Lightning tribulations were the world’s punishment toward cultivators for getting ahead of themselves. There was no cultivator who was not fearful of lightning tribulations.
Even someone as powerful of Luo Qingchen would turn pale in the face of a lightning tribulation, requiring much preparation before he dared clash with it.
Yet, this young man had simply crushed all of their expectations. Everyone had thought that he would utilize some kind of formidable technique in order to chase away the lightning tribulation, but who would have thought… with just a simple reprimand and threat, the lightning tribulation actually backed off in fear!
No cultivator on the Master Teacher Continent could have imagined that such a thing would actually be possible!
Was this still the lightning tribulation that they knew of?
“Have you recorded it?”
“We have recorded it, but… will we really be able to learn something like this?” An elder’s apprehensive voice sounded from behind.
“It’s unlikely…” Luo Qingchen shook his head and sighed.
If any of them dashed right up to the lightning tribulation and spouted such words, they would be reduced to cinders in the blink of an eye.
Such an action was as good as challenging the authority of the heavens!
Yet, despite his brazen actions, the young man had actually walked away from the ordeal unharmed. Could he actually not be the son of the Xingmeng Sword Saints but the illegitimate son of the heavens themselves?
“Phew, I managed to overcome this hurdle…” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was fortunate that he had already traumatized the lightning tribulation through his past experiences with it. Otherwise, if the lightning tribulation had really fallen, he would have been in deep trouble.
Returning to the ground, Zhang Xuan walked up to Luo Xuanqing and smiled. “Alright, I have driven off the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal. Let’s continue our fight!”
“…”
Luo Xuanqing felt a prickling sensation on his scalp.
Continue your head!
How can an ordinary mortal like me possibly fight against someone who could scare off a lightning tribulation with just words? Isn’t that asking for a beating?
“Forget it! It would be impolite for me to lay my hands on a guest like you…” Luo Xuanqing hurriedly shook his head vehemently.
He had already made up his mind. From that day forth, he would no longer compare himself with the inhuman freak before him!
Hearing that Luo Xuanqing was unwilling to fight with him anymore, Zhang Xuan sighed in disappointment. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at Luo Xuanqing expectantly. “Then… Brother Luo, can you bring me to meet your younger sister?”
With what he desired finally within reach, he could no longer retain his usual composure.
Knowing that his younger sister was the only edge that he had against Zhang Xuan at the moment, Luo Xuanqing waved his hand in feigned impatience. “You’ll meet during the engagement ceremony tomorrow. You can at least wait one more day, right?”
Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly. “Alright then!”
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was really disappointed, a playful smile emerged on Luo Xuanqing’s face as he asked, “Do you really want to meet her?”
He was delighted to see Zhang Xuan’s disappointment, not just for his personal vengeance but for his younger sister as well. After all, this meant that his younger sister carried significant weight in Zhang Xuan’s heart.
“Of course!” Zhang Xuan quickly nodded.
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped if that’s the case,” Luo Xuanqing said. “I can arrange for a secret meeting with my younger sister for you, but just for a short moment, alright?”
The real reason he had come here to find Zhang Xuan was to test the latter’s feelings for his younger sister, as well as to allow the two lovebirds to have a short meeting prior to the engagement.
Without a doubt, he was certain that Zhang Xuan really harbored feelings for his younger sister. Given so, it would be pointless for him to make things difficult for the latter.
While it was a breach of propriety for the couple to meet privately just ahead of the engagement, rules were ultimately just rules. Even if they were caught, the elders of both clans would only shrug it off as the recklessness of youth and turn a blind eye to it.
Besides… the young man before him was not only the young prodigy and clan head of the Zhang Clan but the head of the Sanctum of Sages and Yang shi’s senior!
“Is this for real?” Zhang Xuan’s face immediately lit up in happiness.
“Of course, when have I ever not meant my words!” Luo Xuanqing harrumphed impatiently. “Wait here for a moment, I’ll go make some arrangements…”
Zhang Xuan anxiously nodded in response. Just as he was about to thank Luo Xuanqing for his help, an elder of the Zhang Clan suddenly rushed into the main hall. “Clan Head!”
