Chapter 766

Chapter 766: The Price of the Origin Heavy Water

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan didn’t hear Luo Qiqi’s voice. Executing the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Step, he flew silently at an altitude close to the ground.

His Eye of Insight had grown extremely sharp after undergoing the third acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher. Even though Hu Yaoyao’s trail was extremely faint, he could still see it as clear as day.

Hmm? Where is she heading to? Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

The trail first lingered around the lake before abruptly heading for a hill.

The hill looked extremely remote, and it seemed unlikely that there would be anyone staying on it. Why would the other party visit this hill at this ungodly hour?

Under the concealment of the night, Zhang Xuan advanced ahead.

The hill was filled with many short shrubs, and at its very peak was an octagonal gazebo.

There were many of such gazebos throughout the academy. The purpose of it was so that the students could stop by them any time they wished in case they suddenly stumbled upon an enlightenment in their cultivation.

Often, inspiration came suddenly and left as abruptly. If one were to miss that moment, one might miss it forever.

Sticking close to the greenery, Zhang Xuan slowly advanced toward the gazebo. Before long, he saw a bewitching figure standing within. Starlight fell upon her blurred silhouette, creating a beautiful painting.

From afar, that entrancing profile was reminiscent of a beautiful goddess of the night, rendering it impossible for one to pull his gaze off her.

Other than Luo Ruoxin, Zhang Xuan had never felt anything toward any women before. Nevertheless, he still had to admit that Hu Yaoyao did possess fatal charm.

“Isn’t it about time for you to come out?” At that instant, the entrancing figure abruptly spoke up, breaking the silence of the night.

Did she notice me? Zhang Xuan jolted in astonishment, but soon, he shook his head.

In order to not leave a trail behind him, he had executed the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Step to remain floating in the air. On top of that, he had been keeping a safe distance from Hu Yaoyao, following her only by her faint trails through the Eye of Insight.

With all of the safety precautions he had taken, it would be difficult for even a Saint realm expert to notice his presence!

The next moment, resounding laughter suddenly erupted.

“Haha, Yaoyao sure is sharp. I only arrived just a moment ago, but you have already noticed me…”

With the sound of the wind, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the other end of the hill and leaped into the gazebo.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be in his early thirties. His aura felt powerful, reminiscent of a torrential river. Just like Hu Yaoyao, he was a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan expert as well.

Upon reaching such a realm, it was already impossible to discern the other party’s age through their outer appearance.

He might look like he was in his thirties on the outside, but chances were that he was already in his fifties or sixties.

Even so, given the lifespan of two hundred years for a Transcendent Mortal, he could be considered to be young.

Before Hu Yaoyao could speak, another faint voice sounded by the side, and yet another figure walked into the gazebo.

“As a cultivator of the True Helios Art, your presence feels like the searing sun in the sky. How can anyone possibly miss that?”

It was a lady as well. She seemed to be of the same age as Hu Yaoyao, and she possessed a beauty not paling to the latter. However, the dispositions they commanded were the complete opposite of one another.

As if a succubus, every single movement and gesture from Hu Yaoyao would tug at one’s heartstrings, leaving one tempted to make her their own. On the other hand, the other lady had an aura of poise and indifference. Despite her beauty, the coldness she exuded left others standing a distance away, not daring to get close.

True Helios Art… Could that man be the leader of the True Helios Faction, Xue Zhenyang? Zhang Xuan thought as he looked at the two new figures in the gazebo.

He had heard by chance that the leader of the True Helios Faction was a Grade-5 student named Xue Zhenyang, so he immediately thought of the other party.

Just as Zhang Xuan was deep in thought, another figure stepped into the gazebo. “Indeed, that fellow sure doesn’t know how to conceal himself. Otherwise, Yaoyao wouldn’t have noticed him so easily.”

It was as if that figure was a specter of the darkness. If he hadn’t talked, not even Zhang Xuan would have noticed him. It seemed as if he had just materialized out of nowhere.

“Long Cangyue, you might be able to tread silently in the night due to your Frigid Moon Art, but you ended up making yourself neither a man nor a woman. Don’t even compare yourself with me!” Xue Zhenyang harrumphed.

“You are the one who is neither a man nor a woman! Are you asking for a beating?” The young man named Long Cangyue flew into a rage.

“Do you think I will be afraid of you? Come! It has been too long since I have been able to work those joints of mine!” Xue Zhenyang drove the zhenqi in his body, and the next moment, an aura reminiscent of flames gathered around him as he prepared to make an attack.

“Hah, a defeated loser dares to speak so haughtily to me? Since a fight is what you want, a fight is what you’ll get!” Long Cangyue sneered coldly.

In an instant, a tense atmosphere weighed down between the duo.

“Enough! To fight right after meeting one another, can’t the both of you tone down a little? Don’t you know we have some important matters to discuss tonight?” Hu Yaoyao harrumphed in displeasure.

Along with her words, the tense atmosphere gradually dissipated. The duo harrumphed coldly and said, “Humph, I guess we can fight on another occasion. For now, we should discuss about the matter we have at hand.”

“Since everyone is gathered… Dong Xin, you can start now.” With the duo toning it down, Hu Yaoyao turned her gaze to the other lady of the group and gestured for her to begin.

The cold-faced lady, Dong Xin, paused for a brief moment before reporting, “Okay. I went to that place and observed it for two days. Just as Zhenyang has said, I am certain that the item exists… However, the difficulty in obtaining it seems to be greater than our initial estimates. I fear that it will be hard to succeed with just the four of us.”

“Indeed, it won’t be easy for us to succeed. Putting aside the difficult geographical terrain where the place is located, those two fellows guarding it are also beyond our capability,” Xue Zhenyang said with a frown.

“We will have to ensure that our plan is foolproof, or else we might potentially end up losing our lives there,” Long Cangyue added.

“Ensure that our plan is foolproof? Do we have the time to do so? If I recall correctly, that item is going to be ripe in just a month’s time, and the moment it happens, those two fellows will surely consume it to refine their bones and meridians. By then, we will have lost our opportunity to get it!” Xue Zhenyang flung his sleeves and harrumphed.

“Zhenyang is right, we won’t have a chance if we don’t act decisively. We have to get to it before it ripens and obtain it as soon as it happens. Otherwise, if we lose this opportunity, it will take us at least several dozen years of hard work in order to reach Half-Saint!” Hu Yaoyao nodded with a frown.

“We all understand that logic, but the problem lies with how we can breach the defense of those two huge fellows!” Xue Zhenyang shook his head before turning the cold-faced young lady. “Dong Xin, you are famed genius of the Beast Tamer School. Do you have any idea how we can deal with those two fellows?”

“Those two fellows possess the Ancient Bloodline, so it will be hard to distract them with ordinary items. Didn’t I tell you all to purchase some Origin Heavy Water before I went to scout? That item has the effect of purifying the Ancient Bloodline, so it might work as a bait against them. As long as we can distract them momentarily, we might be able to get to the fruit!” Dong Xin said before turning the group to ask, “So, have you bought it yet?”

“How can we possibly have the money to buy it? A single bottle of it costs more than a hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones! It is not like you don’t know how much money we have at hand.” Xue Zhenyang replied with a bitter smile.

Even as Grade-5 students, it was still hard for them to fork out a hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones at once.

Origin Heavy Water? Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan’s heart suddenly leaped in agitation.

In total, there were five dans to the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body. Even though he’d fused many physical body cultivation techniques with it, he still needed four items to serve as a catalyst to cultivate the last four dans.

The Third Incandescence happened to require the Origin Heavy Water.

However, Zhang Xuan had known its name before. Regarding its appearance or where he could find it, he had no idea whatsoever. He’d never thought that he would receive news about it from the mouths of these people.

It seemed like they were intending to purchase the Origin Heavy Water!

A hundred thousand middle-tier spirit stones… That is equivalent to ten high-tier spirit stones! My, how expensive it is! Zhang Xuan exclaimed in frustration within.

Based on his understanding of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, if he wanted to fully cultivate the Third Incandescence, he would at least require ten bottles of the Origin Heavy Water. However, he only had ten high-tier spirit stones at the moment, which was far from sufficient for him to obtain enough of it!

Hearing Xue Zhenyang’s complaint, Dong Xin asked, “Didn’t a new batch of freshmen arrive just a few days ago? I thought you all would have made a killing there?”

