to ease his pulsing headache.

To be honest, he really didn’t want to choose between either of them at all!

Sun Qiang was a darned braggart down to his bones. No matter what he was faced with, regardless of what kinds of troubles that would ensue as a result of his actions, his topmost priority was always to satisfy his desire to brag first… With that fearless character of his, there was no doubt that he would bring him a lot of trouble in the future.

On the other hand, the bandit Cao Chengli was a person driven by his lower body. Satisfying his lust seemed to be his top priority, making him an even more unreliable person than Sun Qiang.

Sigh! He would have never thought that someone as reliable like him would end up taking these two troublemakers as his butler…

And to make things worse, these two fellows were even bickering over this position at this moment!

Unable to take the noise any longer, Zhang Xuan eventually cried out, “Enough! Sun Qiang shall be my butler, understood?”

If he really had to choose between these two, Sun Qiang was definitely the more reliable one.

At the very least, that fatty had never disappointed him when it came to information gathering and uncovering monetary opportunities.

“B-but I…” Cao Chengli immediately panicked upon hearing that verdict.

“I’ll task you with the responsibility of taking care of Dan Xiaotian and my other direct disciples instead,” Zhang Xuan said. A moment later, he quickly added, “Know that I’ll hold you responsible if any of them were to go astray!”

Considering how hot-blooded Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, and the others were, it would really be tough if Cao Chengli were to lead them astray!

“Yes, I understand!” Cao Chengli quickly nodded his head.

At the current moment, he was only glad that the Young Master wasn’t trying to drive him away.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment longer before he turned to Sun Qiang and instructed, “Since you are here, I need you to look into Qiqi’s whereabouts. Based on what I have heard, she should have already arrived in the Azure.”

“Miss Qiqi is in the Azure too?” Sun Qiang was slightly surprised to hear the news. He quickly patted his chest confidently and said, “Young Master, leave it to me! As soon as she appears, I’ll bring her over to you!”

“Good!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

He felt a lot more assured entrusting this task to Sun Qiang. As an ex-businessman, Sun Qiang was exceptionally capable at networking in order to get things done.

After being entrusted with the job, Sun Qiang didn’t leave right away. Instead, after hesitating for a brief moment, he finally asked, “Young Master, I hope you don’t blame me for probing too much into your affairs, but Miss Qiqi has really done a lot for you… Do you really feel nothing for her at all?”

As someone who was probably the closest to Zhang Xuan in his days at the Master Teacher Continent, Sun Qiang was well aware of Luo Qiqi’s feelings toward Zhang Xuan.

For Zhang Xuan, she was willing to turn against her own clan members and even sacrifice herself… Yet, Zhang Xuan showed no signs of reciprocating her feelings at all.

Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment before he shook his head solemnly, “I don’t.”

Ever since his days at Tianxuan Kingdom, there were many ladies who were interested in him. Shen Bi Ru, Mo Yu, Zhao Feiwu, Hu Yaoyao, Yu Fei-er… All of them were stunning, outstanding ladies, but he felt nothing for them at all.

The same went for Luo Qiqi too.

It was probably cliche to say this, but his heart seemed to only beat for Luo Ruoxin. There was just something about her that drew him in, and despite the short time they had spent together, he was unable to forget about her at all.

His heart was simply too filled at the moment to house another person.

“She’s such a nice lady, but you have no feelings at all… What a cold-blooded man…” Sun Qiang murmured quietly beneath his lips.

Even though he was Zhang Xuan’s butler, he couldn’t help but feel bad for Luo Qiqi.

“Cold-blooded man?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows rose up in fury when his eyes suddenly widened in astonishment.

A thought struck his mind.

Was he really a cold-blooded man without feelings?

Definitely not!

His sentiments toward his parents were still a little awkward, but they were definitely existent. His care of his students and those around him were definitely genuine as well. He wasn’t a very expressive person, but he didn’t consider himself as someone who didn’t have feelings either.

But thinking back on it now, ever since he transcended over and obtained the Library of Heaven’s Path, his desire for romance seemed to have died out.

He was only an ordinary librarian in his previous life, and he had died as a single too. Under normal circumstances, he should have been excited by the notion that there were beautiful ladies who were interested in him, but he felt nothing at all.

Furthermore, other than affairs relating to Luo Ruoxin and his direct disciples, he found that he was able to remain perfectly rational under most circumst抓ces_ It was not that he didn’t feel emotions, but his emotions rarely trh over his rationality.

More often than not, even in the direst of situations, he was always able to analyze everything rationally with a calm mind.

He thought that it was the effect of comprehending Heart of Tranquil Water previously, but from the looks of it now, things weren’t as simple as he thought.

Could this actually be a side effect of the Library of Heaven’s Path?

There was a saying in his previous world that “the heavens would have withered if they had feelings”. Be it the Heavens’ Order or the Heavens’ Imperfections, they were abilities built on logic. Emotions and feelings had no place with the heavens at all.

