"The highest secret art of the Heart Division is a technique left behind by the founder of the Qingyuan Combat Master Hall. Of the many generations of hall masters, only five have succeeded in clearing the Trial of Inner Demons to acquire the technique." Hall Master Xing frowned. "It won't be easy…"
Division Head Liao was right. If he could master the greatest secret art of the Heart Division, he would be peerless in his class. No matter how powerful those from the Xuanxuan Faction were, they would still be no match for him.
The Heart Division was the most mysterious division of the Combat Master Hall. Instead of cultivating their body, soul, or battle techniques, their main focus lay in cultivating their heart and overcoming the fearsome Inner Demons within them. If one could clear the Trial of Inner Demons, they would be able to acquire the greatest secret art left behind by their founder, thus making one peerless in one's class.
Of course, Hall Master Xing had considered taking the trial before, but each time, he had ended up shying away out of fear. The trial was simply too difficult, such that only the greatest of geniuses among the preceding hall masters had succeeded in clearing it.
"I know that it won't be easy, but… we don't have any other choice! Judging from the state of the remaining division heads, most of them will probably end up joining the Xuanxuan Faction as well. If that happens, we will become nothing more than an empty shell, and the Qingyuan Empire Combat Master Hall will become a joke in everyone's eyes!" Division Head Liao said bitterly.
He also knew that it would be nigh impossible to accomplish it, but they were already cornered. At this point, they did not have any other choice.
Hall Master Xing sighed deeply.
He knew that at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before their Combat Master Hall effectively became a subsidiary of the Xuanxuan Faction.
With his influence, he was still able to suppress the news for the time being. However, as the saying goes, paper cannot hope to contain fire.
It was only a matter of time before the news was leaked and became known to the public. For the great Combat Master Hall to become a subordinate organization of a student faction of a Tier-1 Empire… He would never be able to raise his head in public anymore!
The inept Hall Master Xing would become a laughingstock in all other Combat Master Halls!
More importantly, the Convention of Combat Masters among Conferred Empires was just around the corner… Nothing could be allowed to happen at this critical period!
"Hall Master Xing, we are already standing right at the cliff. We have no choice but to give it a try," Division Head Liao persuaded.
Taking a deep breath, Hall Master Xing nodded grimly. "You're right. No matter what, I'll have to give it a try."
The situation at the Combat Master Hall was not too optimistic. The Trial of Inner Demons was dangerous, but at the very least, it was not fatal. Currently, this was the best shot they had.
"Guild Leader Ruan and Vice Guild Leader Chen of the Spirit Awakener Guild are my friends, so I can bring you to them. As long as they assist us, your Primordial Spirit will be able to become more wholesome, and clearing the Trial of Inner Demons shouldn't be too difficult!" Division Head Liao said.
"I'll be troubling you then, Division Head Liao!" Hall Master Xing nodded in gratitude.
Although spirit awakener was only a supporting occupation, their expertise in the field of Primordial Spirits and souls were indeed valuable to cultivators. With their help, his Primordial Spirit could be made more wholesome, thus making his mind more focused. With that, he would be less vulnerable to the beguilement of the Inner Demons.
There were also many Half-Leaving Aperture realm experts who would engage the help of spirit awakeners so that their minds would not be crushed by the excruciating pain of the lightning tempering their soul during the Leaving Aperture Ordeal.
Based on the statistics compiled by the Combat Master Hall, the probability of Half-Leaving Aperture realm cultivators clearing the Leaving Aperture Ordeal was only 10%, but with the help of a spirit awakeners, the probability could be raised to 30%!
It was for this reason that spirit awakeners were so highly sought after, the demand highly exceeding the supply.
In fact, despite not being classified as a unique occupation, the Spirit Awakener Guild's main headquarters held a prestigious standing in the Master Teacher Continent. The influence it wielded was on par with even the stronger Sage Clans.
After all, the stronger one became, the heavier one's Inner Demons would become. The ability of spirit awakeners in tempering the soul and making it more wholesome in itself made them an organization that most powers wanted to befriend.
