After flying for some time, the departing crowd of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers finally came to a halt.
“Teacher, I feel indignant at admitting our defeat just like that!” one of the young men exclaimed.
“While Zhang Jiuxiao might be improving swiftly,” another young man added through clenched teeth, “as long as we go all out right from the start, we might still be able to defeat him. Also, the head of the Zhang Clan might simply be skilled at imparting knowledge. If Sword Saint Xing’s words were true, that would be the first time that the head of the Zhang Clan had come into contact with the heritage of the Zhang Clan! No matter how talented he is, there’s no way his comprehension of temporal laws could possibly surpass ours within a single hour!”
Given that they had not completed the mission that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had entrusted to them, they would surely be severely punished upon their return!
Seeing that his students were indignant at their loss, Tantai Zhenqing shook his head in disappointment. “You said that the head of the Zhang Clan’s comprehension of temporal laws is beneath yours?”
“That’s right!” A young man nodded vehemently.
“I might have agreed with you a moment ago. However… just take a look at the Temporal Mirror!”
Without explaining a thing, Tantai Zhenqing flicked his wrist, and a golden mirror materialized on top of his palm.
“What happened to the mirror?”
The crowd quickly gathered around Tantai Zhenqing. With just a single glance, their eyes narrowed in astonishment.
A long crack could be seen on the surface of the mirror, reminiscent of a glaring laceration.
“Teacher, what happened? Who damaged the Temporal Mirror?” Tantai Jiankui asked in shock.
The Temporal Mirror was one of the top treasures of their clan. Even Great Sage experts would have trouble trying to damage it! Why would such a huge crack suddenly appear on its surface?
“It was caused by a single glance of the head of the Zhang Clan!” Tantai Zhenqing said with a deep look in his eyes.
“It was caused by a single glance?”
The crowd frowned in incomprehension.
Given the resilience of the Temporal Mirror, there would not be the slightest dent even if they were to exert their full strength on it. The head of the Zhang Clan was only a Saint 9-dan pinnacle cultivator, but he was able to produce such a long crack on the Temporal Mirror just by glancing at it?
“The Temporal Mirror was left behind by one of our predecessors as a trial to the later generations. It’s embedded with all kinds of formations in order to challenge those whose consciousness has slipped within it… It might seem to be a casual glance from the head of the Zhang Clan, but in truth, his consciousness had already slipped into the Temporal Mirror and destroyed all of the formations within it!” Tantai Zhenqing explained grimly.
“His consciousness slipped into the Temporal Mirror and destroyed all of the formations within it?”
The crowd narrowed their eyes in disbelief.
The deeper one’s comprehension of temporal laws was, the faster one would be able to escape from the Temporal Mirror. However, not only did the head of the Zhang Clan escape from the Temporal Mirror, he even destroyed all of the formations within it… Just how deep was his comprehension of temporal laws in order to pull something like that off?
“Most likely, he has already reached the level of Time Quintessence…” Tantai Zhenqing addressed the doubt that was in everyone’s mind.
In a moment, the crowd fell silent.
Time Quintessence and Spatial Quintessence were at a different order to Sword Quintessence and the like. Even Ancient Sages would face great difficulties trying to comprehend those two Quintessences, but a Saint 9-dan lad actually managed to do it…
“It seems like the head of the Zhang Clan possesses talent on par with the Luo Clan’s Luo Tianya. It won’t be easy for the Hundred Schools of Philosophers to accomplish its goals!” Nangong Yuanfeng sighed deeply.
It was no wonder Tantai Zhenqing had left so hurriedly. Given the same cultivation realm, it was nigh impossible to defeat someone who had comprehended Time Quintessence, even if he was a Sempiternal realm cultivator suppressing his cultivation.
Leaving was indeed the wisest decision they could make. Otherwise, all they would face was humiliation.
…
“We have won?”
“We actually defeated the experts of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers?”
In contrast to the gloomy air hanging around Tantai Zhenqing and the group from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, exhilarated cheers echoed throughout the Zhang Clan.
When they heard that the experts of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had come to challenge them, they had thought that they would have their dignity trampled upon. Who could have thought that their clan head would be able to drive them away so easily?
