Hu!
The seal of the Hall of Great Accomplishment glowed, and Zhang Xuan and Zhao Ya flew out.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The eight youths with a couple of others from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers swiftly surrounded the two of them as soon as they appeared.
“What? Do you still want a pummeling?” Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.
He had already spared their lives, but they did not know gratitude. Did they really think that he was a pushover?
“We want a fair duel with you, one-on-one. You aren’t allowed to your weapons or tamed beasts. Do you dare take up our challenge?” one of the youths spat coldly.
“Fair duel? What are the stakes then?” Zhang Xuan shot a nonchalant glance at the youth.
Without any stakes involved, he could not be bothered to waste his time fighting a meaningless battle with this crowd.
Before the youth could reply, the voice of the Ancient Sage sounded in the air. “Earlier, Brother Hongtian gave you five droplets of Ancient Sage blood. If you are able to win the duel with them, I’ll also offer you five droplets of Ancient Sage blood as the wager!
“This is the stake that we are willing to offer. What do you have to offer us then?”
“What do I have to offer?” Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, “I can spare their lives!”
“…” The Ancient Sage suddenly felt an uncomfortable throbbing in his heart.
In the first place, it’s uncertain who will win in the duel. Furthermore, I have offered you five droplets of Ancient Sage blood, but is this really all you have to offer me? Are you that certain that you’ll be able to win?
“If you lose to us, you have to hand over the Canvas of Four Seasons!”
“Indeed! You have to bring out the Canvas of Four Seasons as your wager!”
…
The other youths shouted vehemently.
However, before they could finish their piece, they found Zhang Xuan looking at them with a gaze that seemed as though he was looking at fools. “Are you dreaming? Do you think those few droplets of blood from your old ancestor are worth me bringing out the Canvas of Four Seasons as a wager?”
“T-then… Your wager won’t work either! If you lose the duel, we will have nothing to gain from the battle!”
The crowd from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers protested furiously.
The Ancient Sage from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers felt even more stifled than before.
“That isn’t any of my business, is it? It’s not as if I’m really interested in having this duel with you. If you don’t want to battle me, we can always call the duel off,” Zhang Xuan uttered as he stretched his back lazily.
He had not intended to duel with those from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers in the first place, so it was not as if it would hurt him dearly not to have the duel.
“How about this? We’ll bet five droplets of blood for an opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in your Canvas of Four Seasons,” the Ancient Sage from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers suggested.
“Hmm… That wager does sound fair to me, but I’m only at Aureate Body realm consummation whereas your descendants are all Sempiternal realm consummation cultivators. There are two realms of difference between us, so isn’t it extremely disadvantageous for me to be unable to use my artifacts and tamed beasts?” Zhang Xuan said.
“I’ll have them lower their cultivation to your level!” the Ancient Sage from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers replied.
It was indeed unfair for them to impose so many restrictions on the other party and yet send cultivators of higher realms against him.
“That would be great. Let’s begin then!” Zhang Xuan nodded before taking a step forward. With a light chuckle, he remarked, “So that we don’t waste each other’s time, you may come at me together. However, if you come at me all at once, I might not be able to hold myself back. I’ll have to ask for your pardon if a couple of you lose your lives in the process!”
“You want to kill us? Try it then!” one of the youths sneered coldly.
He suppressed his cultivation down to Aureate Body realm consummation before charging toward Zhang Xuan, making the first move.
Using some mysterious secret art, the movement of the youth became extremely swift. In the blink of an eye, the youth had already arrived before Zhang Xuan, and his palm struck diagonally down toward Zhang Xuan’s head.
In that instant, the youth thought that he had already gotten Zhang Xuan for good, but before his palm could connect, he suddenly felt a sharp sensation in his chest as air gushed out of his lungs. Turning his eyes downward, he found that the other party’s palm had already sunk right into his chest.
Peng!
The youth flew into the distance before he crashed wretchedly on the floor, coughing out huge mouthfuls of blood.
To his astonishment, he could not even discern how Zhang Xuan had made a move on him at all! It was as if the other party’s palm had simply teleported right in front of him!
“Come at me together. There’s no way any of you stand a chance against me in a one-on-one!” Zhang Xuan shot a glance at the remaining youths.
“Let’s get him together!”
The crowd had seen the earlier exchange, and they realized that the other party’s fighting prowess was far greater than theirs in the same cultivation realm. There was no way that they could possibly hope to defeat him alone. Without hesitating for long, they nodded at one another before charging at the other party simultaneously.
