“Ah?” Zhang Xuan’s body froze on the spot. “Then why in the world are you chasing me?”
If not because you recognized I Am Low Profile, why did you sprint after me so anxiously? You even scared me into crushing my Ethereal Token, you know!
“Didn’t you sell a bottle of recovery medicine to Senior Bai Ruanqing a while ago? She ordered us to look for you, or else she will give us a severe pummeling… Look at these bruises all over my body. They were all inflicted by her! If I didn’t find you soon, she might’ve tortured us to death…” The inner disciple pointed all over his body and cried.
Taking a closer look, Zhang Xuan noticed that the inner disciple was indeed wounded all over, and he nearly burst into tears, too.
You should have said it earlier if that was the case! Do you know how many years you have shaved off my life from the earlier shock?
I even crushed my Ethereal Token… That’s twenty Sword Pavilion Coins, you know!
It all turned out to be an empty scare.
It’s fortunate that I didn’t lose anything else other than that, or else I might just strangle you alive.
“Why is she looking for me?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“I’m not too sure. It seems like your recovery medicine is effective, so she wishes to buy a few more bottles from you,” the inner disciple said.
“She wishes to buy more medicine from me?” Finally making sense of the situation, Zhang Xuan heaved another sigh of relief.
Everything was fine as long as his identity as I Am Low Profile was not compromised. As for the recovery medicine that he sold, of course it was effective! Otherwise, it could not have healed him so quickly either.
“Indeed.” The inner disciple nodded. “I’ll have to trouble you to visit Senior Liu Lujie with me. He’s the only one who is able to contact Senior Bai.”
Zhang Xuan’s initial thought was to turn the inner disciple down. After all, he felt that this matter would just be a load of trouble. However, an idea suddenly came to his mind, and he asked, “If I recall correctly, Senior Bai Ruanqing is the granddaughter of Elder Bai Ye, right? She has quite a high standing among the core disciples too, doesn’t she?”
The news concerning that female dinosaur had reached even his ears.
Possessing both standing and influence, she might just be able to secure him a trip to the core disciples’ library. If so, it would be much better than him making a trip to the Valley of Falling Rain.
“Indeed. Her standing is extremely high in the sect, such that no one dares to cross her. Your recovery medicine has won her approval, and she specially engaged us to look for you. I believe that you will surely be highly regarded by her, and it will be a great opportunity for you to rise through the ranks,” the inner disciple said with a hint of envy in his eyes. “Just make sure that you don’t forget about me once you reach the top.”
It was for this young man that Bai Ruanqing pummeled them to the ground. From the looks of it, it felt like Bai Ruanqing had already made up her mind to cover this young man. It was for this reason that he did not dare disrespect the young man standing before him.
“Let’s go then!” Having confirmed this matter, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up as he nodded without any hesitation.
Following behind this inner disciple, it did not take too long for them to arrive at Liu Lujie’s residence.
“Are you the person who sold the recovery medicine to Senior Bai?”
When Liu Lujie and Wang Jiandong saw that Zhang Xuan was even younger than them and was a foreign face, they were slightly taken aback.
“The recovery medicine is something that I acquired by chance, and it’s mostly used up,” Zhang Xuan said. “I found that it’s effective on most wounds and afflictions, so I have always viewed it as my greatest treasure. It’s only because I had an urgent need for money that I was forced to sell it. I didn’t think that it would end up helping Senior Bai!”
He knew about the analogy of the man with a jade1. It was with no other choice that he had chosen to sell the gourd’s bathwater, but he knew better than to reveal its true source. In any case, he should first claim that its quantity was limited, or else it would be troublesome if everyone who was injured came to him for medicine.
“I have already informed Senior Bai of the matter. She’ll be here in a moment. I hope that you still have some recovery medicine left, or else… I fear that even I won’t be able to protect you!” Liu Lujie said.
“Yes, I still do have some left,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
“You should wait for Senior Bai here. I still have some matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave first!” Liu Lujie said before heading to the courtyard.
