That sword qi was powerful and magnificent, carrying a wholesome intent to it. Even though it had come from afar, it did not seem to be restricted by the concept of time. It seemed to have abruptly materialized right before the puppet’s fist, thus saving Zhan shi in the nick of time.
That was a full might attack from the Empyrean Puppet, yet it had easily been deflected by the other party.
“An expert…” Wang Ying narrowed her eyes warily.
She hurriedly turned her gaze in the direction that the sword qi had originated from. At the same time, Zheng Yang also tightened his grasp on his spear, prepared to make a move at any moment.
To be able to deflect Wang Ying’s attack from such a long distance away, the person’s strength was at least on par with Ren Qingyuan’s. In fact, in the field of swordsmanship, that person might even have surpassed Ren Qingyuan!
“It’s the Speed Sword Quintessence!” Zhang Xuan, who was still in the midst of reconstructing Zhao Ya’s meridians, suddenly spoke up at this point. With a nod, he answered the doubt that was in everyone’s mind. “It’s probably the head of the Zhang Clan, the father of the young prodigy, Sword Saint Xing!”
He had already learned the essence of the Zhang Clan swordsmanship back in the Zhang Clan, and he knew its capabilities very well. It was capable of allowing one’s sword qi to break free from the restraints of time and reach one’s opponents in an instant. However, the only one who could pull off such fine control of it even from a long distance away was the legendary head of the Zhang Clan, Sword Saint Xing!
I was intending to challenge him back when I was still at the Zhang Clan, but he was nowhere to be seen. Since he’s here, it’s a good opportunity to see if he’s really as strong as the others make him out to be! Zhang Xuan thought with a smile.
During his trip to the Zhang Clan, he had managed to make an appointment to duel with Sword Saint Xing, but in the end, he did not get to meet the other party. Who could have thought that they would come by one another here?
Since that was the case, he could use the other party as a sparring partner to try out his newfound strength while exacting vengeance for Elder Jian. More importantly, he would make it clear to the other party that if his son wanted to marry Luo Ruoxin, he would have to get past him first!
Hula!
Barely after those thoughts surfaced in his head, the space ahead of him suddenly rippled, and two figures came into appearance—a middle-aged man and a middle-aged lady. They were the couple who had been going around in search of their son, Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng!
Those two had been going in the opposite direction from the Empire Alliance when they received Yang shi’s message and rushed over.
“Clan head…” Upon seeing the two of them, Zhang Wuheng immediately rushed up to them in agitation, as if he was looking at his savior.
“First Elder, what happened to you?” Sword Saint Xing’s eyebrows twitched in astonishment.
As the number one clan on the Master Teacher Continent, even the Master Teacher Pavilion would have tread carefully around the Zhang Clan. Yet, for its First Elder to be pummeled to such a state, not sparing any heed for the Zhang Clan’s dignity at all… Just who could the culprit be?
“It’s all because of that darned Zhang Xuan and his students!” Zhang Wuheng spat as he pointed at the young lad below. “Clan head, you must redress my grievances! Otherwise, what will others think of our Zhang Clan? If we don’t deal with this promptly, we’ll become the laughingstock of the Master Teacher Continent!”
“Zhang Xuan?” Upon hearing Zhang Wuheng’s words, Sword Saint Meng immediately followed the First Elder’s finger, and soon after, a young man gazing in her direction appeared in her field of vision.
In that instant, her body began shuddering uncontrollably.
“It must be him! Dear, I am certain about it—it must be him!” Sword Saint Meng turned to her husband and exclaimed passionately through zhenqi telepathy.
Even she had no idea why she was so certain that the young man before her was her son. She was aware that her claims were unfounded, but she had always trusted her intuition, and she could feel an inexplicable connection with the young man.
Fearing that his wife might run amok, Sword Saint Xing hurriedly grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Calm down, dear. As long as he’s our son, we’ll surely be able to reunite with him today…”
He had no idea what was going on, but given the fact the First Elder could still be pummeled to such a state despite the presence of so many 9-star master teachers, it would appear that Zhang Xuan was no ordinary figure.
It was one thing if the other party was really their son, but if he was not their son and they still rushed over to acknowledge him, that would really make things awkward.
