Sun Qiang’s arrogance didn’t last for too long.
All of a sudden, he found himself floating into the air without doing anything… And slowly, he drifted off into the horizon before disappearing altogether.
Seeing that Wu Chen had only made Sun Qiang float away, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was a huge headache to him how Sun Qiang tried to boast of his standing at every opportunity he got. To be honest, he had wanted to teach that fellow some humility for a very long time!
It was incomprehensible to him how someone as low profile as him ended up with this braggart of a butler.
Ah… He really should have been more stringent with his choice back then!
If he had a choice to pick another butler in the future, he would really have to find one that was reliable… At the very least, his butler should like Wu Chen, capable of solving most problems on his own. Even if he couldn’t find someone of Wu Chen’s caliber, at the very least, his butler shouldn’t pull him down and land him in trouble every now and then…
If not for the fact that Sun Qiang had followed him since his time at Tianxuan Kingdom, there was no way he would tolerate all of this!
…
“Clan head, the Luo Clan has recently inaugurated a person known as Luo Tianya as their new clan head. Rumor has it that he has comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, and we believe that the reason behind their visit at this point in time is to have him challenge you to a duel and return the favor from the engagement ceremony… In fact, we heard that they have invited the Master Teacher Pavilion over to officiate the duel so as to ensure fairness…”
As they took their seats in the main hall, an elder stood up and reported with a clasped fist.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress as he replied, “I am aware of that. The reason why I have returned is to resolve this issue!”
“The Spatial Quintessence of Sealing is the highest heritage of the Luo Clan. Those who have comprehended it are capable of freezing space, rendering one completely helpless. Even we would have trouble dealing with something like that… Xuan-er, you have to be careful!” Sword Saint Xing advised worriedly.
The Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan had been relatively close to one another the past few years, so they were well aware of the prowess of the Luo Clan. Once a cultivator had comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, it was only a matter of time before he reached the top of the continent.
His son might be nigh invincible in his power class, but it would still be difficult for him to triumph over an opponent of such caliber.
“The Luo Clan has already been humiliated once by the annulment of the engagement ceremony. Given how they dared to challenge us publicly at this juncture, it’s likely that they are confident of victory! Our Zhang Clan doesn’t have any records on Luo Tianya, but we have just received news that he has managed to defeat an expert from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!” the elder who had just spoken earlier added grimly.
“He has defeated an expert from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers? That bunch of people has finally shown themselves?” Sword Saint Meng asked with a frown.
“Un. It seems like Hundred Schools of Philosophers have challenged the Luo Clan to a duel with the Celestial Amulet of Legacy at stake. The Luo Clan was in a disadvantageous position when Luo Tianya suddenly appeared out of nowhere and defeated them. After which, they tested his bloodline and found that its purity was at the level of ‘9’. As such, the elders unanimously nominated him to become the head of the Luo Clan, and they swiftly conducted the inauguration ceremony afterward!” the elder replied.
Due to their close relations in the past, they had tabs on one another.
On top of that, the Luo Clan made no attempts to conceal the news either. As such, the elder in charge of acquiring intelligence in the Zhang Clan didn’t take too long to learn of the matter.
“Having inherited Kong shi’s heritage, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers wields nigh invincible prowess in their power class. Even the combat masters would have trouble subduing them! Considering how Luo Tianya was able to defeat them with ease, his prowess is indeed not something that we can afford to underestimate…” Sword Saint Meng frowned worriedly.
“Regarding that…” Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly. “If I were to say that I’m Luo Tianya, would you believe me?”
“Stop messing around. The other party boasts the purest bloodline in the Luo Clan, so how could you be him?” Sword Saint Meng shook her head.
Her son possessed her bloodline—this was something which they had verified previously. Given so, there was no way he could possess the Luo Clan bloodline. On the other hand, Luo Tianya was someone who had been tested to have a purity level of ‘9’ for the Luo Clan bloodline. Given so, there was no way the two of them could be the same person!
“This…” Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.
He had already told them the truth, but why didn’t anyone believe him?
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Sighing helplessly, he was just about to explain the entire matter when a furious gust of wind sounded above them.
Following which, a loud voice echoed throughout the Zhang Clan, “Nangong Yuanfeng and Tantai Zhenqing from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers’ Great Phrontistery of Confucianism has come with a couple of juniors to pay a visit to the head of the Zhang Clan!”
“What are they doing here? Have they already recovered from their wounds?” Zhang Xuan slightly startled by the declaration.
