“This movement technique…”
Mi Xuan and the others narrowed their eyes in shock.
They could tell that the person standing before them had only used the strength of an ordinary Saint 9-dan, but a slight maneuver from him was already more than enough to outrun a Great Sage 1-dan cultivator. The speed that he was able to travel at was terrifying!
On the other hand, Zhong Qing was not too surprised to see that his attack had failed to land.
He had been unable to defeat Fan Xiaofeng and Fan Xiaoxing when his cultivation was suppressed to the same level as them, so there was nothing surprising about the person who had groomed them being able to dodge his attack easily.
Zhong Qing exhaled deeply before kicking off the ground once more. His movements were flurried and random, like a raging blizzard. No matter how Fan Xiaoxu moved around, he found that he was unable to shake Zhong Qing off his trail, leaving him feeling completely bewildered.
“This is the unique technique of Scholastic Master Zhong Qing, World of Blizzard,” Mi Xuan remarked grimly. “Putting aside opponents of the same tier, with his current fighting prowess, he would be able to overpower even Great Sage 2-dan experts with ease!”
Mi Xuan was one of the few cultivators whose abilities were heavily skewed toward his immense might. Playing on his core strength, he capitalized on his superior might to overwhelm everything that stood in his way, so the battle techniques that he practiced tended to be simple in nature.
Forming a stark contrast to him was Zhong Qing, whose expertise lay in pulling off delicate movements to pressure his opponent. The World of Blizzard, which he was executing at the moment, was incredibly confusing, such that it left one’s eyes blurring in confusion. Had Mi Xuan been in Fan Xiaoxu’s position, he knew that the only possible move that he could have made at that moment was to run away.
The others nodded in agreement upon hearing those words. With deep frowns on their foreheads, they seemed to be deep in thought to figure out a way to overcome the powerful World of Blizzard, but it did not take them long to shake their heads helplessly.
They all came to the same conclusion in the end.
Unless their cultivation was decisively above Zhong Qing’s, there was nothing they could do!
With such a thought in mind, they quickly turned their gazes toward the Saint 9-dan young man and saw the bewildered look on his face. It seemed as if the young man was at a complete loss as to what he could do as well.
However, his body suddenly jolted as a thought surfaced in his mind, and with a nimble forward step, he entered into the midst of the other party’s area of attack.
Surprisingly, even though he had walked into Zhong Qing’s field, none of the attacks seemed to land on him. With a simple wave of his hand, the snow seemed to be pulled along with him, swiftly congregating to form a massive snowball.
Peng!
Zhong Qing was knocked into the distance as crimson blood spurted furiously from his lips.
He actually lost in a single move!
“This…”
The Scholastic Masters in the area widened their eyes in shock. They were all taken aback by what they had just seen.
As experts of the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, they were more than capable of defeating multiple students simultaneously even with their cultivation suppressed. But that young man had actually managed to defeat Zhong Qing that easily.
They had witnessed the duel from the start to the end, and the moves that Fan Xiaoxu had executed looked ordinary on the surface. Yet, for some reason, as if they embodied a deeper ingenuity, those moves somehow managed to easily breach Zhong Qing defenses, rendering him completely powerless.
Even if they were in Zhong Qing’s place, they did not think that they would have fared any better than him.
To think that it was possible for one’s combat techniques to reach such a level. Just who in the world was Fan Xiaoxu’s teacher?
While the Scholastic Masters were taken aback by what they had witnessed, Fan Xiaoxu was also staring at his palms with incredulous eyes.
All he remembered was someone calling him away while he was waiting at the foot of the mountain for the examination to start, then everything had gone blank afterward. By the time he came to once more, he was already in the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism.
He felt that it was unreasonable for Zhong Qing to abruptly have made a move on an ordinary student just like that, and he had already been prepared to be completely destroyed. Yet, a memory had suddenly surfaced in his mind in this moment of distress.
This memory contained some insights regarding combat techniques.
He had simply moved in accordance to the principles stated by those combat techniques, and before he knew it, he had already defeated the seemingly unreachable Zhong Qing.
Just as Fan Xiaoxu was trying to make sense of the ridiculous situation that was happening to him, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
“I am Zhang Xuan. I borrowed your body for a moment to resolve some urgent matters. I have given you a memory fragment containing insights to combat techniques as compensation for my offense, and I hope that you will keep my identity a secret in return!”
He recognized the voice to be from the person who had knocked him out back then.
Zhang Xuan? If his memory could allow me to defeat even a Scholastic Master with ease, does this mean that… he’s an Ancient Sage? Fan Xiaoxu’s heart jolted in alarm.
To be able to leave a sliver of his memory in his heart without inflicting the slightest harm to him… this was something that only veteran Ancient Sages could pull off!
