If he was violated because he was not as strong as Bai Ruanqing, he would have no choice but to accept it.
However, it was clear that Bai Ruanqing was no match for him at all! If so, how could he possibly allow himself to be violated over here?
Unfortunately for him, his actions had also inadvertently exposed his identity as I Am Low Profile. If he failed to deal with this properly, it could spell major trouble.
“There are only two options for me now. I could choose to kill her and dispose of her corpse… No, that wouldn’t work. Her entry into the core disciples’ library would be logged, and someone might have seen us entering the silent chamber together. If she were to disappear all of a sudden, it’s very likely that someone might track the matter down to me!
“Otherwise, I can also force her to make a vow to never reveal this secret. It seems like I can only count on this then…”
Zhang Xuan stared at Bai Ruanqing’s unconscious body for a moment before sighing deeply yet again. It felt like sighs had been coming out from his mouth a lot more frequently over the past day.
With a flick of his finger, he shot a surge of Heaven’s Path zhenqi into Bai Ruanqing’s body, and the latter’s eyelashes immediately fluttered a little. Her eyes slowly opened, and she swiftly assessed her surroundings with a slightly confused look.
“Senior Bai, I don’t like to stain my hands with blood, but I’ll have you vow that you will never…”
Just as Zhang Xuan was going to control the Heaven’s Path zhenqi he had infused into Bai Ruanqing’s body to force her to heed his words, the young lady suddenly turned to him with an overexcited look and kowtowed, “Senior Zhang… No, it should be Senior Uncle Zhang instead! Can you teach me swordsmanship? As long as you impart to me your swordsmanship, I’ll do whatever you want me to!”
“Senior Uncle?”
Once again, Zhang Xuan found himself completely dumbfounded by Bai Ruanqing’s actions.
Are you the weather? The way that you change your face is simply too fast!
It was not too long ago that you were so determined to kill me, but your attitude suddenly made a 180-degrees turn…
Really, what is going through your mind?
Besides, where did you get the idea that you should be calling me Senior Uncle?
But that being said, Zhang Xuan’s motive was to stop the other party from revealing his secret. As long as she was willing to keep her mouth shut, it didn’t really matter how she addressed him.
He assessed Bai Ruanqing for a moment before asking, “Do you really want to learn my swordsmanship?”
Bai Ruanqing nodded her head vehemently.
In that instant that she was knocked out, she was absolutely certain that the young man before her was indeed I Am Low Profile. Only that man could overcome her Heavysnow Swordsmanship so easily despite the difference in their cultivation realms!
This young man’s swordsmanship was far stronger than that of Grandpa Feng. If she could learn from him, the sky would be the limit for her mastery of swordsmanship. She would need not worry about those monsters from the core disciples anymore, and she might even be able to surpass them!
She couldn’t allow such a precious opportunity to slip past her fingers!
“It’s not entirely impossible for me to impart to you my swordsmanship, but I do have a condition!”
Through Zhang Xuan’s Eye of Insight, he could tell that Bai Ruanqing was making this request with utmost sincerity. Knowing that there was a way to solve this amicably, he heaved a sigh of relief before saying, “I am a person who doesn’t like to stand out. I don’t wish for others to learn of my other identity and capabilities. If you are able to keep it a secret, I promise that I’ll allow your swordsmanship to grow swiftly within a short period of time. Even the position as the number one sword practitioner of the core disciple would be easily within your reach!”
“Senior Uncle, you can be assured that my lips are sealed!” Realizing that the young man had already seen through her intentions, Bai Ruanqing’s face reddened. She quickly straightened her back, held her palm up, and vowed solemnly, “I, Bai Ruanqing, swear to the gods that I will not reveal the slightest information regarding Senior Uncle Zhang Xuan. If I were to violate this vow, may thousands of arrows pierce through my heart!”
With this, Zhang Xuan’s heart was finally settled.
In his short period of time here, he came to learn that the term ‘god’ had a special significance to the people of the Azure. No one would dare to go against a vow to the gods for fear of heavenly retribution.
Of course, that was just what he had heard and seen so far. As for whether it was indeed the case or just a superstition, that still required further investigation.
“The horizontal slash that you have demonstrated and lectured Liu Lujie and Wang Jiandong on earlier is wrong. I’ll explain it to you now…”
As if having finally found an outlet for the frustration building up in his chest, Zhang Xuan immediately went through the crux of his swordsmanship excitedly.