The student factions of the academy would usually be able to earn substantial wealth for themselves whenever new students arrived in the academy. On top of that, this was the once-in-a-decade massive intake of the academy, and according to the rumors she had heard, there should be thirty thousand freshmen this year. With so many of them, even if they were to earn just three middle-tier spirit stones from each of them, they would still easily scrape together a hundred thousand!

“Make a killing? We even made a loss, you know! Haven’t you heard of that matter two days ago?” Long Cangyue shook his head in frustration.

“Heard of what? I came here as soon as I could to deliver this news to you all, so I haven’t heard anything yet. What happened? Did the academy interfere in the matter?” Dong Xin asked bewilderedly.

She had spent the past few days in that area in order to gather intelligence for their operation. As a result, she had only returned earlier that night, so she wasn’t too sure about the happenings in the academy.

However, it was a convention for the senior to exploit the freshmen, and the academy had never interfered with it in previous years. There shouldn’t have been any reason for them to do it that year.

Besides, the practice had its merits as well. Firstly, it could dampen the conceit that most freshmen came in with, teaching them that there was always a mountain higher than the other. Secondly, participating in a faction also served as a social platform for master teachers to interact and coordinate with one another, which helped them to build camaraderie to deal with the Otherworldly Demons if the time ever came.

Since the academy didn’t interfere in this matter and the freshmen had no choice but to step right into their scam, the various factions should have been able to earn a substantial sum. But if that was the case, why did the others look as if they had made a loss instead?

“A freak amidst the freshmen wrecked our entire business. The entrance examination this year was conducted by your Beast Tamer School, so you should know some details regarding it, right?” Long Cangyue said.

“Yes.” Dong Xin nodded. “It was conducted by Elder Mo, and he started preparing for it since several months ago.”

As a genius of the Beast Tamer School, she had a close relationship with most of the teachers and elders there. As such, she had been let in on the matter regarding the entrance examination even before it had been announced.

In preparation for the examination, Elder Mo had been going around capturing malicious spirit beasts, and Dong Xin had helped capture a few of them herself as well.

“The rules of the entrance examination this time around are rather simple. Obtain the inner core of a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle spirit beast, and you will obtain one point… Do you know how many points that freak of a freshman earned?” Long Cangyue asked.

It had been several days since the freshman examination had finished. As the leader of the Ashen Moon Faction, it wasn’t too difficult for him to gather some intelligence regarding the happenings there.

Chapter 767: I Saw Zhang Xuan

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“How many?”

Looking at the look of disbelief on the other party’s face, Dong Xin couldn’t help but feel a little curious at how well the freshmen did. “Since he is a freshman, his cultivation should probably be at Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle. Even if he were to make the breakthrough to Cosmos Bridge realm, it would already be an incredible feat for him to kill three Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle spirit beasts within a single day. Three of them would give him 120 points… Could his score have exceeded a thousand?”

A Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle spirit beast was worth 40 points. It was already rather formidable for one to slay three spirit beasts of the same cultivation realm as one in a single day. Even if one were to multiply that by ten, that would only be 1200 points.

Scoring 1200 points was indeed an incredible feat for a freshman, but surely it wouldn’t produce such a look of disbelief on the face of the leader of the Ashen Moon Faction?

Hearing those words, Long Cangyue scoffed. “A thousand points? If it was only that much, would I need to be so shocked?”

“Let me tell you this straight, he obtained a grand total of 43,724 points…”

“H-how many did you say? 43,000 points?” Hearing those words, Dong Xin nearly fainted on the spot.

She had participated in the capture of those spirit beasts, so she knew how difficult it was to locate and hunt them down.

On top of that, they had targeted the aggressive spirit beasts who had a record of hurting others, and they were far more difficult to deal with than the spirit beasts enclosed in a cage. Every single of them was incredibly cunning, and a lapse in one’s concentration could easily lead to one’s death. Yet, a freshman had actually obtained more than 40,000 points in such an examination… Wasn’t this joke a little too much?

How many spirit beasts must he have killed to obtain such a result?

Could he have single-handedly slaughtered every last spirit beast in the mountain?

“That’s not all. The points he obtained weren’t from killing the spirit beasts, but by… taming them!” Long Cangyue added.

“Taming them?” Dong Xin exclaimed sharply.

Taming a spirit beast was far more difficult than killing one. Even her, a renowned genius of the Beast Tamer School, would have to spend several months or even years in order to achieve the required intimacy to tame one. Yet, to tame multiple spirit beasts in a day… Not to mention, enough of them to obtain 40,000 points… Just how many spirit beasts in the world did he tame!

Seeing Dong Xin’s expression, Long Cangyue could tell what she was thinking, so he said, “He tamed more than four hundred spirit beasts… Furthermore, according to the accounts from the dozens of eye-witnesses in the area, he did it within just two hours!”

“Two hours…” Dong Xin couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

Even she didn’t have the ability to do the same.

“It’s this incredible feat that won him School Head Mo’s favor, and School Head Mo offered to take him in as his disciple!” Long Cangyue said.

“Take him in as his disciple? School Head Mo?” Dong Xin was stunned.

All along, she had been working hard in the hope that her effort could catch School Head Mo’s eye. However, School Head Mo never seemed to notice her.

As a result, she’d thought that School Head Mo had no intention of accepting any disciple at all. Who knew that he would end up favoring a freshman over her?

“That’s right. However, what is the most unbelievable thing about this matter is that… the fellow actually rejected the offer!” Long Cangyue’s eyes flew around the place.

The first time he heard of that news, he had also been rendered dumbfounded.

To actually reject School Head Mo, one of the Ten Great Master Teachers… He sure was gutsy!

At this moment, Dong Xin felt as though she had been struck by lightning.

Countless students in the academy were vying to become School Head Mo’s student, and yet that fellow actually rejected the offer? Did he have a screw loose somewhere?

“That’s not all, there is still more to come. After that fellow heard many people had failed the examination, he gave away his points away to them so that they could all clear the examination!” Long Cangyue said.

“Gave away his points?”

Dong Xin widened her eyes in astonishment as her body swayed weakly from side to side. “The points one obtains in the entrance examination can be used to trade for Academic Credits… Given his accomplishment in the examination, he could easily have received ten Academic Credits! Even if he has no interest in Academic Credits, he could easily apply for twenty high-tier spirit stones from the academy with his score… And yet, he gave them away?”

The points could be traded for Academic Credits and high-tier spirit stone? Upon hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nearly spewed blood from his mouth.

If he’d known that those points could be traded for Academic Credits and high-tier spirit stones, he would have never idled around in the entrance examination! He would have surely rushed around the mountain, taming, and killing as many spirit beasts as he could!

At the very least, he would have strived for a million points!

Or if it came down to it, he could even have handed the Byzantium Helios Beast over…

Consonant Spirit realm spirit beasts were worth 10 points, Cosmos Bridge realm spirit beasts were worth 100 points, Perfect Harmonization realm spirit beasts were worth 1,000 points, Ethereal Treading realm spirit beasts were worth 10,000 points, Chrysalis realm spirit beasts were worth 100,000 points, Half-Saint beasts were worth 1,000,000 points, Nascent Saint beasts were worth 10,000,000 points… Then a Saint beast should be worth at least 100,000,000 points, right?

Furthermore, that fellow was at Saint 1-dan pinnacle, which meant… 400,000,000 points!

Calculating by proportion, wouldn’t that mean that he could receive 100,000 Academic Credits or 200,000 high-tier spirit stones from the academy?

Regret dyed Zhang Xuan’s guts green. 1

If he had that many Academic Credits and high-tier spirit stones, would there be anywhere that he couldn’t go?

He would be able to make his round through all of the libraries in the academy, and perhaps, he might already be on his way to a Conferred Empire now!

I will look for Elder Mo later… Perhaps, I might still be able to exchange the Byzantium Helios Beast for some Academic Credits…

Zhang Xuan thought about the matter for an instant before eventually shaking his head. But putting aside the fact that the entrance examination is already over, which means that the academy has the right to refuse to give me the corresponding Academic Credits and high-tier spirit stones, even if I am able to do so, I won’t be able to explain to them how I managed to capture the Byzantium Helios Beast. On top of that, it would reveal my possession of the Otherworldly Demon puppets…

It would be impossible for him to explain the presence of the Otherworldly Demon puppets at the moment, and even if he could, they were currently his greatest trump card, so it would be unwise for him to reveal their existence as well. Thus, even though it was a huge shame, Zhang Xuan still decided to drop the matter in the end.

“To be honest, even I can’t help but be in awe of how generous that fellow is!” Long Cangyue continued.