This discompassionate nature of the heavens was what allowed all beings to be equals in their eyes.

No matter how just unjust happened in the world, it was none of the business of the heavens at all. The natural cycles of the world wouldn’t stop for anyone, not even in the slightest.

All along, Zhang Xuan hadn’t thought much of the matter. It was only after hearing Sun Qiang’s words that he came to a realization.

It made him question if the Library of Heaven’s Path had gradually chipped away at his emotions. After all, there was no denying that Luo Qiqi had done a lot for him. If it had been anyone else in his place, his heart would have probably softened by now. Yet, he remained completely unfazed, almost as if he was devoid of emotions.

In fact, now that he thought back, it always felt like he was looking at this issue from an outsider’s point of view, allowing him to analyze it with solely reason and logic.

He couldn’t help but wonder if the other emotions he felt would slowly die out as well as the grayish gaseous substance grew within his body. Would his feelings for Luo Ruoxin die out as well once he became assimilated by the heavens?

With such a thought in mind, a realization came to Zhang Xuan.

Heavens’ Order commanded all beings to follow a certain law of nature whereas Heavens’ Imperfections dictated that all beings are flawed and incomplete… Only feelings didn’t obey any logic and reason at all. It compels people to do all kinds of things that are beyond reason…

There were many things in this world that had certain laws that one had to obey… but were emotions something that necessarily obeyed laws too?

Of course not!

If feelings were logical, back then, when the world needed him to marry Luo Qiqi in order to save the world, he should have fallen in love with her. Yet, he ended up becoming fond of Luo Ruoxin instead.

There were all sorts of illogical things in the world that occurred as a result of uncontrollable emotions. If a person was really able to control his emotions, who wouldn’t want to keep this unstable factor in rein?

It was just a pity that the one thing that was hardest to control in the world was emotions. It was a unique state of mind that entranced people yet leaving them helpless so.

Were emotions flawed? Did love have imperfections?

That was probably the case…

But at the same time, it was also what that gave life colors as well. Innumerable people devoted themselves to the pursuit of love, and they were willing to condemn themselves in hopes of achieving romantic fulfillment…

If so, perhaps emotions shouldn’t be considered as a liability but as a wonderment of life instead.

I see…

A sharp glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes.

The heavens would have withered if they had feelings. If feelings are something which even is beyond the jurisdiction of the heavens, what do I have to be conflicted over? So, the cultivation technique which I have been searching for has been here all along…

In the three years that Zhang Xuan had spent in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, he ended up cornering himself.

He had been trying to find a way to surpass the heavens, but how could he possibly outdo the already flawless Heaven’s Path Divine Art?

No matter how great and refined his creation was, the best that he could have done was to create a cultivation technique equaling it. There was no way he could have surpassed it.

That was also the reason why he hadn’t been able to succeed despite three years of effort.

It was only at this moment did he realize that he had been walking down the wrong route right from the start!

All along, he already had something that surpassed the heavens right inside of him!

There were those whose love transcended all logic and reason, lasting for thousands of years.

There were those who were willing to give their lives away for the sake of protecting those whom they cared about.

Kinship, friendship, romance…

Luo Qiqi was willing to give in so much to him without any regrets.

Zhang Hongtian was willing to give even his final breath to protect humanity without asking for anything in return.

Ancient Sage Yan Hui was willing to leave his corpse behind so as to seal off the spatial passageway to the Azure for tens of thousands of years.

Be it the Master Teacher Continent or the Azure, there were simply too many decisions in life that were made out of sheer emotions instead of reasons.

Tens of thousands of years had passed in the Master Teacher Continent, but it wasn’t enough to erase Kong shi’s greatness. The heavens had killed generation after generation of people, but the deep respect that the people felt toward Kong shi remained firm and unwavering.

Not even the rationality of the heavens can subdue the irrationality of emotions…

Boom!

Zhang Xuan’s body jolted as a surge of energy began surging up his dantian. He could feel the bottleneck to Semi- Divinity realm was swiftly unraveling itself.

“Sun Qiang, thank you!” Zhang Xuan looked at Sun Qiang and burst into laughter.

After that, he turned around and returned back to the silent chamber.

“This…”

Seeing how the Young Master thanked himself instead of flying to a temper despite his deeply disrespectful words, Sun Qiang blinked his eyes in bewilderment.

Did the Young Master… go mad?

On the other hand, Cao Chengli’s mouth was twitching after seeing the sight before him…

Back then, just because he had unintentionally offended the Young Master, the latter made it so that he had no choice but to leap back into their accommodations. Yet, when this fatty insulted him, not only did the Young Master not berate him, he even thanked him…

Thinking back, the Young Master never seemed to show any interest toward the ladies before. Could it be that… he only had feelings for Sun Qiang?

Cao Chengli immediately turned to look at Sun Qiang, only to heave a deep sigh in the next moment.

Just how heavy must the Young Master’s taste be to actually like this fellow?