It was said that there were at least six powerhouses in the continent who had declared that anyone who became an enemy of the Spirit Awakener Guild would have to face them as well. Not only so, there were also many experts in the Master Teacher Pavilion's main headquarters who had specially joined the Spirit Awakener Guild to learn spirit enchantment as well, thus furthering the Spirit Awakener Guild's sphere of influence.
It was for this reason that despite the relatively weak fighting prowess of the occupation, not even the Combat Master Hall dared offend them.
"Alright, let's go!" Division Head Liao nodded.
Having made up their minds, the duo stepped out of the Elder Conference Hall and flew straight for the Spirit Awakener Guild.
…
In the Spirit Awakener Guild, Zhang Xuan followed behind Guild Leader Ruan and the others with a sheepish look on his face, and soon, they arrived in a spacious room.
After taking their seats, Guild Leader Ruan turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, "May I know how I can address you?"
Zhang Xuan had not introduced himself to anyone in the Spirit Awakener Guild, so not even Vice Guild Leader Xu knew of his name.
"I am Zhang…" Zhang Xuan was just about to say his name when he paused for a brief moment. Then, with a refreshing smile, he continued, "Cough cough, I am Sun Qiang!"
Considering how he had caused so much trouble here, bringing the other party's guild building to life, it would be best if he did not reveal his name. Otherwise, if they were to raise their complaints with the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, how would he ever be able to raise his head before the students again?
"So, you're Sun gongzi!" Guild Leader Ruan pondered for a moment, but there was not a person she knew of in the Combat Master Hall who fit the criteria. Perplexed, she asked, "Sun gongzi, you aren't from our Qingyuan City, right?"
"That's right. I just arrived in Qingyuan City not too long ago," Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.
"I see!" Guild Leader Ruan also nodded. "Back to the topic at hand, the reason we invited gongzi over is because we have something that we require your help on. You have enchanted our guild building and brought it to life. In light of that, we hope that… you can tame it and pass over its ownership to us, or else… you can just join our Spirit Awakener Guild and become one of us!"
"Join the Spirit Awakener Guild?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I am a master teacher, so I'm afraid that it would be inappropriate for me to join other guilds. I'll help you tame the guild building instead. However… I am not too sure how I can go about doing it, so I'll need you to guide me along."
It was really an accident that he had enchanted the entire guild building!
How could he have known that the black pillar was part of the supporting structure of the building? It was at the same spot as where the examination puppets were on the previous floors, so he had thought that it was part of the examination as well. Who would have thought that the entire guild building would come to life instead?
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Hearing the young man turn down her invitation, Guild Leader Ruan could only shake her head in disappointment. "Actually, it isn't too difficult. Sun shi, you just have to draw out the awakened spirit of the guild building and have it contract with me!"
To be honest, the other party's ability to successfully enchant the entire guild building without going through proper training showed that he possessed unparalleled aptitude for spirit enchantment!
It was a real pity that the other party was a master teacher, not to mention, a male!
Otherwise, she would have surely recommended him to the main headquarters!
Even though the Spirit Awakener Guild had men, they were in the minority. The entire lineage, and that was including their founder as well, was dominated by females. No matter how talented a man was within their guild, it would be hard for him to enter the top echelon.
"I see." Zhang Xuan nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem at all."
Just as the other party had said earlier, the guild building possessed deep loyalty to him as he was the one who had awakened its spirit. As long as he commanded it so, its spirit should be willing to contract with Guild Leader Ruan.
"I'll be troubling Sun shi then!" Guild Leader Ruan replied with a smile. "Let's do it outside. The sealing of the contract requires both parties to face one another, so it would be impossible to do it in here."
The sealing of the contract required the spirit of the guild building to offer a portion of its spirit to her, and their location was not suited for it, considering that they were currently in the 'stomach' of the guild building.
Thus, the four of them flew out of the room and gazed at the guild building face-to-face in midair.
Due to the movements of the guild building after it came to life, huge cracks had emerged on the tidy streets, and the civilians in the area had long evacuated as far as they could, leaving behind only a few dozen relatively powerful spectators in the vicinity.
