“Thank you, Sun shi!”
As shocked as they were, they knew that it wasn’t the time to be pondering over this matter. They quickly turned their gazes back to the secret art and began memorizing it.
They understood full well the significance of the lowered prerequisites for the cultivation of the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra to the Combat Master Hall.
The other party could have hidden the fact that he had obtained the heritage from them, and no one would have been any wiser either. Using the secret art, he could have easily drawn in countless pursuers and formed his own influence, thus bringing him immense power and vast riches… Alternatively, he could have also used the secret art as a leverage to make demands out of them… Considering that it was their highest secret art on the line, they would have no choice but to bow to anything that the other party demanded.
But the other party didn’t choose to do so.
In fact, he even tossed it back to them as if it was nothing at all… This magnanimity was something they could never hope to match up to.
It was laughable how they had actually doubted the character of such a noble person…
Their faces reddened in shame, and they would have dived into a hole to hide in if there was one beside them in this very instant.
All along, they had thought that given that everyone had their own greed and desires, true selflessness was impossible… However, the young man before them had overturned that belief!
Only a man like him could bear the title of a ‘teacher’ without any guilt.
“Sun shi, your impartation of the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra to our Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall makes you a half-teacher to all of us. From now onward, no matter what request you have of us, our Combat Master Hall will surely have it accomplished at all costs!”
After taking several more looks at the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra and confirming that it was suitable for everyone to cultivate, Hall Master Xing stepped forward and clasped his fist earnestly.
While this secret art was left behind by the founder of the Heart Division, the young man before him did make a huge alteration to the technique, so it could be said that he had a claim to it as well.
Since they were going to cultivate the other party’s technique, that would effectively make the other party their half-teacher.
No matter, the Qingyuan Conferred Empire truly owed the young man a huge debt this time around. This wasn’t a debt which could be repaid just by offering a little bit of help here and there.
“Hall Master Xing, there’s no need to stand on ceremony!” Not expecting the other party to take the matter so seriously, Zhang Xuan hurriedly waved his hands to indicate that it wasn’t a huge issue.
“That can’t do! Sun shi, you have truly done our Combat Master Hall a great favor this time around. With the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra you have imparted to us, the overall fighting prowess of our Combat Master Hall will be raised immensely. With this, we would be able to deal with our current crisis easily!” Hall Master Xing replied earnestly.
There were two reasons why the members of the Combat Master Hall were so easily seduced by the Xuanxuan Faction. Firstly, the Xuanxuan Faction’s grasp of combat knowledge was indeed far superior to theirs—even Hall Master Xing had to admit that. Secondly, it would be due to their lacking mental resilience against temptations.
However, with the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra being made commonplace, the overall prowess of the combat masters would be enhanced. With this, they might stand a chance in besting the Xuanxuan Faction in the exchange three days from now!
“Indeed. If one were to cultivate the secret art diligently, it’ll help them to maintain their clarity of mind, allowing them to withstand the beguilement of the inner demons. At the same time, the enhanced state of mind will also boost one’s comprehension of battle techniques and combat. It’ll indeed boost the prowess of the combat masters significantly.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
At this point, he suddenly recalled a matter and asked, “Right, I have some students who are severely lacking in their mental resilience. Will it be fine for me to impart the secret art to them as well?”
No matter what, the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra was still the highest secret art of the Combat Master Hall. He should still seek the other party’s permission before imparting it to Wang Ying and the others in the Xuanxuan Faction.
“Of course! Since the founder has imparted the technique to you, and you have also made significant improvements in it, you are free to do anything you want with it!” Hall Master Xing said with a smile.
It wasn’t a problem for the technique to be passed down to just a couple of students.
Division Heads Liao and Wei also nodded in agreement.
Such an act wouldn’t harm the interests of their Combat Master Hall, so there was no need for them to oppose it.
“Allow me to thank the Combat Master Hall on their behalf then.” Zhang Xuan bowed.
Wang Ying, Liu Yang, and the others from the Xuanxuan Faction were still too young. It was inevitable that they would be disadvantaged in terms of their state of mind against the combat masters. However, if they could cultivate the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra, that flaw of theirs could be resolved. At the very least, they wouldn’t panic in the midst of battle, and that would give the Xuanxuan Faction a better chance in the battle.
