Library of Heaven’s Path

The black-robed elder harrumphed coldly. “Humph, you do have quite a glib tongue. Do you take me as one of those naive, young ladies who fall for your words easily?”

“Naive, young ladies? Falling for my words?” Zhang Xuan hurriedly waved his hands earnestly, denying the accusation. At the same time, an inconspicuous frown surfaced on his head.

He could vaguely feel that the black-robed elder was referring to something with his words, but he had always conducted himself properly, never getting involved with any women. What could the other party possibly be getting at?

If others were to hear that, they might just think that he was a playboy!

“I will just get straight to the point with you.”

With his hands behind his back, the elder slowly closed in on Zhang Xuan.

In that instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if a massive mountain was slowly making its way toward him, and the immense pressure that he felt seemed to sap the air from his lungs.

This pressure weighed on both his mind and his body, rendering him completely powerless. It was apparent that the other party wanted him to know the gap between them and force him to submit.

“Humph!” With narrowed eyes, Zhang Xuan drove his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, and the pressure on him alleviated significantly.

As powerful as the other party was, there was no presence more imposing than the heavens.

“Hmm? Interesting!” Seeing that the other party was able to endure his pressure so easily, an interested gleam surfaced in the eyes of the black-robed elder.

“To be able to endure my pressure so easily, you must have some kind of formidable artifact on you. It seems like you have quite a doting teacher there.”

“I am my teacher’s only direct disciple, so he does treat me quite well,” Zhang Xuan replied.

The other party was too fearsome. With his current strength, he stood no chance at all. Even escape seemed unlikely at this point. Thus, he could only place his hopes in his teacher, ‘Yang Xuan’, to deter the other party from doing anything overboard.

The black-robed elder looked at him and asked, “May I know whom your teacher is?”

Zhang Xuan nodded. “My teacher goes by the name of Yang Xuan.”

Upon hearing the name, the black-robed elder’s eyes narrowed menacingly, and he harrumphed coldly. “Yang Xuan? Young man, I still have a rather favorable impression of you. Don’t lose it by lying!”

Suddenly, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt as if he was standing above a sinkhole and an unknown power would consume him at any moment.

Gritting his teeth to withstand the devastating might crushing him, Zhang Xuan asked, “Lying? Elder, why would you say such words?”

“I have met Yang shi once, and he has already long retired from worldly affairs. As far as I know, he has never accepted any students, and yet, you say that you are his student? Are you honestly expecting me to believe such words?” the black-robed elder said with a threatening edge in his voice.

“You have met… Yang Xuan?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up in alarm, and for a moment, he found himself in a daze.

‘Yang Xuan’ was a name that he came up with spontaneously back then. In other words, it was a fictional character that he had fabricated… and yet, the black-robed elder was saying that he had met Yang Xuan?

It couldn’t be that there was really a master teacher going by the name of Yang Xuan in the world who coincidentally wielded unfathomable strength as well, could there?

That would be too much of a coincidence!

“Alright, I have no interest in whose student you are. I am here only to offer you a warning. It’s good to dream big, but a human should know his own place and limits. If you attempt to pursue things that are unreachable to you, not only will you bring pain upon yourself, you will also hurt those around you as well. By then… things will not be resolved with just mere words. And I cannot promise that those whom you associate with will remain unharmed in the process as well.”

“Know my place and limits? Pursue things that are unreachable?” Zhang Xuan was confused as to what the other party was saying. Just as he was about to ask about it, his eyes suddenly widened in astonishment. “You are… from the Luo Clan?”

The threat, coupled with the previous words about naive, young ladies…

Could the other party be Luo Ruoxin’s family?

Only a clan as powerful as the Luo Clan would be in command of experts who could subdue him without using any battle technique at all.

The pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together perfectly.

While he and Luo Ruoxin had never told anyone that they had gotten together, it was not surprising that a family as powerful as the Luo Clan would be able to uncover that.

“Quite a keen mind you have there.” The black-robed elder harrumphed, not denying the matter. With a lofty look on his face, he gazed down at Zhang Xuan as if looking at a mere ant and said, “By this point, you should be aware that she’s the little princess of our Luo Clan. She carries heavy responsibility on her shoulders. I advise you not to have any thoughts toward her. Someone like you will never be good enough for the Luo Clan!”

“Someone like me will never be good enough?” Zhang Xuan subconsciously clenched his fists tightly together.

“Indeed. The Luo Clan is one of the top three Sage Clans on the Master Teacher Continent, and there is no one who doesn’t know that our little princess wields immense power. As long as she wills it so, anyone whom she favors will be able to rise to the top of the world. You might have some wits, and your talent isn’t too bad either, but if you think that you are qualified to get together with our little princess, I suggest that you take a closer look at yourself. A toad lusting over the flesh of a swan will never end well!” the black-robed elder sneered in disdain.

Who were they?

One of the behemoths of the Sage Clans, a top-notch power on the Master Teacher Continent!

On the other hand, the other party was just a bumpkin from a remote place. Even if he possessed exceptional talent, he was still nowhere near to matching up to the peak.

In the first place, they were existences from two wholly different worlds.

“Who are you to judge my worth?” The other party’s words left a surge of fury rising in his chest. He could not accept the other party saying that he was not good enough for Luo Ruoxin, and he raised his head proudly and bellowed, “So what if you are from a Sage Clan? A higher starting point doesn’t give you the right to look down on others.

“A day will come when even Sage Clans like yours won’t catch my eyes!”