Their gazes were centered on the guild building as well, seemingly intrigued by how such a huge building had suddenly come to life.
Noting that the three guild leader and vice guild leaders were standing behind him, Zhang Xuan said sheepishly, "Let me try communicating with its spirit."
He turned his gaze toward the building, and using his means as a spirit awakener, he tried to establish contact with the spirit within it.
Huala!
Seemingly having heard Zhang Xuan's calling, the building shook slightly as it raised its head once more.
Seeing that it was possible to communicate with the building, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He began discussing the matter of having it contract with Guild Leader Ruan.
While Zhang Xuan was in the midst of communicating with the building, hidden in an alley not too far away from the Spirit Awakener Guild, a white-haired elder was glaring at him with hateful eyes.
"That is the man who injured you?"
Standing beside that white-haired elder was another old man. The old man had a moustache shaped like the '八' character, his eyes were slanted diagonally, and there was a crimson scar on his glabella that was eerily reminiscent of a closed eye.
"Yes, that's him! You must kill him and have his corpse torn to shreds, or else I'll never be able to quell the anger in my heart!" the white-haired elder spat with tightly gritted teeth.
He was the Flitting Earth Bandit of the Northern Meadows, Dao Kou!
He had been knocked out by Zhang Xuan's punch previously, and after regaining consciousness, he had found himself unable to forgive that arrogant young man. Thus, he had gone to seek out the old man beside him and brought him over.
Naturally, the old man was the other member of the Twin Bandits, Sky Bearing Bandit Cang Xu!
Cang Xu was a Saint 4-dan Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle expert, and it was due to his overwhelming strength that the Twin Bandits enjoyed such great fame in the Northern Meadows.
"Don't worry. No matter who he is, I will have his soul crushed for daring to hurt my brother!" Cang Xu harrumphed coldly. "However, based on what you said earlier, it seems like that person is a master teacher. His Saint 1-dan cultivation isn't a threat at all, but the Master Teacher Pavilion will come after us if it is found that we have killed a master teacher!"
The Master Teacher Pavilion was not a power to be trifled with.
Even for just a 4-star master teacher, one could only report him to the Master Teacher Pavilion and have them deal with him. If one were found to have harmed a master teacher of their own accord, they would be severely punished for their actions!
Once the Master Teacher Pavilion made a move, there was no one in the continent who could get away unscathed, let alone the both of them!
Dao Kou harrumphed. "So what if he's a master teacher? As long as you use your secret art, you should be able to get rid of him discreetly. The Master Teacher Pavilion will never be able to link his death to you!"
"You shouldn't underestimate the prowess of the Master Teacher Pavilion. If they really try to investigate the matter, they will surely be able to uncover the truth. However… a mere Saint 1-dan small fry won't be worthy of them putting much effort into the matter!" Cang Xu sneered.
As long as the Master Teacher Pavilion put its mind to it, it would be able to uncover the truth of even the most discreet of murders. However, the time, manpower, and resources that would have to be spent on it would be extremely great as well.
Even if it was through a surprise attack, the fact that the young man had been able to knock out Dao Kou in a single punch hinted that his standing in the Master Teacher Pavilion should not have been too low. But that still would not be sufficient to justify the Master Teacher Pavilion paying such a heavy price to investigate his death!
"As you know, I was only barely able to learn the secret art with the guidance of an elder. I cannot afford to be interrupted in the midst of the technique, or else I will suffer a severe rebound. I will need you to protect me later on while I try to snatch his soul," Cang Xu said.
His secret art was, in fact, a soul art that he had found in an ancient domain. It was capable of killing another discreetly, making it extremely difficult to guard against.
It was through such means that they were able to dominate the Northern Meadows, with none daring to get on their bad side.
Dao Kou nodded. "Don't worry, I'll guard you!"
"Un." Cang Xu nodded back. "The secret art only works when I am in within three hundred meters of the target. We will have to find a quiet spot a little closer to the Spirit Awakener Guild."