“But that still isn’t all. When you hear what he did afterward, you will surely go mad!”

“Oh?” Suppressing her shock, Dong Xin turned to look at Long Cangyue.

On the other hand, Hu Yaoyao and Xue Zhenyang were listening to the conversation between the duo silently. Judging from the looks of helplessness on their faces, it was likely that they had long heard of it.

“Shortly after clearing the entrance examination, that fellow headed to the Blacksmith School, and god knows what he did, but he destroyed the entire Passageway of Records along with half of the Blacksmith Guild…” Long Cangyue revealed.

“Passageway of Records?” Blacksmith Guild?” Dong Xin gasped in shock. “Vice School Head Yuan didn’t kill him for that?”

As one of the senior students of the academy, she was aware of Vice School Head’s austere and fiery temper. He expected students to abide by the rules strictly, and he tolerated zero nonsense from others.

To destroy the Passageway of Records along with half of the entire Blacksmith Guild… He should be glad that Vice School Head Yuan didn’t strangle him to death on the spot!

“Kill him? I also thought that would be the case as well when I heard about it… But not only did Vice School Head spare Zhang Xuan, he even treated him with the utmost politeness and led him to the Ocean of Weapons personally to take the blacksmith examination! And that fellow, within four hours within the Ocean of Weapons, progressed from a mere apprentice to become… a 6-star blacksmith!” Long Cangyue said.

“W-what did you say? Within four hours… he took the 1-star examination all the way to the 6-star examination?” Dong Xin’s mouth slowly widened in shock.

No words could explain what she was feeling at the moment.

That fellow’s previous deeds were incredible, but it was at least remotely possible. The world was huge, and there were all kinds of incredible geniuses out there. They weren’t so arrogant as to think that they would be the top of the world. But what the heck was with clearing the 1-star to 6-star examination within 4 hours?

More importantly, the prerequisite to taking the 6-star examination was for one’s cultivation to reach Transcendent Mortal 9-dan Chrysalis realm. This wasn’t just a condition imposed by the Blacksmith Guild, but that it was fundamentally impossible for a cultivator beneath that cultivation realm to clear the examination.

For one, the purity and quantity of their zhenqi would be insufficient to evoke the heat in the flames, making it impossible for them to melt most ores that 6-star blacksmiths were expected to process.

Are you sure you aren’t messing with me?

“That matter alarmed School Head Zhao, and he insisted on taking that fellow in as his teacher’s student, or in other words, his junior… But that fellow rejected it yet again!”

Long Cangyue could clearly perceive the disbelief in Dong Xin’s eyes, but it was all the truth.

Many had witnessed Zhang Xuan’s deeds in the Blacksmith School, and as the leaders of the largest student factions in the academy, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to verify the authenticity of the news.

“School Head Mo offered to take him in as his disciple, and School Head Zhao offered to acknowledge him as his junior… but they were rejected?”

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Dong Xin fell into deep thought for a few moments before lifting her gaze to ask, “That freshman is indeed a formidable figure, but… what does he have to do with the issue regarding the finances of the student factions?”

Thinking about it now, they had been talking about the lack of money in their student factions just a moment ago when the topic had suddenly shifted to that fellow. Could that freshman be responsible for the student faction’s business failure?

“As you know, the main source of income of student factions during the start of the term is from the sales of the ‘Teacher Information Documentation’ to the incoming freshmen, but somehow, that fellow managed to obtain an even more accurate and detailed version of it and gave it away for free… With that, who else would buy ours? Not only so, our reputations were even dragged down into the gutters. Quite a few freshmen who were intending to join our factions ended up backing out due to that scandal!” Long Cangyue explained with a hint of fury in his voice.

That matter had caused significant losses to his Ashen Moon Faction, so he’d ordered an investigation into the culprit of the affair, Zhang Xuan. Who could have known that the results of the investigation would be so baffling?

If it had been any other freshmen, he would have stomped right up to them and given them a good pummeling so as to beat the rules into their bones. But this fellow… how could he dare to touch a person whom School Head Mo and School Head Zhao favored?

“…” Not expecting such a situation, Dong Xin was at a loss for words.

But indeed, if there was a free and better version, who would want to waste a hundred middle-tier spirit stones on their document?

“Then… don’t any of you have a way to deal with him?”

“What can we possibly do against that fellow? His cultivation might not be too high, but he has the backing of two of the Ten Great Master Teachers. Unless you wish to offend those two, there is hardly anything we can do about him… Since all of us are gathered here today, let’s discuss that matter as well.” Long Cangyue sighed deeply as he turned his gaze to the group.

“Not only did he spoil our market, his actions also sullied our reputations as well. We have to punish him or else we might risk losing our authority amongst the student populace!”

“Indeed, we can’t let him go that easily!” Xue Zhenyang narrowed his eyes and harrumphed.

“So, do you two have any ideas yet?” Dong Xin asked.

“This…” Long Cangyue and Xue Zhenyang glanced at one another and smiled bitterly.

School Head Mo and School Head Zhao were two gigantic barriers standing in the way of their vengeance, and there was hardly any way they could circumvent them. If they really had an idea in mind, they would have long carried it out. Would they still allow Zhang Xuan to get off scot-free even to this day?

At this moment, Hu Yaoyao suddenly spoke up with a soft chuckle. “Speaking of that fellow, I met him today!”

“You met him?” The others immediately turned their sights to Hu Yaoyao.

Even though they had nearly died from shock due to the many rumors they had heard regarding Zhang Xuan, none of them had been fortunate enough to meet him yet.

The other party had caused a huge storm right from the moment he’d enrolled at the academy, so they hadn’t had the chance to see his appearance for themselves yet.

“Yes. I believe you all should know the genius of the Grade-2 students, Luo Qiqi, right?” asked Hu Yaoyao as she glanced at them.

“Of course!” Dong Xin replied.

Luo Qiqi had been enrolled at the academy for barely a year, but she had already advanced from 4-star pinnacle to 5-star low-tier. Such speed was astounding even when taking into consideration the innumerable geniuses that had come before her in the academy.

Possessing both looks and talent, it was inevitable that they would be aware of her.

“I saw her together with Zhang Xuan earlier, and she had addressed him as her teacher!” Hu Yaoyao said.

“Teacher?”

“Luo Qiqi addressed him as her teacher? You… Are you sure you aren’t pulling our legs?”

“Luo Qiqi has a mysterious background, and it is rumored that she is the princess from some empire. I have tried looking into her background myself, but I wasn’t able to uncover anything substantial about her either… A person like that actually acknowledged a freshman as her teacher?”

Long Cangyue, Xue Zhenyang, and the others could hardly believe their ears.

Chapter 768: Terpsichore School

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“It is not the aged but the skilled who becomes the teacher, this has always been how we master teachers work. Considering how Luo Qiqi was willing to address him as her teacher without the slightest indignation in her voice, it can only mean that he possesses ability surpassing her significantly in certain aspects,” Hu Yaoyao said.

There was no human who could possibly be skilled in all aspects. Even the most formidable of cultivators had their own weaknesses.

As a result, there were cases where a higher ranked master teacher acknowledged a lower ranked master teacher as their teacher.

Even Empyrean Kong shi had sought guidance from Tan shi, an inconspicuous 5-star master teacher from the remote Tan Kingdom.

Understanding this fact, the others nodded in agreement. After which, Dong Xin asked, “Since you have met him, what is your evaluation of him? Are there any flaws he has that we can exploit against him?”

“We barely traded a few words, so I am unable to make a complete evaluation of his character. Nevertheless, based on what I have seen so far, he seems to be an honest and upright person. It doesn’t seem like he will do anything against his principles. However, if there is one flaw I have to name about him… it will be that his words are infuriating!” Hu Yaoyao said.

Even though she was a 6-star low-tier master teacher, she was still unable to discern anything significant about Zhang Xuan. The only thing that she came out of the encounter with was her raging fury from the other party’s words.

“His words are infuriating?” The others blinked in surprise.

To make a person like Hu Yaoyao, who could take most things in her stride, angry, that fellow was indeed a genius in some ways.

After a moment of contemplation, Hu Yaoyao added, “Oh, right! That fellow seems to be interested in the old residence of Wu Yangzi. I feel that we can use this as a leverage against him to teach him a lesson!”

Even though the competition among the four of their factions was rather rife, perhaps due to mutual respect for one another, the four of them were surprisingly on relatively good terms.