So what if the other party was from a Sage Clan?

So what if the other party wielded strength far greater than him at the moment?

As a Celestial Master Teacher, he would eventually reach heights that no one had seen before.

Perhaps, in a few decades time, the supposed Sage Clans would be little more than mere ants before him.

“Many conceited fools have uttered such words in the past as well, but the Luo Clan’s position still remains unshakeable in this world.” The elder harrumphed with a cold glint in his eyes. “I have met countless talents in the world, and there are plenty whose talents you don’t even come close to matching. Yet, there was not a single one of them who managed to shake the Luo Clan.

“So, I advise you not to bring trouble upon yourself. I hate to pull my weight before my juniors or to incur the dislike of our little princess, but if you still don’t back down, it’s my responsibility to give you a good reason to do so.”

Hong long!

As soon as those words were spoken, the stars up above suddenly seemed to plummet from the sky. Unimaginable might crushed down on Zhang Xuan, threatening to smash him into pieces.

Under the overwhelming strength of the power, Zhang Xuan found himself unable to breathe. As if an ant standing before a giant, he felt utterly vulnerable.

“Swear on your identity as a master teacher that you won’t see her, and I’ll spare you,” the black-robed man uttered coldly.

Zhang Xuan felt as if someone was grabbing his neck tightly, and the feeling of death encroaching on him felt more vivid than ever. He struggled with all his might, but he was unable to struggle free.

Damn it! This won’t do… At this rate, I might really die!

The other party’s strength was omnipresent around him; there was nowhere he could escape to. It was as if a guillotine was hanging above him, ready to claim his life at any moment.

While the other party had not shown any killing intent yet, he hated the feeling of having his life in the hands of another. It felt as if his entire existence was banking on the whims of another, and he abhorred such a feeling of helplessness.

His fingernails sank deep into his flesh, causing a stream of blood to drip down his hands. For the first time, he vividly felt the need for power in this world. Without power, there was truly nothing at all.

Dignity!

Love!

Master teacher rank!

All of that was meaningless if one did not have absolute power to protect them!

Ever since his transcension to this world, things had always gone favorably for Zhang Xuan. While the situation might have gotten a little dangerous from time to time, he had always been able to overcome any adversity with his wits. This was the very first time he had felt completely helpless and powerless.

He could not help but realize that if the person before him harbored malevolent intentions, no amount of words would get him out of this situation.

For the first time, he desperately craved greater strength. Only with greater strength would he be able to embrace and protect those whom he held dear.

Zhang Xuan anxiously sent a message to Vicious discreetly. “Vicious, what is the strength of that fellow? Are you able to deal with him?”

With his current strength, he stood no chance against the black-robed elder. His only hope lay in the person who had once stood at the very pinnacle of the Master Teacher Continent.

“Master, his cultivation has probably reached Saint 7-dan. I have yet to recover my true strength, so I fear that I won’t be a match for him,” Vicious replied with a hint of anxiety in his voice as well.

If his master was killed, he would dissipate on the spot as well. This was the effect of the Soul Contract between them.

If he wished to survive, he would have to do his best to ensure the safety of his master.

“I have to find a way to make him execute a battle technique. Only with some information on him will I be able to find a way out of this situation,” Zhang Xuan replied, unsurprised by Vicious’ response.

Saint 7-dan, that was a level that had nearly reached the peak of the Master Teacher Continent. With such strength, even the entire Qingyuan Empire would be helpless before him!

Vicious was currently only a mere heart and a finger, so it was natural that he would not stand a chance against an expert of the other party’s caliber.

“I should be able to force him into executing a battle technique, but I fear that my killing intent might be a little too strong. He could easily discern that I’m an Otherworldly Demon, and that might get you into greater trouble,” Vicious replied.

Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and replied, “I’ll give you the permission to devour Kong shi’s writing, so do it!”

Back on the Saint Ascension Platform, he had received Kong shi’s personal handwriting. Schemed by Lu Feng back at the Master Teacher Academy, a third of it had been consumed for his clone to act as Kong shi. To deal with Vicious’ finger, another one-third of it had been consumed. Thus, only a third of the original text remained in the booklet.

This was the last time he could use this card.

It was a heavy price to pay, but after consuming Kong shi’s writing, not only would Vicious’ aura become much stronger, he would also be able to morph his aura into that of a true master teacher, and that was what Zhang Xuan required to resolve the precarious situation he was in.

“Alright!” Vicious replied.

Kong shi’s writing, which he had kept in his storage ring, gradually faded line after line, and at the same time, Zhang Xuan felt a powerful aura surging within him.

Boom!

The following moment, an aura reminiscent of a rampaging dragon burst into the surroundings, dissipating the power that had gathered in the area in an instant.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan felt the invisible shackles around him vanish without a trace, as if a fish onshore who had managed to make its way back into the water.

“Hmm?”

On the other hand, not expecting the young man before him to suddenly release an aura so powerful that even he was unable to withstand it, the black-robed elder’s body stiffened.

Not daring to get careless before such a powerful force, he swiftly executed a defensive technique to ward off the aura.

Barely after he successfully protected himself from the burst of aura, the young man before him suddenly raised his head to gaze straight at him. Deep within his eyes, ripples reminiscent of a torrential river could be seen.

At the same time, a deep and ancient voice sounded. It was spoken in time with the movement of the young man’s voice, but eerily, the voice sounded as if it had come from the heavens.

“When have I grown so weak that even a mere Saint 7-dan brat dares to threaten my student?

“Who do you think you are?”