Being killed by I Am Low Profile had made him feel deeply pressured. He realized that he was still sorely lacking. While he was a little fearful of Bai Ruanqing, he did not want to waste even a second anymore.
Stepping into the courtyard, he picked up his sword and began discussing a sword art with Wang Jiandong, who had been waiting for him for some time.
“This is the sword art that I Am Low Profile executed,” Wang Jiandong said as he swung his sword and released a surge of sword qi.
“No, that doesn’t seem like it. I think it’s something more like this,” Liu Lujie said with a frown as he executed another move.
Through their exchanges, they tried to decipher I Am Low Profile’s move while analyzing the various flaws in their own.
Watching the entire process, Zhang Xuan murmured quietly with a nod, “Their talent’s not too bad…”
If one just looked at sheer talent, they were far above Dan Xiaotian. It was truly not easy to analyze that much just by observing.
However, his swordsmanship was far too deep and layered to be interpreted that easily. Not even Bai Feng dared claim that he really understood what was going on, so it was indeed a little too tough on the two inner disciples to comprehend the essence of his swordsmanship.
As a result, the more that they discussed, the more they deviated from the truth. As a teacher, Zhang Xuan’s eyelids began twitching as the urge to berate them welled up within him.
He really could not bear seeing those two straying further and further. However, if he spoke, he would risk exposing his identity. Thus, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he tried to tune out what those two were talking about.
Hu!
At this moment, the call of a beast echoed in the air. Bai Ruanqing had arrived.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was fortunate that she had arrived, or else he might have succumbed to his urge and given those two a huge tongue-lashing.
For his swordsmanship to be distorted to such an extent… he really did not know what to say.
As soon as Bai Ruanqing leaped off the back of the aerial beast, she immediately recognized Zhang Xuan and rushed over excitedly. “I’ve finally found you! Do you still have the recovery medicine that you sold me back at the market?”
With just that little bottle, her grandfather was already showing some signs of recovery. If she could procure more of the medicine, her grandfather might just be able to make a full recovery!
“I only have three bottles left at the moment…” Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out the few remaining jade bottles.
“I’ll take all three!” Bai Ruanqing said excitedly. She took the jade bottles and inspected their contents before heaving a sigh of relief. With an expectant look on her face, she asked, “May I know if these bottles of recovery medicine were concocted by you, or… did you acquire them from somewhere?”
“I chanced upon them while exploring an ancient domain. These are the only bottles that I have left. If I hadn’t been strapped for cash, I would never have brought them out,” Zhang Xuan said.
It was not as if the other party would ever know of the truth anyway.
“What a pity…” Bai Ruanqing sighed.
She had hoped that she could buy a bit more, so she could not help but sigh in disappointment when she heard those words. She quickly took out sixty Sword Pavilion Coins and passed it over to Zhang Xuan.
Instead of receiving the money, Zhang Xuan looked at her and asked, “Senior Bai, I don’t really need money anymore. Instead, there’s actually a favor that I would like to ask of you.”
Those words immediately dampened Bai Ruanqing’s good mood. With a hint of displeasure between her eyebrows, she asked, “What is it?”
If the other party had accepted her money, the deal would have been sealed. However, if the other party was asking her for a favor instead, it was likely something that could not be resolved with just money.
Nevertheless, it was still a fact that the other party’s medicine had saved her grandfather’s life, so the other party could be considered their benefactor. As long as the request was not too overboard, she would try her best to help him.
“Senior Bai, you should be able to tell that my cultivation has reached Ancient Sage 4-dan consummation. I am only a step away from achieving a breakthrough,” Zhang Xuan said.
“You want me to help you achieve a breakthrough?” Bai Ruanqing frowned. “An advancement to Pseudo Immortal signifies the gap between an inner disciple and a core disciple. The value is definitely not just sixty Sword Pavilion Coins.”
“I understand that, and I don’t intend to ask for such an insolent favor either,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile. “The current issue I am facing is a lack of reference material to refer to. I have been searching through the inner disciples’ library for quite some time, but I have been unable to find the information I am looking for. Thus, I was hoping that perhaps you could bring me into the core disciples’ library for a moment. I won’t require too long—just six hours will do!”
