“Teacher, your current cultivation realm…” Zheng Yang exclaimed anxiously.
His teacher was only at Dimension Sundering realm primary stage whereas the fact that the head of the Zhang Clan was able to execute a burst of sword qi to deflect Wang Ying’s puppet from such a long distance away showed that his cultivation was surely above Saint 9-dan!
Considering the huge disparity in their cultivation, how were they supposed to fight with one another?
Making use of the crimson droplets formed from the Pavilion Master Seal, Zhang Xuan currently wielded strength far beyond his limits, but due to his high Soul Depth, the nature of the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, and the fact that he had not showcased it at all, not even Zheng Yang was aware of the massive change in his teacher’s fighting prowess over the past few seconds.
Knowing what Zheng Yang was worried about, Sword Saint Xing added with a smile, “I can lower my cultivation to Zhang shi’s level, and it’ll only be a simple duel of swordsmanship, so you can rest assured that I won’t injure your teacher!
“If I lose, I’ll apologize to you on behalf of the Zhang Clan and not pursue everything that happened before. However, if I win, I’ll have to ask Zhang shi to abide by the agreement that we made previously!”
When Zhang Xuan challenged Sword Saint Xing to a duel back then, he had promised that he would join the Zhang Clan as an elder if he lost the duel.
“Of course, I won’t renege on my promise!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “However, since it’s a duel, I won’t take advantage of you either. There’s no need for you to suppress your cultivation. Just bring forth your strongest move against me!”
“You want me to use my strongest move against you?” Sword Saint Xing was taken aback.
Given his cultivation realm, if he used his strongest move, even Pavilion Master Ren Qingyuan would have trouble dealing with it. Did the Dimension Sundering realm primary stage young man really mean the words that he said?
“Has that fellow gone mad?”
Ren Qingyuan, Zhang Wuheng, and the others were perplexed by Zhang Xuan’s words as well.
They had seen the young man’s strength earlier, and other than his many means and powerful students, there was really nothing spectacular about him at all. To actually ask Sword Saint Xing to use his strongest move against him without suppressing his cultivation… that was as good as asking to be killed!
“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “On top of that, I’ll sit here and fight you with a single hand. If my body moves in the slightest or my other hand is utilized, I’ll admit my defeat!”
“…” Sword Saint Xing’s face twitched uncontrollably upon hearing those words.
He had two reasons for challenging Zhang Xuan to a fight. Firstly, he wanted to check if the young man was his son. Secondly, he could better resolve the enmity between the young man and the Zhang Clan through this manner, appeasing the elders of the Zhang Clan while carefully controlling his strength to ensure that the young man did not sustain any grievous wounds.
It was one thing for the young man not to reciprocate his goodwill, but to utter such arrogant words on top of that…
“He sure is like you…”
Just as Sword Saint Xing was just about to explode from rage, he suddenly heard his wife’s voice in his ears, and his body twitched in horror. “Am I really that arrogant?”
“You were even more arrogant than him when you were younger!” Sword Saint Meng replied with a smile.
“This…” Sword Saint Xing scratched his head before looking at Zhang Xuan helplessly. “Alright then. Since that’s your request, I’ll do just that!”
After saying those words, he descended from the sky to the ground.
But the moment that his foot came into contact with the ground, the telepathic voice of his wife echoed in his mind. “If you so much harm a single strand of hair on my son, do not dream of getting into my bed in the future!”
“I…” Sword Saint Xing staggered upon hearing those words, and he nearly burst into tears.
Just what have I done so wrong to warrant such a fate?
Could the young man have expected this outcome when he proposed to face his attack with one hand while sitting on the ground?
“Teacher…”
In contrast to Sword Saint Xing’s tearfulness, Zheng Yang, Wei Ruyan, and the others directed worried gazes at Zhang Xuan.
Each of them had a fortuitous encounter of their own that had allowed them to improve swiftly. However, their teacher had not been lucky enough to have such an encounter, so his cultivation had ended up lagging behind them at Dimension Sundering realm primary stage. With his current strength, there was no way that he could stand a chance against the full-powered Sword Saint Xing!
There was absolutely zero chance of victory at all!
“Don’t worry. When has our teacher waged a war that he’s unconfident of winning? Since our teacher has said such words, he definitely has a plan in mind!” Yuan Tao said with a smile.
“I guess that’s true…” Zheng Yang pondered for a moment before nodding.
Wei Ruyan had come under Zhang Xuan’s lineage a little late, so she was unaware of many of his past exploits. Nevertheless, she still had a rough grasp of the latter’s temperament and character.