“Sun shi, you are too polite!”
The others quickly clasped their fists respectfully.
After chatting for a while longer, Zhang Xuan suddenly recalled a certain matter, and he asked, “Will it be inconvenient for me to ask what kind of trouble is the Combat Master Hall facing?”
This was the second time he was asking them this question.
The other party agreeing to allow him to impart the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra to his students and the members of the Xuanxuan Faction was a huge favor to him. For this, he didn’t mind helping the other party resolve their problem.
Also, he was a little curious as to know what kind of problem the Combat Master Hall was facing that would leave even the formidable Hall Master Xing in such a panic.
“I thank Sun shi for your concern, but with this Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra, I am confident that we should be able to overcome the crisis easily.” Hall Master Xing replied with a smile.
The other party had already done them a huge favor by simplifying the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra to a level where each and every combat master would be able to cultivate it. If they still couldn’t resolve the problem like that, their Combat Master Hall would have no face to continue existing in this world.
“Hall Master Xing…” Right after he had said those words, Division Head Liao suddenly turned to him and discreetly sent a telepathic message over. “Despite possessing only a cultivation of Saint 1-dan pinnacle, Sun shi was able to avoid our collaborative offense without incurring any injuries… His fighting prowess is truly terrifying! If we could have him to teach our combat masters, the overall prowess of our Combat Master Hall would surely rise swiftly!”
“This…” Hall Master Xing was a little taken aback by the proposal.
He hadn’t really thought about it, but the young man before him had achieved an astounding level in his comprehension of combat despite his Saint 1-dan pinnacle cultivation.
Even with his breakthrough to Leaving Aperture realm, it was highly likely that he would be no match for the other party once he suppressed his cultivation to Saint 1-dan pinnacle too.
With his prowess, he was bound to be far stronger than those of the Xuanxuan Faction. If he could step forward to teach their combat masters… It could be foreseen that there would be a significant surge in the prowess of the Combat Master Hall!
By then, it wouldn’t be a problem for them to defeat the Xuanxuan Faction and regain their honor.
“It’s indeed a good idea, but… our Combat Master Hall is already deeply indebted to the other party. We can’t let him do anything for us anymore…” Hall Master Xing replied with a frown.
Division Head Liao’s idea was good, but they couldn’t just keep accepting the goodwill of the other party without reciprocating.
Besides, for the Combat Master Hall to be unable to deal with an academy from a Tier-1 Empire, forced to the extent of engaging the help of a spirit awakener… How shameful it would be!
“You’re right.” Understanding Hall Master Xing’s point of view, Division Head Liao nodded and fell silent.
On the other hand, hearing Hall Master Xing’s confident response, Zhang Xuan nodded, “That’s good…”
He knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to probe any further at this point, or else it would as good as casting doubt over the capability of the Combat Master Hall. Thus, he hesitated for a brief moment before continuing, “To tell you the truth, I do have something to ask of you.”
“Feel free to speak!” Hall Master Xing replied hurriedly.
“Is it possible for me to access all of the Saint 2-dan and above cultivation technique manuals in your Combat Master Hall? Recently, I have reached a bottleneck in my cultivation, and I need to accrue as much knowledge as possible in order to converge my cultivation together…” Zhang Xuan said.
It had been a month since he had reached Saint 1-dan pinnacle at the Qiu Wu Palace. His physical body, zhenqi, and soul cultivation had already reached their limits long ago, and it was about time for him to achieve a breakthrough.
To be honest, it was deeply embarrassing for him to be stuck at Saint 1-dan pinnacle for such a long period of time.
“Our Combat Master Hall does have cultivation technique manuals of Saint 2-dan and above, but I’m afraid that we don’t have too many of them.” Hall Master Xing was visibly surprised by Zhang Xuan’s request for a moment before nodding.
“There aren’t many of them?” Zhang Xuan asked with a deep frown.