“Wu Yangzi’s old residence? It’s good that he has something that he desires; we should be able to use it against him. Why don’t we give him a false location and set up a trap there so as to teach him a lesson? This way, we might be able pull him out of School Head Mo and School Head Zhao’s notice to teach him a lesson!” Xue Zhenyang’s eyes glowed in excitement.

The years of cultivating the True Helios Art had slowly shaped his personality to be more forceful and decisive. If it was something he could resolve easily with brute force, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

“That isn’t safe. If he were to report the matter to School Head Mo and the others afterward, we will surely be punished for it! We have to find a way to make him suffer without having him speaking about it. In order to do so, it will be best if we can find something to threaten him with so that he won’t dare speak of it,” Long Cangyue said.

Unlike Xue Zhenyang’s straightforward personality, Long Cangyue tended to be more thorough and scheming in his actions.

Since Zhang Xuan was favored by School Head Mo and School Head Zhao, it would be safe to assume that they would be inclined to protect him if something happened. Thus, they had to be careful when dealing with him, or else they would suffer two of the Ten Great Master Teachers’ wrath, and that wasn’t a joking matter at all.

Thus… the only way it would be safe for them to strike was to obtain some kind of material they could blackmail him with, so that even if they were to make him to suffer, he wouldn’t dare speak up about it.

A thought came to Dong Xin’s mind, and her eyes lit up.

“Something to threaten him with… That is indeed a good idea! Yaoyao, you are better than us with such matters. I recall there are quite a few students who have crossed the Bewitching Devil Faction over the past few years, and while they ended up suffering immensely for their actions, none of them dared to speak up about it.”

Hu Yaoyao’s reputation in the academy was resounding. This wasn’t just due to her incredible talent in cultivation and her beauty, but for her unconventional means in dealing with problems as well. There were many master teachers who had challenged her authority in the past, but she had managed to resolve them beautifully while giving the other party the humiliation of their life.

“Now that you speak of it, I do have an idea in mind. Doesn’t that fellow like to sell others his favor? Since that’s the case, why don’t I drag his reputation down to his gutters and let him understand the price of offending me, Hu Yaoyao!”

A sharp glint flashed across Hu Yaoyao’s dark eyes as a chilling smile crept onto her face. “And that Luo Qiqi as well. It seems like she cares for her teacher quite a fair bit… If she were to learn how shameless and immoral her teacher is… Let’s see if she will still be able to respect him as before!”

Knowing that Hu Yaoyao would never say anything she was unconfident of, the eyes of the others lit up in excitement.

“Leave this matter to me. However, I want an additional share of that item for dealing with that fellow. This request of mine isn’t too much, isn’t it?” Hu Yaoyao said.

“An additional share?”

“… Fine. As long as you can deal with that fellow, we will give you an additional share!”

The others nodded in agreement.

“That’s good. For the time being, you should focus your efforts on acquiring the Origin Heavy Water. We’ll set off once the preparations are ready. As for Zhang Xuan, just wait for the good news! As long as he wants to know the location of Wu Yangzi’s old residence, he will have no choice but to obey my commands obediently,” Hu Yaoyao said as her lips curled up.

Obey her commands obediently? It seems like she has some plan up her sleeves… Zhang Xuan thought.

Considering how confident Hu Yaoyao sounded, it seemed she had already found a sure-kill way to deal with him.

Zhang Xuan mused over the various possibilities for a moment, but without anything else for him to work with, it was impossible for him to determine the other party’s next course of action. Thus, he could only give up in the end.

If the other party was going to go after him, he would just have to deal with it accordingly when the time came.

At the very least, he did know of the other party’s intentions, so he wouldn’t be caught completely off-guard when something happened.

After Hu Yaoyao and the others were done negotiating, they swiftly left the gazebo and flitted down the hill.

Only after ensuring that everyone was gone did Zhang Xuan finally stand up.

Even though I know that she means me harm, I still have to get the location of Wu Yangzi’s old residence out of her… After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan eventually decided to follow Hu Yaoyao. He activated the Eye of Insight and hurried off in the direction the latter had departed in.

As for the treasure which Hu Yaoyao and the others seemed to be targeting, that had nothing to do with him, so he had no intentions in getting involved either. As for the Heavy Origin Water, since he knew that it was possible to procure it with high-tier spirit stones in Hongyuan City, he would just have to earn sufficient money to purchase it in the future.

Thus, the only thing left for him to do was to find Wu Yangzi’s old residence.

Considering Wu Yangzi’s prestige and standing in Hongyuan City back then, it was likely that his treasure would hold great wealth. Thus, as long as Zhang Xuan could lay his hands on it, he would not need to worry about having insufficient funds for his cultivation anymore.

Following Hu Yaoyao’s trail, he soon arrived at a vast courtyard.

There are so many ladies here…

As Zhang Xuan slowly crept within manor, he soon realized that something was amiss.

For some reason, the number of female students in this manor was disproportionately higher than the male students. Furthermore, each and everyone one of them had an elegant figure and beautiful face.

While they were unable to compete with top beauties in the academy such as Hu Yaoyao and Luo Qiqi, the charm that they exuded would still be irresistible for most men.

The number of male master teachers had always been higher than the number of female master teachers, yet the number of female master teachers here far exceeded the male master teachers. Zhang Xuan found the situation before him completely bizarre.

The density of people increased the further Zhang Xuan progressed, so he had no choice but to slow down in order to avoid detection. It was fortunate that he possessed the Eye of Insight, allowing him to clearly discern the actions of others and take precautions in advance. On top of that, he possessed the Heaven’s Path zhenqi and Red Dust Heaven Ascending Step, allowing him to move discreetly without alarming others.

An hour later…

Following the trail, Zhang Xuan soon found himself penetrating into the depths of the manor.

“Xinru, keep watch for me outside. I will be preparing some things, and I don’t want to be interrupted.”

After advancing a moment longer, Zhang Xuan suddenly a crisp voice ahead of him. It was Hu Yaoyao’s voice. He swiftly rushed to hide behind a huge tree in the vicinity.

Following the source of the voice, he saw Hu Yaoyao standing right before a room.

“Yes!” the lady named Xinru replied with a nod.

Xinru was a young lady in her twenties, and she possessed an exceptional figure and beauty as well.

Is Hu Yaoyao intending to prepare her hand to deal with me? Having eavesdropped on the conversation among Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang, Long Cangyue, and Dong Xin, he knew that Hu Yaoyao was intending to deal with him.

This might be a good opportunity to see what the other party was up to so that he could come up with a suitable countermeasure for it.

With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan slowly flew to the top of the room which Hu Yaoyao was standing before.

His movements were as light as a feather, leaving no sound whatsoever.

Hu!

After landing on the roof, he gently pried open one of the brick tiles above and peeked down.

Just as his gaze fell into the room, Hu Yaoyao stepped into the room as well.

Under the warm glow of the many Night Illumination Pearls embedded in the room, Hu Yaoyao could be seen dressed in a crimson silk robe, which further accentuated her perfect figure.

Her smooth white skin, long and slender neck, exquisitely-shaped earlobes, silky pitch-black hair… No matter how one looked at her, Hu Yaoyao was like a bewitching devil that one couldn’t avert one’s gaze from.

Huala!

Just as Zhang Xuan was staring intently to see what Hu Yaoyao was up to, the other party abruptly walked up to her bedframe and gently pulled at the knot by her waist.

The crimson robe she was wearing immediately slipped down her body, revealing her pristine skin.

From top to bottom, there was not a single piece of cloth on her. Her beautiful figure lay bare in the room.

“…” Zhang Xuan was speechless.

He’d thought that the other party would prepare some kind of artifact or trap to deal with him, so he’d climbed onto the roof to peek on the other party, hoping that he could perhaps use this to blackmail her into revealing Wu Yangzi’s old residence.

Who knew that the other party would strip off her clothes as soon as she returned to the room… This was way too weird!

The sky had darkened just a moment ago, so she couldn’t possibly be intending to go to sleep. But if that was the case, why was she taking off her clothes?

He truly couldn’t understand what was going on in that woman’s head.

Never mind, I shouldn’t look any further! Knowing that his actions would be nothing but despicable if he were to continue peeking, he decisively placed the roof tile back.

If he were to be branded as a perverted peeping Tom because of this matter, that would be truly unfortunate… Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

Hu Yaoyao’s room was situated at the highest point in the area, and it was the largest one as well. Sitting on its roof, he could easily see everything in the other courtyards. In a few of them, he saw a few ladies dressed in resplendent outfits moving about.