Listening to the explanation, Bai Ruanqing’s body shuddered with zeal.
She never thought that swordsmanship could be utilized in such a manner.
Simple as it may seem, the prowess that one could draw forth was boundless!
“Alright, I’ll leave you here to slowly comprehend what I have said. I’ll head back to browsing through the books.”
Seeing that Bai Ruanqing had fallen into deep thoughts—she would stand up from time to time to test the theories of some of the moves to further her understanding—Zhang Xuan opened the doors of the silent chamber and walked out.
Just like before, he continued walking through the aisles to collect the books into the Library of Heaven’s Path.
Two hours later, he was finally done collecting all of the books.
Compile! Zhang Xuan willed.
All of the books relating to Pseudo Immortal realm immediately gathered together to form a new book.
Zhang Xuan anxiously flipped open the newly compiled book to take a look, and a moment later, relief could be clearly seen on his face.
Just like what he had guessed, the books in the core disciples’ library were enough to compile a complete Pseudo Immortal realm Heaven’s Path Divine Art. As long as he had sufficient Immortal Pills, he should be able to swiftly make a breakthrough.
There were also some True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals in the core disciples’ library too, but due to their lacking numbers, he was only halfway through compiling the perfected manual thus far.
I should be making my way back now… Zhang Xuan thought as he took a look at the time.
It had already been nearly six hours since he had arrived in the library. Stretching his back lazily, he headed back to the silent chamber and walked in.
As soon as he entered, a burst of sword qi flew right past him.
The movements of her slash appeared to be slow, but the trajectory of the movement seemingly formed a barrier that sealed the space ahead of her, keeping others at bay. At the same time, she released a burst of sword qi that carried the might of a serpent, severing everything in its path.
“Not too bad…” Zhang Xuan nodded in approval.
Bai Ruanqing had only practiced the technique for two hours so far, but her form and conceptualization were already 60% on point. That being said, it was still far from matching up to him.
“Senior Uncle!” Noticing Zhang Xuan’s arrival, Bai Ruanqing quickly halted her practice and rushed up to greet him.
The more she practiced that swordsmanship, the more astounded she was by its might. At this moment, she was filled with nothing but respect for the young man before her.
Her initial thoughts of marrying the other party had already vanished from her mind. She knew that she was unworthy of taking such an outstanding individual as her spouse.
“Un. I have already finished looking through the books, so I’m going to head back to cultivate now,” Zhang Xuan said. “I hope that you can keep my identity a secret from Bai Feng and your grandfather too. I don’t wish to get involved in too many things at the moment.”
“Yes, Senior Uncle!” Bai Ruanqing nodded obediently.
Obviously, she was only going to keep this secret to herself. Why would she even share it with anyone? If everyone were to bug her Senior Uncle Zhang to learn from him, the time that she would have learning under him would be reduced!
“That’s good, that’s good…” Zhang Xuan nodded before turning around to leave.
In any case, he had left a surge of Heaven’s Path zhenqi in Bai Ruanqing’s body, so he didn’t really fear her messing around behind his back either.
“Senior Uncle, please wait a moment. Grandpa Feng is waiting for you on your way back to your residence. He intends to test your strength and swordsmanship!” Bai Ruanqing suddenly recalled a matter and hurriedly called out.
“Test my strength and my swordsmanship?” Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
Was his identity already compromised?
But even if his identity was compromised, the ones who would make a move on him should be the inner elders instead of Bai Feng!
“Yes… Your recovery medicine has treated my grandfather’s injuries. As repayment, my grandfather hopes to take you in as his student. However, he fears that your capabilities might not be able to meet up to his expectations, so he instructed Grandpa Feng to test your strength!” Bai Ruanqing unhesitatingly gave her own kin away.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
Everything suddenly clicked together with puzzle pieces. That explained why this woman was so determined to make a move on him earlier, attempting to force him into addressing her as ‘Senior’ and heed her words. It turned out that she was afraid that she would be pushed down the hierarchy of seniority if he were to become her grandfather’s student…
This also explained why she addressed him as ‘Senior Uncle’ instead of ‘teacher’.
“What’s Bai Feng’s current cultivation realm?” Zhang Xuan asked.
With his superior swordsmanship, as long as he could dominate the flow of the battle right from the start, he would still stand a good chance at defeating Bai Ruanqing. However, it was clear that Bai Feng was stronger than Bai Ruanqing, so he could be a little more troublesome to deal with.