Typically speaking, the Master Teacher Pavilion would have a huge collection of cultivation technique manuals numbering in millions so that master teachers could easily access whatever information they required. So, why would Hall Master Xing say that there weren’t many of them?
“Unlike the Master Teacher Pavilion, where master teachers can access all cultivation techniques once their cultivation reaches the required level, combat masters have to overcome certain trials before they can claim any cultivation technique…” Seeing the incomprehension in Zhang Xuan’s eyes, Hall Master Xing explained.
In the Master Teacher Pavilion, as long as one’s master teacher rank and cultivation realm reached the required level, or if they were to accrue sufficient Contribution Points, they would be granted access to the cultivation techniques correspondingly. However, the Combat Master Hall didn’t obey the same rules.
Combat masters were expected to wield fighting prowess at the apex of humanity, so they had to temper their strength to the very limits of their cultivation realm and prove it so through clearing a trial would they be able to obtain the cultivation technique manuals for the next realm.
Otherwise, if one failed to reinforce their cultivation sufficiently at a certain realm, their subsequent cultivation would become unstable. This meant that they would no longer be able to retain their strength of being at the apex of their cultivation realm, and it could also hinder them from reaching greater heights in their cultivation as well.
“As our Combat Master Hall is born for the sole purpose of combat, combat masters would cultivate the same cultivation technique as one another so as to make it more convenient for them to collaborate with one another in combat or amalgamate their zhenqi together to generate a force far beyond their individual limits… Thus, the quantity of cultivation technique manuals that we have here is much fewer than that in the Master Teacher Pavilion!” Hall Master Xing explained.
Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
The Combat Master Hall was effectively the army of the Master Teacher Pavilion, so naturally, their cultivation techniques would be geared towards maximizing their prowess, especially through teamwork. For this purpose, it was necessary for them to cultivate specific cultivation techniques so that they could better aid and complement one another in battle.
“Of course, even though our cultivation technique manuals number few, I can guarantee their prowess. They should prove to be a great source of inspiration to you. Besides, even though I did say their quantity is limited, we still do have a few hundred of them here to cater to those of differing constitutions!”
Hall Master Xing didn’t know why Sun shi would ask for quantity instead of quality, but since the other party had made such a request, he was bound to have a rationale behind it. Naturally, he should first clarify things up front so as to prevent a misunderstanding from occurring.
“Several hundred cultivation technique manuals will do as well. Where do I have to go to access them, and what kind of trials will I have to undergo?” Zhang Xuan asked.
To be honest, he was also a little curious to learn what kind of trials combat masters underwent.
He hadn’t tested out his newfound strength as a Celestial Saint yet; this would be a good opportunity for him to assess where his strength stood against the rest of the Master Teacher Continent.
“The cultivation techniques are in the Inner Breath Division. It happens that I am the head of the Inner Breath Division, so allow me to bring you over!” Division Head Wei said with a smile.
“I’ll be counting on you then!” Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile.
Since the other party didn’t want him to interfere in their private affairs, he wasn’t interested in becoming a busybody either. No matter what, since he had come to the Combat Master Hall, he should at least use this opportunity to raise his strength by at least a little.
“Sun shi, this way please…” Division Head Wei bade Hall Master Xing farewell before leading Zhang Xuan out.
Upon the departure of the duo, Division Head Liao turned to Hall Master Xing and asked in bewilderment, “Have you ever heard of anyone deriving inspiration by reading a huge variety of cultivation technique manuals? Wouldn’t it just make it harder for one to discern the truth from the lies, befuddling their train of thoughts further instead?”
“I have never heard of such a thing either, but one thing is for sure. Sun shi is a true genius! Most likely, only Zhang Xuan of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy could be a match for him…”
Halfway through his words, Hall Master Xing suddenly froze. “Wait a moment… Zhang Xuan has just arrived in Qingyuan City, and Sun shi appeared shortly afterward. Furthermore, the both of them seem to be around the same age, and they are both top-notch geniuses…
“Division Head Liao, where is the painting of Zhang Xuan that Zhuo Qingfeng sent to us previously? Bring it over to me. Back then, I had only taken a glance at it and I didn’t think much of it. But this… I need to take another look to verify the matter!”