Their elegant garments and their bewitching movements left him in an entranced state with just a single glance.

It was only after driving his zhenqi that Zhang Xuan finally recovered, and he immediately fell into deep contemplation.

Could this be… the Terpsichore School?

The fact that they were able to make him momentarily lose his senses through their dancing meant that their gestures carried the ability to beguile souls, and the only occupation in the academy that was capable of such a feat was terpsichore.

This also explained why this manor consisted mainly of women as well.

It will be awkward for me to remain here considering that Hu Yaoyao is naked inside… But since I am already at the Terpsichore School, I might as well pay their library a visit so that I don’t make this trip a waste!

Knowing that it would be suspicious for him to remain here, Zhang Xuan decided to postpone the matter for the moment and visit the library so as to deal with his Innate Fetal Poison.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and began scanning his surroundings. Soon, his gaze fell on a towering building in the distance.

Three elegantly calligraphed words, carrying both elegance and an historic aura, came into sight—Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion.

I should go over to take a look!

With eyes gleaming with excitement, Zhang Xuan flitted off into the darkness.

Chapter 769: Night at the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion was large and majestic, standing tall and conspicuous even amidst the deep darkness of the night.

In several breaths, Zhang Xuan landed on the branch of a large tree just outside the building.

The libraries of the academy require a student token and Academic Credits to enter… Zhang Xuan scratched his head in distress.

He’d thought that he would be able to access the library freely as a student of the academy, but based on what he saw at the entrance of the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Just like the Ocean of Weapons in the Blacksmith School, the doors to the libraries could only open by scanning one’s student token and paying the required amount of Academic Credits. Unfortunately, Zhang Xuan had neither of the two, so it was impossible for him to enter.

If he were to attempt to barge in and trigger some kind of protective formation due to it, he might even attract the attention of the school’s elders, bringing himself trouble.

But I am already here… Am I to return empty-handed? Zhang Xuan muttered in frustration.

The matter regarding his Innate Fetal Poison could not wait. His goal was just standing before him, and if he were to return just like that, he might possibly regret it for life.

Wait… The mechanisms and formations protecting the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion are indeed useful to cultivators, but can it block off souls? After all, souls are intangible existences, rendering most mechanisms and formations ineffective against them. Perhaps, I might be able to enter the premises this way… Zhang Xuan thought.

Based on Zhang Xuan’s analysis, it seemed like the formations and mechanisms around the library could only sense tangible beings. As such, it might be possible for him to sneak in as a soul.

Furthermore, while he could only duplicate books in the Library of Heaven’s Path by touching them in the past, with the new upgrades it had just undergone, he could replicate them just by laying his eyes on them… In other words, even with just his soul, he could gather every single book in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion into the Library of Heaven’s Path easily!

Let me give it a try!

The more Zhang Xuan thought about it, the more excited he became by the idea. Thus, he hid his body well amidst dense shrubs before drawing his soul out.

As if an apparition of the night, his soul gradually approached the tightly shut doors of the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion silently. At its entrance, he saw several students standing guard to keep away intruders.

Despite the intangible nature of souls, they were still bound by the laws of the world. One of the manifestations of such a phenomenon was their inability to pass through concrete walls, and unfortunately for Zhang Xuan, the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion was made of an airtight material which prevented even souls from slipping through.

Just as he was contemplating about how he could enter, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him as a figure approached the doors of the library.

The figure walked up to the doors and bowed deeply to the several students at the entrance.

“Seniors, I would like to access the library to check some information.”

She was a lady in her thirties, and the master teacher emblem pinned on her chest had five stars on it.

5-star low-tier master teacher, she was a Grade-2 student.

One of the seniors glanced at her and said, “Your student token and Academic Credit Token!”

Most likely, the seniors standing guard at the entrance were taking this job as a way to earn additional Academic Credits to finance their expenditure.

“Yes!” The student quickly passed her student token and Academic Credits Token over.

A moment later, the senior nodded and said, “You are a Grade-2 student, so you can only browse through the books of Grade-3 and below. If you attempt to look at any book beyond that tier, you will be expelled from the library immediately. On top of that, you are only given twenty hours of reading time for each Academic Token you spend, and you are not allowed to take out any books from the library.”

“Yes!” The student nodded in response.

As a Grade-2 student of the Master Teacher Academy, she was accustomed to the rules of the library.

“Ok, you may enter now!”

After emphasizing on the rules, the senior waved her hand to gesture that the student may pass. Carrying her student token and Academic Credit Token, the student walked up to a stone pedestal in front of the doors and placed them on it. Jiya! The doors to the library opened.

This is a good opportunity for me to enter as well!

Upon seeing a chance to slip into the building, Zhang Xuan immediately got to action and dived in behind the student as well.

After entering the doors, a vast hall immediately appeared before his eyes. The walls were embedded with Night Illumination Pearls of all sizes, making its interiors as bright as day.

Shelves of books were positioned orderly in the hall, and the books on them were innumerable.

As expected of the Master Teacher Academy! Their collection of books is indeed astounding… Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Terpsichore was one of the more remote occupations, so the number of books on them was severely limited. However, the members of the Master Teacher Academy were all master teachers who had unique insights and comprehension of their own. Over time, more and more books had been added to the collection, resulting in the impressive compendium that lay before him at this very instant.

“I should collect them all first and look at them later…”

Considering the number of books that were in the library, it would take a considerable amount of time if he had to go through them one by one.

Zhang Xuan’s soul moved to the very first bookshelf at the corner and began scanning through them.

Flaws!

Muttering in his head, he could feel that book after book was being replicated in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

It was as if his eyes were scanners, allowing him to replicate the content within books entirely just by laying his eyes on them. This allowed him to copy books at a rate far quicker than he did by running.

This is really great! Zhang Xuan thought excitedly.

Hualala!

Books were filling up the shelves in the Library of Heaven’s Path at an unprecedented rate.

Four hours later, Zhang Xuan was finally done taking in all of the books in the hall, and he compiled them into a Heaven’s Path manual.

On to the second floor…

After Zhang Xuan was done with the first floor, he proceeded on to the second floor.

There were significantly fewer books here than on the first floor, but the content covered within them was more profound.

Just like apothecaries and blacksmiths, terpsichores were also ranked from 1-star to 9-star. Contained on the first floor was the basic knowledge regarding dancing from apprentice to 4-star pinnacle whereas the second floor contained the dancing art and cultivation technique manuals corresponding to 5-star primary terpsichores.

Zhang Xuan took all of the books on the shelves into the Library of Heaven’s Path without any hesitation.

Two hours later, he was done collecting the books on the second level.

Continuing on…

It wasn’t easy for him to come to get into the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, so it would be a huge shame if he didn’t make use of this opportunity to take in as many books as he could. Thus, he hurried off to the third floor.

Technically speaking, a Grade-1 student was only allowed to browse through the books on the first and second floor. This rule was set by the academy in order to discourage ambitious students from attempting what was far beyond their capability, and various measures were implemented to enforce it.

However, while these measures could stop students, they couldn’t do the same to souls. With a thought, Zhang Xuan’s soul turned into a stream that flowed right through the formation blockading the stairs and arrived at the next floor.

There were even fewer books on the third floor, and Zhang Xuan finished them in just an hour.

After which, he did the same for the fourth, fifth, and sixth floor.

It only took him another two hours to collect the books on the remaining three floors.

In other words, in less than ten hours, he had made duplicates of the innumerable books in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion in his head!

With a slight smile on his face, Zhang Xuan thought in satisfaction, I will examine them carefully when I return to my residence!

He had been thinking that he would have to pay a visit to the Terpsichore School someday to browse through the books, but who could have known that he would accomplish this while following behind Hu Yaoyao?

Furthermore, now that he had learned that he could easily access the libraries in the Master Teacher Academy through his soul, wouldn’t he be able to do so for the other schools as well?

If that is the case, I should be able to cover all of the books in the ten schools within ten days. By then, I would have sufficient books to push my cultivation to higher realms as well, perhaps even reaching Saint realm. With that, my work at the Master Teacher Academy will be done! Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in agitation.

As long as he had sufficient books to compile the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, advancing his cultivation would be as easy as eating and drinking.

The main reason he had chosen to enroll in the Master Teacher Academy was so that he could access their trove of books.

The upgrade of his Library of Heaven’s Path had truly come at an ideal time.