If there was one thing that she was certain about, this teacher of hers would never take the short end of a stick!
Those who dared challenge him would only end up tragically defeated!
“Wait a moment! Have any of you realized that our teacher’s aura seemed to have… changed.” Wang Ying suddenly spoke up. “I could still roughly gauge the depth of his strength earlier, but right now, no matter how I look at him, it’s like staring into an endless ocean, unable to see the end of it no matter how one squints.”
Those words prompted Zheng Yang, Wei Ruyan, and the others to take a good look at their teacher once more, and indeed, there were some significant changes with the latter. Even though he was still seated on the spot, the energy within his body appeared to have been amplified many times over, reaching a level that even they could not accurately gauge anymore.
“Our teacher might have made a breakthrough again…” Lu Chong suggested uncertainly.
As a soul oracle, his sensitivity to his environment was much higher than the others. Just a moment ago, his teacher had still been at a level that he could defeat easily, but right now… just by standing in the vicinity of his teacher, he felt a powerful pressure pressing down on him, suffocating him.
He had no idea just what could induce such a massive change in his teacher within such a short period of time, but considering that it was his teacher whom they were talking about, even the impossible did not seem too impossible anymore.
Seeing that his teacher was prepared, Zheng Yang was finally able to put down the worries in his heart. With a light chuckle, he ushered the others to the side and said, “Since that’s the case, there’s no need for us to worry then. Let’s just sit back and watch our teacher teach Sword Saint Xing a lesson!”
Remembering dearly his wife’s threat, Sword Saint Xing took a deep breath before he flicked his wrist and whipped out his sword. “Make your move!”
“I fear that I might accidentally injure you if I wield my sword. Since it’s a friendly duel, I’ll pass on using my sword,” Zhang Xuan glanced at Sword Saint Xing and spoke composedly.
“You aren’t going to wield a sword? How are you intend to fight then?”
In that moment, Sword Saint Xing felt like clawing his hair out.
There was really no way to communicate with such arrogant fools!
Fine, he admitted that he had been pretty egoistical when he was younger, often trying to humblebrag whenever the opportunity arose. However, even he had not reached this level of boastfulness before!
It was almost as if the young man was trying to slap his face with his every sentence!
Anyone else in his shoes would have already turned irrational from rage at this point, but somehow, toward the young man sitting before him… he could not get angry even if he wanted to.
He still was not too sure whether the young man was truly his son or not, but he could grasp what his wife was saying. It was hard to put it into words, but it felt like there was an inseverable connection between him and the young man.
“I’ll just fight you like this.”
Oblivious to the thoughts running through Sword Saint Xing’s mind, Zhang Xuan flicked his finger, and a surge of sword qi exactly three chi long gathered at the tip of his finger, emanating a cold glint.
“Very well then, do whatever pleases you. Just… try to avoid getting hurt, alright?”
It was hard to tell if it was out of rage or frustration, but Sword Saint Xing heaved a deep sigh.
Following which, he flicked his sword and pierced it right toward Zhang Xuan.
He had only used a tenth of his might, but he did not hold back on his Sword Intent at all. The moment that the sword stabbed forth, it transcended through space and appeared right in front of Zhang Xuan’s glabella the next moment.
“Not bad, I have to say that your swordsmanship is quite decent!” Zhang Xuan chuckled softly.
As expected of the number one expert of the Zhang Clan swordsmanship! As soon as he made his move, it was immediately apparent that his swordsmanship had reached a much higher level than Zhang Xu and the others.
Without bothering to dodge, Zhang Xuan remained seated on the spot. He continued to reconstruct Zhao Ya’s meridians with his left hand while raising his right hand and tapping the space in front of him.
A burst of sword qi shot forth from his fingertip, and it transcended the limitations of space in an instant.
Be it the initiation move, the intent, or the release of the technique, the sword art that Zhang Xuan had just executed was completely identical to that of Sword Saint Xing. If the others were not aware of the hostile relationship between Zhang Xuan and the Zhang Clan, they would have thought that they were brothers from the same lineage sparring with one another.
However, even though it was the exact same move, Zhang Xuan’s attack managed to reach its target first despite its later release. From the looks of it, Sword Saint Xing’s swordsmanship would be undone before it could push even the slightest centimeter further.
“This…” Sword Saint Xing’s body recoiled in astonishment at the unexpected turn in events as he gasped in disbelief. “How is this possible?”