This was something that they would not dare have imagined in the past.
But what they had deemed impossible had really happened right before their eyes!
“I have won?”
Even Zhang Jiuxiao could hardly believe what had happened.
To actually duel and win against a descendant of the Philosophers… Had it been half a year ago, he never would have thought that he would be able to pull off something like this!
In his mind, he could not help but feel deeply grateful to his teacher once more. It was his teacher who had helped him acquire everything that he possessed at this very moment.
“I want you to properly cultivate the two manuals I have imparted to you over the next few days. Try your best to comprehend Time Quintessence as soon as possible. Also, I want you to cultivate this cultivation technique accordingly. With this, you should be able to make a breakthrough very soon and raise your cultivation significantly!” Zhang Xuan looked at Zhang Jiuxiao sternly.
“You are the weakest of my students at the moment, so you have to work harder to advance your cultivation. I hope that you will be able to become a stout shield for mankind in the future, just like your seniors!”
“Yes, Teacher! I will not let you down!” Zhang Jiuxiao clasped his fist.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
Following which, he turned his gaze toward the Xingmeng Sword Saints. Taking a deep breath, he called out, “Father, Mother!”
The truth was that he had already acknowledged the two of them as his parents, but for some reason, he found it incredibly difficult addressing them as ‘father’ and ‘mother’.
However, he felt that it would be inappropriate to allow their relationship to continue this way. It was likely that he would work closely with the Xingmeng Sword Saints in the future to protect mankind from the Otherworldly Demons, especially since the two of them still wielded greater influence in the Zhang Clan than him. It would not do for their relationship to remain awkward.
Thus, he bucked up his courage and did it.
The Xingmeng Sword Saints were taken aback for a moment before irrepressible smiles crept onto their faces. They clenched their fists tightly in agitation as they called out, “Xuan-er!”
They had been looking forward to this day ever since their reunion. However, they knew that they had done their son wrong, so they had not dared to impose their expectations on him. They could only wish that the day would come when their child acknowledged them on his own accord.
They did not think that their wish would come true so quickly!
“Even though the cultivation techniques that you practice are top-notch, the distress you have been under in the past two decades has caused some blockages in your meridians, preventing your zhenqi from flowing smoothly. I’ll impart a method for resolving the blockages to you so that you can achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible!” Zhang Xuan said.
His parents might be the top experts of the Master Teacher Continent, but under the reflection of the Library of Heaven’s Path, there were still many flaws with their cultivation techniques and physical conditions. These flaws became the bottleneck that hindered the advancement of their cultivation.
If they could resolve these problems, it would not take them too long to reach the peak of Great Sage!
“You… are going to give us some pointers?” Hearing their son’s words, the eyebrows of the Xingmeng Sword Saints shot up in astonishment.
Their son was only at Saint 9-dan pinnacle at the moment. Was he really capable of offering pointers to Great Sage 3-dan cultivators like them?
“It’s not really pointers. I’m just pointing out a few flaws I have noticed in your cultivation so as to resolve the traumas you have sustained!” Zhang Xuan explained with a smile.
He had long compiled a book on them in the Library of Heaven’s Path, but he just had not had time to sort out their conditions and offer them some pointers.
Having said that, Zhang Xuan took out two empty books and began writing on them. Soon, he had already jotted down the flaws and problems that they were suffering from, as well as the solutions to resolving them.
“This…”
The Xingmeng Sword Saints took the books and flipped through them, and their bodies jolted in shock.
There was nothing wrong with what their son had pointed out. Those were indeed the problems that they were facing!
Zhang Xuan turned to the other elders and instructed, “I need the rest of you to execute a battle technique so that I can offer you some pointers for your cultivation!”
With a war against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe just around the corner, it was of the utmost importance for him to raise the fighting prowess of the Zhang Clan as much as possible.
However, before the elders could do anything, a guard suddenly rushed in with an anxious look on his face.
“Clan head, bad news! The Luo Clan has arrived at the entrance of Dracotiger City!”
After three days of flight, the crowd from the Luo Clan had finally arrived!