Even the Ancient Sage of their lineage was unable to pull it off. He could hardly begin to imagine just how powerful this person known as ‘Zhang Xuan’ was.
If that ‘Zhang Xuan’ person willed it, he would be able to destroy him with just a mere thought, but he had chosen not to do so. Not only so, the other party had even compensated him. From this, it could be deduced that this ‘Zhang Xuan’ person was not an evil person at heart. Since that was the case, regardless of why the other party wanted to come to the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, it should be fine for him to keep it a secret.
Besides, matters concerning Ancient Sages could only be resolved by Ancient Sages themselves. As a Saint 9-dan cultivator, no one would believe him even if he really spoke about it.
Thus, he quickly assimilated the piece of memory that the other party had left in his mind before turning to the Scholastic Masters before him with an excited grin on his face. “Do any of you still want to test my cultivation? Make your move! If you feel insecure, I don’t mind facing all of you at once!”
He had just tried out the battle technique earlier, and it had been proven to work. This would be a good opportunity for him to test the extent of his improvement.
Seeing how arrogant a mere freshman was, Mi Xuan and the others looked at one another for a moment before taking a step forward.
Thirty breaths later, they were all floored.
Fan Xiaoxu stared at his trembling hands with reddened eyes, unable to believe the miracle that had just befallen him.
His talent and strength could only have been said to be average among the youths of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. Under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult for him to clear the examination. Who could have known that he would catch the eye of an Ancient Sage and be imparted top-notch combat techniques that allowed him to overpower even the Scholastic Masters?
This was an accomplishment that he would not have dared dream of in the past!
If even a sliver of that Ancient Sage’s combat techniques could raise his fighting prowess by such a degree, he shuddered to imagine just how powerful the Ancient Sage himself was.
I wonder who this Ancient Sage Zhang Xuan is… Fan Xiaoxu looked into the distant sky as a towering, heroic figure took form in his mind.
There was no ‘Zhang’ among the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, so the other party was likely an outsider. Then again, there was no way that he could verify his identity, so there was no use thinking too deeply into it. All in all, the only thing that was important to him was that he had learned the combat techniques from Ancient Sage Zhang Xuan and was now indebted to him.
You shall be the one and only teacher I truly acknowledge from this day onward, and nothing will change that determination of mine… Fan Xiaoxu swore deep in his heart.
…
Hu!
A figure was slowly walking leisurely through the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. There was a huge crowd around him, but not a single person seemed to notice his presence. The surrounding space had been distorted in a manner that prevented the slightest hint of light from falling upon him.
This figure was none other than Zhang Xuan.
His goal was to enter the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism without causing too huge a ruckus, and since he had achieved his goal, there was no longer any need for him to disguise himself.
Thus, he had released Fan Xiaoxu not too long after arriving at the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. Of course, he did not forget to compensate Fan Xiaoxu fairly for the matter.
Having inherited the full heritage of the soul oracles, he was able to pull off a task as difficult as transplanting a sliver of his memories without harming the other party with ease.
As for how much Fan Xiaoxu would benefit from receiving a sliver of his memories, that would not be his problem to worry about anymore. He had already given the other party the opportunity, and whether Fan Xiaoxu himself was able to grasp it or not was up to him.
That being said, while transplanting a sliver of his memories seemed to be the more efficient way to gain power, his foundation would not be as stable as Fan Xiaofeng and Fan Xiaoxing’s, who had gained their insights through practical experience and self-discovery.
In other words, even though Fan Xiaoxu’s fighting prowess would likely be greater Fan Xiaofeng and Fan Xiaoxing for the time being, as time passed, it was likely that Fan Xiaofeng and Fan Xiaoxing would eventually surpass him.
Of course, he would have likely left the Kunxu Domain by then after uncovering Kong shi’s secrets.
Putting aside the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind, Zhang Xuan continued ahead. He strolled around the city-like Great Phrontistery of Confucianism for a moment before finally setting his gaze upon a stately room.
Sage Ancestral Hall… If Kong shi has hidden any secrets in the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, they will likely be here, Zhang Xuan thought.
What was standing before him was a unique building that was absent in the Master Teacher Pavilions of the Master Teacher Continent, the Sage Ancestral Hall.
Placed within the Sage Ancestral Hall were a sculpture of Kong shi himself and his individual possessions. It was a room used specifically for paying respects to him.
Of the entire Great Phrontistery of Confucianism, this was the place that had the greatest relevance to Kong shi.
Thus, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath before making his way over to the Sage Ancestral Hall.
Weng!
However, before he could reach his destination, a ray of light suddenly descended from the sky. It seemed like a formation had seen through the distortions of space that he had created around himself and discovered his presence.
Hong long!
Following which, a massive palm tore through space to slam down upon him. The surrounding space swiftly collapsed under the tremendous might, and it felt as if the entire Kunxu Domain would burst as a result of the force.