With this, he would be able to access the knowledge from the various school as he pleased, and his lack of Academic Credits wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

Ten days should be enough for him to cover everything in the Master Teacher Academy. After compiling them into the respective Heaven’s Path manuals, he would be able to make a breakthrough both in his cultivation and master teacher ranking.

Just the thought of advancing six realms— the Perfect Harmonization realm, Void Treading realm, Chrysalis realm, Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, and Saint realm—and bringing the ten supporting occupations to 6-star pinnacle left his heart trembling in excitement…

I should go through the terpsichore books first…

However, Zhang Xuan knew that it wouldn’t be as simple as that. Thus, shrugging the thought off with a smile, he turned his consciousness back to the Library of Heaven’s Path.

Hu!

New Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art manuals appeared before his eyes.

There was a total of six of them, consisting of books from 1-star to 6-star.

Let me see if the portions regarding souls…

Zhang Xuan turned his gaze outside swiftly and noticed that the sun was already setting. It didn’t seem like there would be sufficient time for him to learn the entire Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art, so he chose to focus his attention on those regarding souls instead.

Huala!

On Zhang Xuan’s will, the books regarding soul cultivation flew from the shelves and gathered in front of him.

Compile! he commanded silently, and yet another book appeared before him.

This was the book that could potentially suppress the Innate Fetal Poison in his soul. Unable to suppress his agitation, Zhang Xuan immediately started browsing through it.

It didn’t take long for him to finish reading it all.

By then, his face was already looking incredibly awful.

These are only methods to strengthen one’s soul, and they aren’t even complete. They won’t be much help in dealing with the Innate Fetal Poison…

The books he had collected were sufficient to form a Heaven’s Path manual, but it was only effective in strengthening one’s soul. Against the Innate Fetal Poison, it was nearly completely useless.

In other words, after all the effort he had put in that night, he didn’t have a way counter the Innate Fetal Poison to alleviate the threat he was under yet.

What do I do now… Zhang Xuan thought frustratedly.

To him, the most urgent matter at hand was to suppress the Innate Fetal Poison in his soul. Otherwise, if the Innate Fetal Poison was triggered on a whim, that might very well be the day he would breathe his last breath.

He’d thought that, given the nature of the terpsichore occupation, the terpsichores would possess a deep understanding of souls, and he might be able to find a solution to his problems here.

But it seemed like he was being too naive.

If the Innate Fetal Poison could be dealt with that easily, Empyrean Kong shi wouldn’t have to rush all the way to become a 9-star master teacher to resolve it properly. He would have long found a solution before then.

Nevertheless, these methods are still effective in building up the resilience of one’s soul. I should try to compile them with the soul oracle techniques and see if I can perfect them!

The soul cultivation techniques he had obtained from Mo Hunsheng ranged from Transcendent Mortal 1-dan to 9-dan, but he didn’t have enough books to complete them then. Perhaps, if he were to fuse these books together with them, he might be able to compile new Heaven’s Path Soul Art manuals.

Currently, the strongest Heaven’s Path Soul Art manual he had was still at Consonant Spirit realm, so his soul cultivation was still capped there as well. With the new books he had gathered, it was worth giving it a shot.

Compile!

Zhang Xuan tried putting the books together with his soul cultivation technique manuals.

Hula!

Two new books appeared before Zhang Xuan’s gaze. He swiftly grabbed them and flipped them open.

“These are the Cosmos Bridge realm and Perfect Harmonization realm soul cultivation techniques. There are… no flaws at all! They have reached the level of Heaven’s Path!” Looking at the content of the books, Zhang Xuan nearly burst out laughing out of sheer delight.

He’d thought that his trip had been a wasted one, but who would have thought that he’d be able to compile the 6-dan and 7-dan Heaven’s Path Soul Art manuals using the books he had gathered from the library?

With these two books, he would be able to advance his soul cultivation to Perfect Harmonization realm, thus enhancing his fighting prowess significantly.

Even though the advancement of his soul cultivation wouldn’t be able to resolve the threat concerning the Innate Fetal Poison, it would at least help to suppress the Innate Fetal Poison a bit.

It seems like it’s already morning. Time for me to return…

By the time Zhang Xuan was done, the brilliant radiance of the sun rays was already spilling in from the eastern horizon of the skyline. It was dawn.

Chapter 770: 6-star Terpsichore

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

One of the reasons Zhang Xuan was able to slip into the Terpsichore School in the first place was due to the concealment of the night. Even with his aura hidden by utilizing the unique nature of his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, there was a huge chance that someone might spot him if he were to attempt to sneak off in the day.

If he didn’t leave right now, he would be stuck in the library once the crowd start spilling into the school.

Thus, without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan’s soul rushed to the first floor of the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, heading for the doors.

The student whom he entered with was still busily looking through the shelves. However, judging from the deep frown on her forehead, it seemed she hadn’t found the book she was seeking yet.

Zhang Xuan didn’t know what she needed, so he couldn’t help her even if he wanted to. Thus, he headed straight for the main door.

Hmm?

Zhang Xuan walked up to the door and tried to open it, but to his alarm, it wouldn’t budge.

In order to prevent any unauthorized personnel from entering the premises, a special mechanism was installed to ensure that the doors wouldn’t open to without the presence of a student token and Academic Credit token. Unless one possessed strength beyond the level of a Half-Saint, it would be impossible to open!

Zhang Xuan was only able to get in earlier by following the student in front of him. As long as no one tried to enter or leave the library, he would be trapped within!

What do I do now? Zhang Xuan thought frustratedly.

It was still dawn, so there were still very few people in the Terpsichore School at the moment. If he were to delay it any longer, he might very well be found!

For an unaffiliated individual to be snooping around the Terpsichore School in the early morning, there was no way he could explain that!

But if it wasn’t opened, the formations and mechanisms constructed around the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion were more than sufficient to prevent a soul like him from leaving even if they weren’t able to perceive him.

Zhang Xuan turned to look at the student in the library worriedly, but the latter didn’t seem like she was about to leave anytime soon. Sighing deeply, he could only continue to wait patiently.

Forget it, there’s no use worrying over this. I should just make use of this time to study the Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art…

Since there was nothing he could do in this situation, he decided to find a quiet spot in the library and immerse his consciousness in the Library of Heaven’s Path to read through the terpsichorean books he had just compiled.

He had a full compilation of Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art from 1-star to 6-star, and detailed within them were the cultivation techniques for the various terpsichorean arts.

Since he couldn’t do anything else at the moment, he flipped open the 1-star Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art and began browsing through it seriously.

With the new upgrade of his Library of Heaven’s Path, he could take in the content of a book just by flipping open the book, thus allowing him to understand and assimilate the essence of it even faster than before.

To become a terpsichore, one must have a powerful soul and a dance that is nearly aligned with nature in order to draw it out… The purpose of dancing is to enhance the strength of the soul to the utmost limit, thus drawing out its full might…

The knowledge regarding terpsichores flowed through his head.

Before long, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

He had fully assimilated the knowledge regarding the 1-star Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art.

In other words, even if he were to take the examination at this very instant, he would be able to clear the 1-star terpsichore examination easily.

The prowess of a terpsichore was highly dependent on their soul, and Zhang Xuan had cultivated his soul to be beyond ten meters large. The level that others could hardly reach in their life, he could achieve it as easily as merely eating or drinking.

Drawing his consciousness out of the Library of Heaven’s Path, Zhang Xuan noted that the student was still busy looking for her book and had no intentions of leaving yet. Thus, he moved on to study the 2-star Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art.

While martial artists wield their battle techniques, and terpsichores wield their terpsichorean arts. Terpsichores essentially aim to utilize their art form as a weapon for murder. The world trembles beneath a dance, and in the next moment, a soul perishes. The dance serves as a medium for terpsichores to engage in soul attacks…

Reading the content in the book, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Terpsichorean arts, just like the soul techniques of soul oracles and the Impartation of Heaven’s Will, were offensive techniques for dealing with souls. But different from the others, terpsichores utilized their dance as a medium to amplify the effectiveness of their offense.

… Since it serves as a medium, does it mean that, once one reaches the very peak, one will be able to engage in powerful soul attacks even without using the dance as a medium?

As Zhang Xuan continued to read on, a certain line appeared before him.

Engage in powerful soul attacks even without using the dance as a medium? Does that mean… the Swordless Realm? Zhang Xuan thought in agitation.