In the first place, it was already a huge embarrassment for the Zhang Clan to be forced to such a position. If they made a mistake at this point, the Zhang Clan’s reputation might really be lost for good!
Seeing right through her husband’s concerns, Sword Saint Meng bellowed telepathically with gritted teeth, “Are you doubting my words? There’s no way I would fail to recognize my own son! Even if he has matured, my blood still flows in his veins!”
“I know what you are feeling. As much as he’s your son, he’s my son as well! You are anxious to reunite with him, but so am I! However, it’s precisely at a time like this that we must remain calm and ensure nothing goes wrong! Isn’t there a scarlet birthmark on our child’s bottom? I’ll find an excuse to ask about it later on, and as long as we can verify that, we’ll reunite with him right away, alright?” Sword Saint Xing appeased his wife.
Even though their son was a Connate Saint, that did not change the fact that he had only been an infant when he left their side. Furthermore, the other party seemed to have a slightly different soul aura from their son, which made it more important to verify the matter.
And the easiest and least intrusive method to do so was through his birthmark.
All parts of a person’s body could change over time, but one’s birthmarks would never disappear.
“Very well!” Knowing that there was some sense in what Sword Saint Xing was saying, Sword Saint Meng nodded and composed herself.
Seeing how the couple had been mumbling between themselves intimately ever since arriving, Zheng Yang’s eyebrows shot up, and he walked forward. “Are you the head of the Zhang Clan? You came at the perfect time. I haven’t had a chance to make a move yet, so do you want to be my opponent?”
Fearing that Sword Saint Xing would not recognize the young man, Zhang Wuheng quickly reported telepathically, “That young man is Zhang Xuan’s student, as well as the Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang!”
“So, you are the Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang! I have long heard your name, but I didn’t think that you would be Zhang shi’s student…” Sword Saint Xing clasped his fist and greeted the young man.
“Don’t bother wasting your breath on cr*p like that; you just have to say whether you wish to fight or not! Your Zhang Clan has humiliated my teacher, but your First Elder still refuses to apologize for his misdeeds. If you don’t wish to have a duel with me, I’m willing to drop the matter at an apology from you as well!” Zheng Yang looked at Sword Saint Xing haughtily as he raised his spear imposingly, causing the air to moan under the pressure of his movement.
He knew that Sword Saint Xing was a formidable expert who had made his name ages ago, but as the Progeny of Combat, he had already resolved himself not to back down from any opponent. Courage and tenacity would be his strongest weapons.
Since he had gone there to vent his teacher’s anger, he would have to make sure to beat the three powers into submission so that they would not dare utter another word.
“I’m fine with having a duel with you as well, but…” Sword Saint Xing paused for a moment as a smile surfaced on his lips. “… I happen to have an appointment for a duel with your teacher. Since the both of us are here, I would rather settle that matter first before dealing with whatever you have for me!”
“Do you think that any random person on the street is qualified to duel with my esteemed teacher?” Zheng Yang harrumphed. “Of course, if you can get past me, there will be nothing I can say about you challenging my teacher… but if you can’t, just know that I won’t stop until you finally apologize!”
“Your words do make sense. It’s perfectly normal for a student to stand up on his teacher’s behalf, and there’s nothing I can say about it,” Sword Saint Xing said. “However… the perpetrator behind the grudge with the Zhang Clan is your teacher, and only when he resolves it personally can others accept the outcome. As a student, don’t you think that it might be too disrespectful of you to meddle in every single one of your teacher’s affairs? If word spreads, people will think that the matter was resolved only because Zhang shi took in a good student, and that wouldn’t look too good, right?”
“That…” Zheng Yang was put at a loss for words.
His mind had been preoccupied with how he could vent his teacher’s anger, so he had not thought too deeply about the possible implications for his teacher as a result of his actions.
He hated to admit it, but Sword Saint Xing was right. Of course, there was no issue with a student stepping forward to protect their teacher, but if they went overboard, it would make the teacher appear incompetent instead.
And incompetence was one word that no master teacher would ever want their name to be associated with.
“Teacher, I…” Realizing all of these, Zheng Yang turned to his teacher in seek of his opinion, only to see the latter chuckling softly.
“It’s fine, I can handle this matter. It’s true that I had an appointment for a duel with the head of the Zhang Clan, and since he wishes to proceed with it, I’m more than willing to entertain him!”