“Just like my grandfather, Grandpa Feng is a High Immortal!” Bai Ruanqing replied.
“High Immortal?” Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched a little. “Are you certain that he would make a move?”
High Immortals were also known as Immortal Kings. Only the core elders of the sect would possess such a level of strength. Even though Zhang Xuan had made significant advancements in his swordsmanship, the overwhelming difference in their absolute strength would leave him no choice but to flee as far as he could against such an enemy.
He simply wouldn’t stand a chance at all.
“Yes!” Bai Ruanqing replied. “It’s a direct order from my grandfather. Grandpa Feng would not disregard his order.”
This set Zhang Xuan’s mind thinking.
The current situation was yet another dilemma for him. If he were to win against Grandpa Feng, that would definitely discourage Elder Bai Ye from taking him in as his student. The downside to that plan was that it would expose his identity as I Am Low Profile. Given the current limitations of his cultivation, he knew that he didn’t have the capability to seal Bai Feng’s mouth.
On the other hand though, if he were to lose the battle, there was no guarantee that Elder Bai Ye wouldn’t insist on taking him in as his student.
To be honest, after how far he had come, he was deeply reluctant to become the student of another.
Zhang Xuan closed his eyes for a moment before he turned to Bai Ruanqing and said, “I might need you to put on a show together with me.”
“Sure!” Bai Ruanqing replied without any hesitation.
They quickly discussed the plans before Zhang Xuan walked out of the core disciples’ library alone. He flitted forth swiftly, dashing from the Core Disciple Sector back to the Inner Disciple Sector.
Without an aerial beast to ferry one around, the trip would take roughly two hours.
As Zhang Xuan dashed ahead, he made a conscious effort to limit his speed to the level of an ordinary Dimension Shatterer realm consummation cultivator.
After traveling for roughly an hour, just as he was crossing a particularly remote region, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a heavy might weighing down on him from the surroundings. Alarmed, he swiftly halted his footsteps and scanned his surroundings warily.
In the next moment, a young figure walked out from the woods and appeared before him.
He was no other than Bai Feng!
Having consumed the Transmogrification Pill, his current appearance was vastly different from before. Nevertheless, Zhang Xuan was still able to clearly see through the facade via his Eye of Insight.
Hula!
Without speaking a single word, Bai Feng drew his sword and lunged at Zhang Xuan. His cultivation had already been suppressed to the same level as Zhang Xuan, Dimension Shatterer realm consummation.
“W-what? Who are you? Why are you making a move on me? Don’t you know that the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion prohibits anyone from making a move on its disciples?”
Caught off guard by Bai Feng’s sudden assault, Zhang Xuan’s face paled in horror. He swiftly retreated fearfully, but fear seemed to have gripped his legs, causing him to fall to the ground.
Hu!
Before he knew it, Bai Feng’s sword was already pressed against his neck.
…
Bai Feng wasn’t in a good mood at the moment.
It wasn’t easy for the Old Master to want to take in a student, but who could have thought that this fellow would actually be so weak!
He hadn’t even exerted a tenth of his full strength in his current cultivation realm yet, but the other party was already cornered by him… If such a person were to become the Old Master’s student, it would really sully the Old Master’s reputation!
“Pick up your sword! If you can’t withstand my strike, the only fate that awaits you today is death!” Bai Feng uttered coldly as he took a step back.
“Grandpa Feng, allow me to deal with him instead!”
In this instant, a masked lady dressed in a white robe descended from the sky.
Through zhenqi telepathy, Bai Feng knew that this masked lady was Bai Ruanqing. A slight frown formed on his face, but he eventually chose to back down.
Hula!
Bai Ruanqing tossed a sword over to Zhang Xuan’s side before executing a series of relentless slashes against the latter.
The flustered Zhang Xuan hurriedly picked up the sword to parry Bai Ruanqing’s movements, but his form and maneuvers were all around the place. It was clear that he had never really trained diligently in the Way of the Sword before.
It was hard to tell whether his skill was lacking or his strength was simply not up to par, but one particular clash caused the sword in his hand to fly off from his hands. It stabbed into the floor not too far away as it reverberated loudly with a metallic ‘weng’.
Completely powerless after losing his weapon, Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened as another sword was pressed against his neck yet again.
“You…”
With a look of disappointment on her face, Bai Ruanqing retracted her sword before walking over toward Bai Feng. With a voice that expressed deep disapproval, she remarked, “… Too weak!”