Peng peng peng peng!
Before the crowd could even reach Zhang Xuan, the person in question had already charged right into them. As if a tiger around a pack of lambs, there was not a single person who was able to withstand a blow from him.
They were the top geniuses from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, and they had prided themselves on their superior fighting prowess against their peers. Yet, before the young man before them, the strength that they were so confident of was so laughably pathetic that it seemed as if they were little kids parading before an adult.
“How could he be so powerful?”
Witnessing this scene, the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers could swiftly tell that his descendants had lost the battle!
Even though the other party was only at Aureate Body realm consummation, his true fighting prowess was already on par with Sempiternal realm cultivators!
Of the entire Hundred Schools of Philosophers, the only one known to possess such superior capability was Kong Shiyao!
Watching the battle a little longer, it was painfully apparent that even in a group battle, they were not close to being a match for Zhang Xuan.
As much as he did not want to admit it, the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers still sighed deeply and advised, “You aren’t a match for him… Admit defeat!”
However, barely after he spoke those words, an unexpected situation occurred.
Under the relentless assault from the group from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, Zhang Xuan accidentally made a fatal mistake, leaving him open for a brief moment. One of the youths keenly noticed this opportunity and pierced his finger toward Zhang Xuan’s blind spot.
In the face of this unexpected crisis, perhaps it was because Zhang Xuan thought that it was too late for him to avoid the attack, he lifted his palm to strike the youth’s head instead.
This was a move of mutually assured destruction! The youth might be able to pierce his finger through Zhang Xuan’s heart, but he would also have his head smashed to bits by the latter and die on the spot!
More importantly, judging from the frightening momentum of the duo’s movements, it was already too late for them to retract their attacks.
“Halt!” the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers roared anxiously.
A powerful surge of energy swiftly shrouded the entire area, sealing the surrounding space. It seemed like the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had decided to make a move in order to prevent a tragedy from happening.
However, a moment after he released his energy, the young man below, who was moments away from having his heart pierced, suddenly moved in an awkward trajectory and mysteriously avoided the deadly move.
Following which, a saber materialized in his palm.
Huala!
To the astonishment of the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, the target of the saber was not his descendants but him!
“That is… an Ancient Sage weapon!” The Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers narrowed his eyes in shock.
He did not think that the young man would intentionally reveal a flaw just to lure him into making a move and confirm his location.
He immediately attempted to flee, but it was already too late. The saber had wrapped its aura around him, keeping him firmly in place.
Puhe!
A sharp glint flashed across the air, and fresh blood spurted in the air.
“Haha! You have my deepest gratitude for your generosity!” Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he swiftly caught all of the blood with a gourd that he had prepared.
All in all, there were over twenty droplets of blood.
Those five droplets of Ancient Sage blood were no longer enough for him to make a move. From the very start, this was what he was aiming for!
The Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had been polite to him on the surface, but he had overlooked the despicable actions committed by his descendants, turning a blind eye as they kidnapped his students and made use of them for their own gain. Not only so, he had even used his powers to suppress him so as to stop him from getting to Zhao Ya.
There was no way that he would miss an opportunity to get even with the other party!
“You…”
Having lost too much blood, the face of the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers paled from frailty. Infuriated by the sudden assault, he was just about to make a move when he suddenly felt an imposing aura raging by the side.
It was the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Hongtian, warning him against making a move on his descendant. Knowing that he could not afford to fight with Zhang Hongtian at the moment, he suppressed his raging fury and held himself back.
To think that an Ancient Sage like him had actually been fooled by an Aureate Body realm brat, even suffering injuries in the process! Such a thing was completely unthinkable!
“The young head of the Zhang Clan sure is a remarkable figure! I am impressed. Our Hundred Schools of Philosophers admit our loss. Farewell!”
Hu la!
With a powerful gale, the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers swiftly pulled his descendants back to his side before turning around, preparing to leave the area.
“Wait a moment. Where are the five droplets of Ancient Sage blood that you promised me for losing the challenge? Are you intending to renege on your promise?” Zhang Xuan shouted after the Ancient Sage.
The Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers staggered upon hearing those words. He nearly spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Suppressing the stifled feeling in his chest, he flicked a jade bottle over before leaving decisively.
He was afraid that he would be choked to death if he continued conversing with the young man!
