Most of those who were speaking up at this moment were those who had not participated in the battle and only made it in time to hear the outcome.
To be honest, it was hard for them to believe that a single person could defeat five thousand inner disciples within the short span of half an hour. How were they supposed to accept something as inconceivable as this out of the blue?
Unless the details of the battle were revealed, no one could accept it!
The person managing the dueling ring turned to the rest of the crowd and asked, “Are you certain? Can I verify if the other inner disciples are willing to accept this?”
The identities of those in the Ethereal Hall were anonymous, but the battle details would reveal one’s true identity!
Of course, it would not go in depth to describe the details of the battle—the duel recording was there for this function—but just the revelation of one’s real name had already infringed on the privacy of others.
“We are agreeable to this!”
“Same here! We might have lost, but we want to know who he has won against!”
“We need to know the results of this duel in order to accept it! Otherwise, it’ll always remain a question in our minds!”
…
There were many cheers of agreement. Perhaps due to peer pressure, not a single person disagreed with the motion.
“Since there’s full consensus for the matter, I will proceed with your request!” The person managing the dueling ring nodded.
He turned to the person behind him and issued an instruction. The latter quickly turned around and left. A moment later, the person returned with a jade token in hand.
“This is the list of opponents whom I Am Low Profile has killed in the past half hour. Please feel free to take a look!” the young man said as he tossed the jade token into the air.
Huala!
A huge list of names appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“Look! Senior Liu Lujie is at the very top,” someone among the crowd shouted.
Everyone quickly turned their gazes over, only to see a glaring name at the very top: Liu Lujie, four times!
“This means that Senior Liu has been here before! Just that… what does the four times behind mean?” another person amid the crowd asked.
“Four times refers to the number of times he has been killed. Most probably, he was indignant after dying once, so he returned with another Ethereal Token in another identity, only to be killed again. In the end, he was killed four times in total,” the manager of the dueling ring replied nonchalantly.
“He was killed four times consecutively? The heck! Doesn’t he feel shameful at all?”
“That’s not shameful anymore. It’s more like he has a complete lack of shame!”
“Wait a moment, Senior Wang Jiandong has been killed four times too?”
…
Many faces amid the crowd reddened in embarrassment.
They had been saying that Liu Lujie did not participate in the duel, and being proved wrong the very next moment left them feeling as if they had been smacked in the face.
It was on the grounds that the number one Liu Lujie had not been here that they insisted that it was unfair to claim that I Am Low Profile had won against all of the inner disciples. Who could have known that the other party had actually come again and again even after being killed?
What a shameful act this was!
“Hmm? Who is Bai Ruanqing? I don’t recall seeing this name among the inner disciples before… But it seems like she has been killed two times over the course of the duel?” someone among the crowd said.
“Her name sounds incredibly familiar. Isn’t she Elder Bai Ye’s granddaughter? You know, that core disciple!”
“Wait a moment, you are telling me that a core disciple snuck into our Ethereal Hall to challenge I Am Low Profile, and she ended up being killed twice?”
…
Yet another wave of commotion was raised among the crowd.
Just a moment ago, they had thought that it was shameful for Liu Lujie to be killed four times in the duel, but who could have thought that a core disciple would actually sneak into a duel among inner disciples… even get killed twice!
“There’s another unfamiliar name over there. Bai Feng… I don’t think I have heard of that name… Does any one of you know this person before?”
“I have heard of Bai Feng! He’s Elder Bai Ye’s servant. Even though he isn’t an elder, in terms of strength, he’s far stronger than most core elders!”
“He’s even stronger than most core elders, but he still ended up getting killed here?”
…
As the inner disciples looked down the list, a lot of them looked as if they were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
They could understand Liu Lujie and Wang Jiandong getting killed four times. After all, the reputation of the inner disciples was at stake, so it was understandable for them to be a bit more shameless at a moment like that.
However, even a core disciple was killed twice, and someone as powerful as a core elder was killed once. Wasn’t this getting a little out of hand?
It was as if some powerhouses had snuck into this little party of theirs!
“Given the huge commotion, why did none of the inner elders come by to resolve this matter?”
“Indeed. No matter how slow the information network of the elders is, half an hour should be more than enough for them to learn of the matter…”
The same doubt emerged in everyone’s minds.
Even core disciples had gotten involved in this battle, only to be killed in the end. Why were the inner elders not intervening in something as huge as this?
“Wait a moment, there are still names below!” someone suddenly shouted out, and the crowd turned their gazes over.
At the very bottom of the list, several more names were slowly appearing.