He quickly walked out from the main hall, and the others followed closely behind him.
Floating in the air was Nangong Yuanfeng, and by his side was a stout middle-aged man with a rather disproportionate face. Behind them were a group of eight young men, presumably the students of Nangong Yuanfeng and the stout middle-aged man.
“Tantai Zhenqing? Is he the descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yu?” Zhang Xuan thought with a frown.
Ancient Sage Zi Yu went by the compound surname 1 of Tantai. Due to his disproportionate facial features, Kong shi had once judged him by his appearance and ended up wronging him. That resulted in the famous saying, “Judge a man by his looks, and one shall wrong a Zi Yu”. 2
With such doubts in mind, Zhang Xuan took a closer look at those men and noted that Nangong Yuanfeng’s complexion was still a little pale. His four disciples, Nangong Mo and the others, also looked a little sickly. It was apparent that they hadn’t fully recovered from their injuries yet.
“Something is not right here. While I did send them flying in a single strike, their injuries shouldn’t have been so severe. How did they end up like that?” Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
While he did use his full might during the duel with Nangong Yuanfeng, he didn’t ignite Kong shi’s blood droplet, so the damage he would have caused should have been limited. It was true that Nangong Yuanfeng was a little more vulnerable during the duel, considering that he had his cultivation suppressed down to Saint 9-dan back then, but he should have been able to recover swiftly once he released the seal on his cultivation.
So, why did Nangong Yuanfeng appear to be so heavily injured at the moment?
“I am the head of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan. It’s an honor for us to welcome the envoys from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. Please, let’s talk inside!” Knowing that this wasn’t the moment for him to be dazing off, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and welcomed them.
“Very well!”
Seeing that Zhang Xuan’s etiquette was impeccable, there was nothing Nangong Yuanfeng and the others could complain about. Thus, they quickly descended from the sky.
“This way!” Zhang Xuan gestured with a smile before leading the way into the main hall.
After taking their respective seats, Nangong Yuanfeng got to the topic at hand, “Time is very tight on our side, so allow me to get straight to the point. The Temple of Confucius will be opening very soon, and our Hundred Schools of Philosophers hopes to enter the premises to pay respects to the predecessors as well. We have heard that the Zhang Clan has managed to obtain one of the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, and we are hoping that you would be so kind as to offer it to us. Rest assured that we won’t take advantage of you; we’ll be offering something of equivalent value in exchange of the amulet!”
“You want the Celestial Amulet of Legacy? That’s out of the question. Our Zhang Clan intends to enter the Temple of Confucius as well, so I’m afraid that we won’t be able to fulfill your request!” Sword Saint Xing replied with a dark look on his face.
It was as he had expected. The Hundred Schools of Philosophers had indeed come for their Celestial Amulet of Legacy.
The Temple of Confucius was where Kong shi had stored his most valuable treasures and heritage in. Missing the opportunity to enter the Temple of Confucius was equivalent to being ousted from the race for the top… Furthermore, it was not by sheer luck that the Zhang Clan had come to possess the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, so how could they possibly hand it over to someone else so easily?
Even if the other party was from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, this matter was not open for negotiation!
As if he had expected such a response, Nangong Yuanfeng sighed deeply and said, “Since that’s the case, I guess we’ll have to compete for it then! Kong shi has always encouraged competition amongst his students so that they would strive to improve themselves. Considering that the Celestial Amulet of Legacy was his gift to the later generations, he would hope for it to be in the hands of the most qualified individual. After all, only such a person would be worthy of inheriting his treasures and heritage!
“Since that’s the case, we shall make a formal challenge to the Zhang Clan. If there’s any Zhang Clan offspring of a hundred years old and below who is able to surpass our students in the comprehension of temporal laws, our Hundred Schools of Philosophers promises to never raise the matter regarding the Celestial Amulet of Legacy with the Zhang Clan ever again, and we’ll offer a possession of the Ancient Sages as a formal apology to the Zhang Clan. Conversely, if there’s no Zhang Clan offspring who is able to surpass our students in the comprehension of temporal laws, I’d have to ask you to entrust the Celestial Amulet of Legacy to our care!”
“Your students will be challenging our Zhang Clan to the comprehension of temporal laws?” Zhang Xuan looked at Nangong Yuanfeng and frowned.
“That’s not it. It’s Brother Tantai’s students who will be challenging the Zhang Clan offspring!” Nangong Yuanfeng replied with a smile.