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Xuan frowned upon seeing the grim look on the elder’s face.
“We have just received news that Court Chief Zhao and Hall Master Wei of the Glacier Plain Court and Poison Hall have gone missing!” the elder reported anxiously.
“Missing?” Zhang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words, and he abruptly rose to his feet. Narrowing his eyes coldly, he questioned, “What do you mean by that? What happened?”
“I-I don’t know… It appears that there was some kind of fight, then the both of them suddenly went missing. The Zhang Clan has already dispatched some men to investigate the issue,” the elder reported.
“After fully awakening her unique constitution, Zhao Ya is able to stand her ground even against Great Sage experts. On the other hand, Wei Ruyan’s poison is able to curb even Pavilion Master Ren Qingyuan… Yet, the two of them actually went missing? Did they not even have any time to send out a help message?” Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly in disbelief.
Even when Zhao Ya was captured by You Ruoxin back then, she had still been able to find an opportunity to send a message to him asking for help. Just who in the world had the ability to make the two of them vanish, such that they could not even afford to send a help message to him?
“I’m afraid I don’t know!” the elder shook his head fearfully.
Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath to calm himself down before instructing, “Do you know where the battle occurred? Bring me over to take a look!”
The Zhang Clan’s intelligence was unlikely to be inaccurate. Chances were that something had really happened to Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan, so there was no time for him to be idling around.
If he wanted to know what had happened, he would have to drop by the area personally. Otherwise, it could already be too late by the time the others were able to get to the bottom of the matter!
The elder nodded in response. “The battle occurred in the vicinity of the Empire Alliance. Court Chief Zhao and Hall Master Wei were on their way back after resolving the issue that day when something happened to them…”
“In the vicinity of the Empire Alliance? Very well!” After confirming the location, Zhang Xuan turned to Luo Xuanqing and clasped his fist apologetically. “Brother Luo, I…”
Knowing that this matter was far more important, Luo Xuanqing nodded in understanding. “Don’t worry, you should hurry over to investigate the situation. If there’s anything that I can help you with, feel free to contact me!”
“Thanks!”
Zhang Xuan walked out to the courtyard and took out the grade-9 formation flags that his mother had given him. It did not take him too long to construct a Teleportation Formation.
“Xuan-er, I’ll come with you!” Seemingly having heard of the matter as well, Sword Saint Meng suddenly rushed over. “Don’t worry, your father and Yang shi are here, so they will be able to handle matters here promptly. I don’t feel too assured leaving you on your own. If anything happens on the other side, at least I’ll be able to cover you!”
Most preparations for the engagement had been prepared, and Sword Saint Xing and Yang shi were around to settle whatever administrative matters there were, so there should not be any problems on their end.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
While he had managed to achieve a breakthrough to Saint 9-dan, it was still a little difficult for him to activate the Teleportation Formation with his current strength. Thus, it would indeed be helpful to have his mother tagging along.
“Let’s go!”
Having made up their minds, the duo swiftly got to action. With Sword Saint Meng infusing her strength into the Teleportation Formation, it soon shone into activation.
Hu! Hu!
The duo vanished simultaneously from the spot.
The next moment, they were already in the vicinity of the Empire Alliance.
“According to the directions from the Eighth Elder, it should be over there…” Sword Saint Meng quickly scanned the surroundings and pointed in a direction.
Swiftly advancing ahead, it did not take the two of them too long to arrive at the foot of a mountain. This mountain had been forcefully sliced in half by some formidable force, and the greenery on it had been completely destroyed. From this, it could be seen that an earth-shattering battle had occurred not too long ago.
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly together.
There was a layer of frost over the entire area. Without a doubt, it had been left by Zhao Ya.
At the same time, the plants in the area had taken on a dark yellow shade, a sign that they had been poisoned to death. From the looks of it, that seemed to be Wei Ruyan’s doing.
Initially, Zhang Xuan had thought that they had been taken down separately, but contrary to his expectations, the two of them had actually been fighting side by side when they were subdued.
Just who in the world wielded such tremendous power?
Putting aside the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan, probably even the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would not be able to take those two away discreetly!
“Could it be… that Otherworldly Demonic Emperor?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed in astonishment.