Mu Xuan, Huang You, Zhang Lingbo, Lu Yun…
“If I recall correctly, Mu Xuan is Elder Mu’s full name, isn’t it?”
“Huang You is the name of the elder in charge of our peak!”
“Zhang Lingbo is the inner elder who has been teaching us!”
…
In an instant, everyone’s face turned livid from sheer frustration. They felt like their hearts were going to burst from how stifled it was becoming.
“I thought that it was weird that none of the elders intervened in this issue, but to think that they hid as inner disciples to challenge I Am Low Profile too. Yet, they still ended up getting killed!”
“They were the ones who taught us swordsmanship, but they were defeated…”
“What the hell? How monstrously powerful is I Am Low Profile?”
…
Everyone was really on the verge of losing their mind.
This was especially so for the inner disciples who demanded to view the battle details earlier. They really wished to slap themselves to death.
They had thought that this revelation would restore some of their reputation, but it ended up doing the contrary.
It was their duel, but they had ended up bringing core disciples and even their own elders to fight on their behalf. It would have been one thing if they won, but they had actually lost!
It was just like a child challenging the kindergarten he was in, but instead of mediating in the duel, the teachers and adults ganged up with the other children against the child, only to end up being beaten up themselves…
How humiliating!
There was nowhere they could put their face anymore!
They really should not have asked for the details of the battle. Now, they felt like they were ready to wither from embarrassment.
…
Meanwhile, Zhang Xuan was also listening to the conversation among the crowd, and he was browsing through the battle details.
He was flabbergasted by what he saw.
When did that core disciple and those elders appear before him?
Why did he not notice their presence at all?
Logically speaking, if those people had made a move, he should have noticed it! But in the half an hour that he had been battling, everyone had pretty much been ended in a single slash. He did not feel much resistance at all!
Oh well, it doesn’t matter. As long as I managed to earn a decent sum, everything is fine…
Unable to figure it out, Zhang Xuan decided to simply stop thinking about it altogether.
Instead, he turned to look at his Ethereal Card.
He had killed five thousand people over the course of the duel, and under the rules of the duel, the Sword Pavilion Coins that they had with them would have to go to him. Since that was the case, he should have made a killing with this.
With trembling fingers, he tapped on the Ethereal Card. A series of number quickly appeared on top of it.
283,764!
I earned 280,000 Sword Pavilion Coins? Zhang Xuan nearly burst out laughing like a maniac.
Given that he had killed five thousand people, that would average out to around fifty Sword Pavilion Coins for each kill he made. In any case, he had half of the total fortune of the inner disciples with him now!
If he used this money to buy pills, he should be able to tame the Dongxu Gourd easily!
“Farewell!”
Seeing that his body was so depleted that it was on the verge of dissipating at any moment, Zhang Xuan quickly walked over to the receptionist to buy a couple of Standard Immortal Pills before finally leaving the Ethereal Hall.
Since he had already acquired what he wanted, there was no need to dawdle in there anymore.
Returning to his room, he took out the pills before releasing the Dongxu Gourd once more.
“Here are ten Standard Immortal Pills. Acknowledge me as your master, and I’ll give them to you!” Zhang Xuan uncorked the jade bottle, allowing a whiff of concentrated spiritual energy to flow out.
This left the Dongxu Gourd feeling deeply tempted.
“Why? Are you going to renege on your words?” Zhang Xuan looked at the Dongxu Gourd and smiled.
“Ahahaha, of course my words count. It’s nothing for me to acknowledge you as my master. However, you must promise to give me ample medicine and treasures so that I can recover to my full strength!” the Dongxu Gourd said with a shake of its bottom.
“That’s a given!” Zhang Xuan replied.
A small droplet of liquid melted from the Dongxu Gourd’s exterior before flying right into Zhang Xuan’s glabella.
Weng!
Zhang Xuan sealed the contract, and the next moment, his consciousness was already linked up with the Dongxu Gourd. Even without opening their mouths, they were also able to communicate with one another telepathically.
“Just what in the world are you?”
However, despite their telepathic communication, Zhang Xuan still sensed a barrier between him and the Dongxu Gourd.
It was hard to describe what kind of feeling it was, but if he really had to put it into words, it felt like the Dongxu Gourd was an egg. He was able to communicate what was outside, but he could not peer through the shell to see what lay inside.
“Didn’t I tell you that already? I am a legendary beast who once ruled over the lands!” the Dongxu Gourd replied proudly.
“Stop bragging. Alright, here are your pills!”
Seeing how the Dongxu Gourd was only able to repeat the same few words again and again, Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless. With a helpless sigh, he tossed the Standard Immortal Pills over to the other party.