He might not know much about terpsichorean arts yet, but he did have some mastery in the field of swordsmanship. Based on what he knew, if one were to cultivate their swordsmanship to the peak, they would be able to utilize even a blade of grass or a pebble by the roadside as a sword. Going further, they might even be able to execute the full prowess of a sword art without a weapon in hand.

That was to say, the sword only served as a medium in order to execute the techniques. Even without a sword in hand, one could still execute a sword art, perhaps even more fluidly, completely, and agilely.

What Zhang Xuan was reading was very unlike the knowledge imparted in the conventional books that terpsichores read. His road of cultivation was directed toward the ultimate endpoint—for the swordless to surpass any sword, for the formless to surpass any form.

Reading on…

“…Terpsichorean arts aim to utilize movements as a medium to engage in soul attacks. In essence, even walking and the slightest gestures could be considered as movements, so they could, as well, be considered as terpsichorean arts…”

“A true terpsichore dances not with a routine set of movements but with even the most casual of gestures…”

…

Before long, Zhang Xuan was done browsing through the book.

He closed eyes to slowly savor and comprehend the knowledge he had just taken in.

Geji! Geji!

Crisp echoes sounded from his soul as a new world unfolded around him.

2-star terpsichore, reached!

Continue!

The more Zhang Xuan studied, the more excited he became. Thus, he went on to finish the remaining books as well.

Four hours later, he was done browsing through all of the books and assimilating their knowledge.

As if his massive soul had been tempered, it looked much more transparent and purer.

Terpsichores utilize their dance as a means to beguile, enchant, attack, or even kill the soul of another… Even though Zhang Xuan had never learnt terpsichorean arts before, he had comprehended the most profound and innate essence of the occupation. Currently, his knowledge regarding the occupation was unmatched by anyone beneath 7-star.

If he were to take the examination at this very moment, he would definitely qualify for 6-star pinnacle.

I finished the books much faster than I would have before! Zhang Xuan thought.

In the past, it would have taken him at least twelve hours in order to learn another occupation from scratched to 6-star pinnacle.

However, he did it with terpsichore using only six hours.

Where is that student? Standing up, Zhang Xuan glanced around the room to search for the female student who was in the library with him, and he suddenly froze.

The vast Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion was empty, and not a single person was in sight.

The heck! When did she leave? Widening his eyes in shock, Zhang Xuan nearly fainted.

He had been too immersed in his cultivation that he hadn’t noticed that the student whom he had followed in had already left!

As the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion required Academic Credits to enter, there was rarely anyone in it. From his arrival last night until now, this student was the only one who had entered the premises. Now that she was gone, how was he supposed to leave the area?

Was he going to be locked in there for several days straight?

Zhang Xuan felt a tinge of helplessness.

What the heck was this! If only he’d known, he wouldn’t have immersed himself so deeply into his cultivation.

It’s nothing much for me to be confined here, but my body is still in the vicinity. If someone were to find it, I will be in deep trouble…

As a soul, he was highly indiscernible and was unaffected by the mechanisms and formations governing the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, so being trapped here wasn’t too much of an issue for him.

The problem was his body.

Even though he had hidden it in the best spot he could find, it would be a stretch to say that it would be able to hide from the discerning eyes of the many master teachers of the Terpsichore School for extended periods of time, especially in the day.

It would be a calamity if he were to be found by anyone.

Seeing that it was already nearing noon, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold himself back any longer. He rushed up to the door, hoping to find a gap or any other openings which he could escape through.

However, after circling around the entire Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, he could only sigh deeply in frustration.

Looks like there really is no way for me to escape…

The mechanisms and formations set up in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion were extremely powerful, and it was impossible for anyone to force them open.

If Zhang Xuan’s physical body was there, he could’ve compiled a book on them just by touching them, and exploiting its flaws, he would have been able to escape easily.

Incapable of touch, however, his soul was unable to do so.

His Eye of Insight was currently too weak to see through the formation and mechanisms as well… Was he doomed to continue waiting helplessly here until someone arrived?

Zhang Xuan’s eyes twitched as helplessness washed over him.

Forget it, I will just continue to wait. Surely there will be someone who will visit the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion by the end of the day…

Since Zhang Xuan was unable to find a better solution to his dilemma, he could only resign himself to fate. Just as he was about to find a place to bide his time, ‘jiya!’, the doors suddenly creaked open.

Hmm? Someone is here?

Not expecting that someone would arrive that quickly, Zhang Xuan leaped up in excitement. He hurriedly rushed behind the doors to hide as he waited for an opportunity to rush out of the library.

Hu!

A resplendently dressed lady carrying a graceful disposition walked into the room.

After stepping across the threshold, she was just about to walk toward the shelves when her eyebrows suddenly knitted together. She glanced at the direction where Zhang Xuan was hidden and howled, “Who is it? Come out!”

Sensing her gaze on him, Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened in tension.

It should have been hard for anyone to notice him in his soul form, especially since he was lying dormant in the corner. Yet, the other party had actually noticed him instantly. How could that be?

A Saint realm expert? Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed warily.

There was only one possibility for this—the other party was a Saint realm expert!

With the breakthrough to Saint realm, one would gain a certain level of comprehension regarding the nature of space. Even though Zhang Xuan had concealed his presence well, his disguise was not perfect due to the limitations of his cultivation. For one, the flow of spiritual energy where he was standing would be slightly disturbed due to the presence of his soul, thus betraying his presence.

“What? You aren’t going to come out?” Frowning deeply, the lady harrumphed coldly as she raised her palm and grabbed toward the space where Zhang Xuan was situated.

Hong long!

A sudden burst of zhenqi abruptly froze everything in place. Zhang Xuan felt an immense pressure strangling him, threatening to dissipate his soul.

As big as his soul was, it only possessed the cultivation of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan pinnacle. That was far from matching up to a Saint realm expert!

They were two completely different levels!

Escape!

Knowing that he would die if he were to allow the other party to do as he pleased, he immediately drove his cultivation, and with a powerful burst of strength, he managed to barely break free of the other party’s restraint. Without any hesitation whatsoever, he rushed right for the doors.

Hong long!

The movement of his immense soul disturbed the spiritual energy in the surroundings, stirring up a burst of wind in the surroundings

“This is… a soul?” The lady’s face turned grim.

While she did sense a presence in the room, she’d only thought that it was someone who had used some kind of technique or ability to conceal their presence. She’d never even considered the possibility that it would be a soul.

Soul oracles had already vanished several dozen millenniums ago. For one to suddenly appear in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion… where could he have come from? And what was he up to?

“Where do you think you are going…” With a sharp shout, the lady darted forward to grab the escaping soul.

Hong long!

With a Saint realm expert exerting her full might, the space within several thousand meters was immediately sealed in place.

This is truly bad…

After barely darting out of the library, Zhang Xuan was just about to escape into the air when the area around him suddenly turned incredibly viscous. It was as if he had fallen in a marsh. As much as he tried, he just wouldn’t move.

Is this the ability of Saint realm experts, ‘Zhenqi Spatial Lock’?

Zhang Xuan stiffened tensely.

Chapter 771: The Foolish Deeds of the Body

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Saint realm experts possessed the ability to seal space, leaving those who were within the area of its effect feeling as if they had fallen into an ocean of mud. Limited by the spatial lockdown, they would only be able to utilize a tenth of their original movement speed and strength.

This ability was known as Zhenqi Spatial Lock, and only Saint realm experts were able to overcome it.

With an awful look on his face, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and continued trudging forth.

However, with his speed being reduced to a tenth under the effects of the Zhenqi Spatial Lock, his speed was barely any different from that of a snail.

“Trying to escape me? Dream on!” With a light harrumph, the lady flicked her fingers thrice toward Zhang Xuan.

Peng peng peng!

A powerful shockwave engulfed the area around Zhang Xuan, and he immediately felt a stifling sensation in his chest. His massive soul trembled uncontrollably as a splitting headache assaulted his consciousness. It felt as if he was going to lose control of his body at any moment.

A soul attack… Zhang Xuan thought with a grave expression.

With three simple flicks, the lady was able to inflict grievous injuries upon Zhang Xuan’s soul. Considering her skillful use of the soul attack, she must be one of the upper echelons governing the Terpsichore School, perhaps an elder or even higher.

I must return to my body this very instant or else I might really end up being killed by her… A chilling sensation swept over Zhang Xuan as he realized the dire situation he was in.

If it had been any other Saint realm expert he was dealing with, and this was inclusive of the Ten Great Master Teachers such as School Head Mo and School Head Zhao, it would have been difficult for the other party to wound his soul.