“You wish to enter the core disciples’ library?” Bai Ruanqing had been wondering what Zhang Xuan would ask for, but to think that this would be it.
She did mention that a breakthrough was worth more than sixty Sword Pavilion Coins, and that was a fact. However, if the other party had insisted on that favor, she still would have secured an Immortalhood Breakthrough Pill for him to increase the chances of him making a breakthrough.
If required, she could even have imparted some of her experiences making a breakthrough to him.
Yet, instead of requesting for that, he only wanted to enter the core disciples’ library for six hours?
Even Bai Ruanqing felt like she would be taking advantage of this poor lad if she only gave him this much in exchange for such valuable medicine, so she said, “Choose another favor. That’s too simple!”
Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and said, “That’s all I require!”
There was nothing that was more valuable than books to him.
As long as he had books, achieving breakthroughs would be as easy as ABC to him.
Bai Ruanqing looked at Zhang Xuan for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright then.”
Everyone knew that great knowledge could be found in books, but reading was both tiresome and time-consuming. Thus, many sought to find shortcuts. It was hard to find someone who valued reading this much.
“Senior Bai!”
Just as the two of them were about to leave the area, Liu Lujie and Wang Jiandong walked into the main hall and greeted Bai Ruanqing.
“Are you currently studying I Am Low Profile’s swordsmanship?” Bai Ruanqing asked.
She had simulated her battle with I Am Low Profile in the Ethereal Hall many times in her mind after her tragic defeat. Earlier, when she was alighting from the aerial beast, she had seen the two of them practicing their swordsmanship, and she had quickly figured out what they were trying to do.
“Yes, that’s right!” Liu Lujie nodded.
“Did you manage to figure anything out?” Bai Ruanqing asked.
“Yes, but there are also many doubts that we have in mind that we would like to consult you on, Senior Bai!” Liu Lujie said.
He might have been the number one expert of the inner disciples, but the young lady before him was a core disciple, as well as the granddaughter of one of the Three Grand Elders. Furthermore, there was a good chance that she might be a True Immortal expert. Her understanding of swordsmanship was bound to be much higher than his!
“Feel free to speak!” Bai Ruanqing gestured.
“The horizontal slash that I Am Low Profile executed is simple and smooth. Despite its slow speed, it’s somehow impossible to avoid it. Wang Jiandong and I have discussed it for quite some time now, but we are still unable to grasp the principles behind it…”
As Liu Lujie spoke, he raised his sword and slashed horizontally. He repeated the same movement three times, but every single one of them appeared to be off the mark compared to what I Am Low Profile did.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.
That was not a sword art at all but a simple movement of his sword. A horizontal slash would allow him to more easily dissipate all the sword qi coming his way while going from the defensive to the offensive in a single move, thus saving some energy. The key of the technique lay not in its speed but the angle and trajectory of the sword qi.
It was that simple a move, but the other party was unable to figure it out after spending such a long time on it.
To think that he had called them geniuses earlier!
“That technique combines offense with defense impeccably. Only the most ingenious of swordsmanship is able to achieve that. It’s perfectly normal that you aren’t able to comprehend it,” Bai Ruanqing said.
“Even after an intense discussion with Grandpa Feng, I’m still a little confused by the principles behind it. Nevertheless, I am just about able to execute it now!”
After saying those words, she raised her sword and conducted a horizontal slash.
While it did not carry the same absolute might that I Am Low Profile’s attack did, it had roughly forty percent resemblance to it.
“This attack isn’t a specific sword art but simply a casual move that I Am Low Profile executed!” Bai Ruanqing repeated what Grandpa Feng had told her earlier.
“It’s truly astounding how powerful even a casual move from him is. I really wonder just what kind of swordsmanship level I Am Low Profile has achieved. If you figure out who he is, make sure to inform me immediately. He’s the only person I have felt so much admiration for in my entire life. I have already sworn to the heavens that I shall marry him in the future!”