Opening its mouth, the Dongxu Gourd swallowed all the pills in a single mouthful. Following which, it looked at Zhang Xuan with a pitiful look as it whimpered, “I still want more… Give me more… More…”
“Alright alright, I’ll get more for you!” Zhang Xuan replied in resignation.
Since he had plenty of money, it was not that big a deal. Thus, he returned to the Ethereal Hall and purchased another ninety Standard Immortal Pills, which he tossed to the Dongxu Gourd so that the latter could slowly work its way through them. Meanwhile, he sat down quietly by the side and began pondering over what had just happened.
To be honest, he had benefited a lot from the earlier battle against the five thousand inner disciples.
It had allowed him to reinforce his understanding of swordsmanship and sharpen his control over his strength.
He tried driving his zhenqi a little, and he could immediately feel that the bottleneck limiting him before loosening up. He was ready to push for a breakthrough to Pseudo Immortal at any moment.
To think that practicing my swordsmanship in the Ethereal Hall would be useful to my cultivation too, Zhang Xuan thought in excitement.
Normally, considering that he had only achieved a breakthrough to Dimension Shatterer realm consummation a few hours prior, it should have taken several days for him to reinforce his cultivation even with the Heaven’s Path Divine Art. However, after going through the earlier battle, he managed to condense his zhenqi to the limits, and he was able to control it freely.
Just like that, the Pseudo Immortal realm, which should have been a long distance away, was suddenly within reach!
As long as he found a suitable cultivation technique, he would be able to push for a breakthrough to the Pseudo Immortal realm!
Only after achieving a breakthrough to the Pseudo Immortal realm is one able to become a core disciple.
The cultivation techniques in the inner disciples’ library only went up to the Pseudo Immortal realm. If an inner disciple wanted to push for a breakthrough to Pseudo Immortal, they would have to consult an elder to find the corresponding book that they required.
Dan Xiaotian is currently only at Ancient Sage 1-dan consummation. He’s simply too far away from reaching the Pseudo Immortal realm!
As a low profile and humble individual, Zhang Xuan was unwilling to reveal his identity and cultivation. Thus, he could only entrust the heavy responsibility of becoming a core disciple to his tenth direct disciple. However, his student was still too weak.
Even if Dan Xiaotian cultivated a simplified version of the Heaven’s Path Divine Art and had plenty of resources to squander, it would still take at least two months for him before he was ready to push for a breakthrough to the Pseudo Immortal realm!
Otherwise, if he advanced too fast, his cultivation would be shaky. That would adversely affect the future progression of his cultivation.
He could not possibly compromise his students for his own needs.
Other than approaching an elder for a cultivation technique, there’s another way for one to become a core disciple, and that’s the Valley of Falling Rain! Many inner disciples who seek to make a breakthrough head there as there are many insights on advancing to the Pseudo Immortal realm!
Since Zhang Xuan was unable to count on his disciple, he would just have to rely on himself. He could not help but remember a book that he had read previously in the inner disciples’ library, and his eyes lit up in excitement.
Even if Dan Xiaotian did reach Dimension Shatterer realm consummation, it was hard to say whether he would be able to gather enough Pseudo Immortal realm manuals required for him to compile a complete Heaven’s Path Divine Art.
On the other hand, the Valley of Falling Rain was a popular place for inner disciples to achieve a breakthrough, and those who successfully made a breakthrough there would inscribe their own experience and insights there. As such, it had become a treasure trove of wisdom.
While those insights and experiences were not cultivation techniques, if he could compile enough of them, he should still be able to push for a breakthrough to the Pseudo Immortal realm!
It was fortunate that his current cultivation realm tallied with the inner disciples. This allowed him to move around openly by blending in with the inner disciples without anyone doubting his identity.
I should head to the Valley of Falling Rain to take a look!
With that thought in mind, Zhang Xuan stepped out of his room.
“Young Master!”
At this moment, Cao Chengli had finished his business with the other three hundred jin1 female disciple and returned to the residence.
The intense battle that he had just been through caused his presence to feel a little withered. From the looks of it, the female disciple was no weakling at all. Despite Cao Chengli’s remarkable skills from his many years of experience and his superb stamina, the clash still left him severely weakened.
Most likely, he would have to rest for quite a long time before making a comeback.
Zhang Xuan looked around the residence, but he was unable to find his disciple. Thus, he turned to Cao Chengli and asked, “Where’s Dan Xiaotian?”
Cao Chengli quickly bowed slightly before responding to Zhang Xuan’s question. “The inner disciples have been gathered for an urgent meeting, and the Young Master has already headed over there!”