Due to the soul’s intangibility, it couldn’t be hurt by physical means. Only those who wielded soul offense techniques could possibly inflict damage upon a soul.

To Zhang Xuan’s misfortune, the person he was facing was an upper echelon of the Terpsichore School, which meant that she had a thorough understanding of souls. To such a person, erasing his soul from existence was no difficult feat.

If his soul were to dissipate, that would be complete and utter death. There would be zero possibility that he could come back to life.

There was no way he could survive the attacks of a Saint realm terpsichore as a soul, so the only chance he had at surviving this ordeal was to return back to his physical body.

This would reveal the location of his body, but he had no other option at the moment.

After all, this was a much better alternative than having his soul dissipated on the spot.

Bearing the excruciating pain his soul was in, he rushed right for the tree at the courtyard, where his body was located. However, before he could get far, he heard yet another harrumph beneath him. “You still wish to continue on?”

Huala!

The lady raised her palm and thrusted it at the air several times.

An overwhelming force tore through space and struck Zhang Xuan. For an instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if he had been struck by a comet, and his soul flipped several times in the air, nearly ripped apart by the sheer force of the attack.

It was fortunate that his large soul had allowed him to distribute the immense force across his soul body, thus reducing the severity of the damage he sustained. At the same time, as a cultivator of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, his soul energy was particularly pure, granting exceptional resilience to his soul. Otherwise, he would surely have been killed under the blow.

But even though he had managed to survive the attack, he still felt as if someone had attempted to tear his soul into two, and the wounds on his soul had worsened as well.

Knowing that he would surely die without fail if the other party were to continue attacking, Zhang Xuan intended to make another charge for his body behind the tree when an idea popped into his mind, and he held himself still.

The might of the other party’s attack was more than sufficient to kill any ordinary soul oracle. It was only due to the immense size and exceptional resilience of his soul that he was able to remain intact.

If he were to attempt another charge for his body, the other party would surely sense his presence and be astounded by the durability of his soul. In response to that, she would execute an even stronger attack against him. If this were to happen, regardless of how big or resilient his soul was, the only fate awaiting him was death.

But… if he could make the other party think that she had managed to kill him, he just might be able to escape with his life…

As expected, when he paused in the air and manipulated his soul to emulate a dissipated soul, the lady looked visibly relieved.

Sensing the lack of movement in the air, the lady suddenly recalled something, and her face darkened.

“Soul oracles betrayed humanity back then, opting to become a weapon for the Otherworldly Demons. For one of them to appear here at this moment… could it be related to that incident? If that’s the case, I shouldn’t have killed it immediately…”

Countless years ago, the soul oracles and their heritage were wiped clean from the face of the earth by the Master Teacher Pavilion. If anything related to them was still existent in the world, the chances were that the Otherworldly Demons were involved in the matter as well.

For a soul oracle to appear right after the incident at Leiyuan Peak, no matter how she looked at the matter, it was impossible for the two incidents to be unrelated!

Realizing that she had allowed a potential clue leading her to Byzantium Helios Beast slip through her fingers, she couldn’t help but regret her impulsive actions.

At this instant, the lady suddenly recalled something.

“Wait… if that person is a soul oracle, why would he try to escape from the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion at this time? But if he isn’t a soul oracle, what else can he be?”

Soul oracles were of the yin attribute, which made them highly vulnerable to yang energy. As a result, they dared not appear in broad daylight, or else they would be putting themselves at risk of being seared by the sun rays.

Even if they managed to survive the exposure to the sun rays, they would be in for a round of excruciating pain and a sharp decline in their cultivation afterwards due to the Searing Yang Decline.

Considering how that the other party had rushed out as soon as he found an opportunity to do so, he clearly did not fear the sun… Could that mean that he wasn’t a soul oracle?

But if that was the case, what else could he be?

As a Saint realm expert, she knew that the world was far larger than she could ever imagine. There were many unique occupations with mystical means that ordinary cultivators could hardly fathom. Even with her broad knowledge base, she dared not outright refute the possibility of anything.

For example, she had heard of a species of saint beast known as the Weakscaled Beast. It was a massive beast with an exterior as dark as ink, making it a conspicuous existence no matter where it went. However, as soon as it stepped into water, its body would immediately turn completely transparent, as if it was invisible.

Could the fellow she had just encountered be such a lifeform as well?

This was a plausible hypothesis as well.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful a soul oracle was, a human’s soul couldn’t possibly expand to be beyond ten meters large, right?

That would be sheer insanity!

Upon that realization, the lady’s eyes suddenly widened in astonishment. “Damn it, that would mean that fellow is feigning death!”

If her enemy was truly a soul oracle, there was little doubt that her soul attack would have ripped the other party apart. However, if her enemy was a saint beast instead, it would be likely that it would possess thick and tough skin that granted it superior defenses. If so, it was unlikely that her soul attack would have been able to kill the other party.

In other words… there was a good chance that the other party was feigning death!

“Trying to fool me? Don’t even think about it!”

With a livid expression, the lady raised her leg and stomped forcefully on the ground.

Hong long!

The earth immediately shook intensely as waves of zhenqi surged into the surroundings as if searing heat waves.

She noticed it?

For a moment, Zhang Xuan had thought that he’d managed to fool the other party. However, upon hearing those words, he realized that his deception had failed. Left with no choice, he was just about to attempt another dash for his physical body when one of the branches of a certain tree abruptly shook…

Putong!

A corpse-like figure suddenly fell face-down from the tree, creating a huge depression on the ground.

Upon seeing the sight, Zhang Xuan nearly fainted from utter horror.

Who else could that figure be if not his body!

He’d thought it would be safe to hide his body amidst the trees, but that lady’s attack had caused the trees to sway, resulting in his body falling from its hiding spot.

It was just a few moments ago that he was still thinking that even though his soul had been discovered, as long as his body remained hidden, he would still be safe. After all, considering the fact that souls were intangible, it was impossible to see their true form without the Eye of Insight. Thus, as long as his soul could flee for the time being, returning only after the storm had cleared to fetch his body, he would be able to get away scot-free.

However, with his body faceplanted in the ground right before the other party, his identity was already compromised. There was no way he would be able to remain in the Master Teacher Academy anymore!

“Who are you?”

While Zhang Xuan was feeling so frustrated that he could spew blood, the lady howled in astonishment and immediately raised her palm to strike the fallen body.

Hong long!

A violent torrent of zhenqi that harnessing destructive might fell upon Zhang Xuan.

Now that her attention is away from me, I should make use of this opportunity to return back to my body…

Knowing that this was the only chance he was going to get, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and immediately rushed for his body. But at that moment, his faceplanted body abruptly placed its palms against the ground to push itself up before flitting away swiftly.

Its speed was so fast that its movements were a blur.

Heaven’s Path Movement Art!

This is… Mind of Void…

Upon seeing the sight before him, Zhang Xuan’s soul swayed weakly. If souls could faint, he would probably have fainted there and then.

Having comprehended Mind of Void, his body could move instinctively in times of danger even if its soul was not in it.

Realizing the immense might behind the other party’s palm, his body gauged that it wasn’t the other party’s match, so it immediately fled so as to avert the danger.

Looking at the distant back of his body, Zhang Xuan nearly burst into tears.

The heck!

If you had just waited a split second longer, I would have already freaking returned back to my body! Think of what an awkward situation you have left me in…

Furthermore, with the speed you are fleeing at via the Heaven’s Path Movement Art, how am I to catch up with you?

Zhang Xuan’s soul was only at Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle whereas his body possessed the cultivation of Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle. Pair that with the Heaven’s Path Movement Art and Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps… If his body were to flee with all its might, the distance between them would only grow further and further!

Screw this!

“You scoundrel, where do you think you are running off to?”

Seeing the young man who had fallen from the tree running away, the lady nearly exploded from fury. Pushing against the ground, she soared into the sky and pursued the fleeing figure.

With the incredible speed Zhang Xuan’s body was traveling at via the Heaven’s Path Movement Art, even the lady had to dash with all her might in order to keep up with him.

Hurry up and catch him!

Seeing the lady rushing for his body, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. The next moment, however, a bizarre expression appeared on its face as what he had just asked for dawned on him.

The hell!

To be cheering when another was attempting to capture his body… There was just some kind of inexplicable peculiarity to the situation.

This was all that foolish body’s fault! If not for it, why would he be in such a dilemma now?

Wait a moment… If my body is caught, it will be even more difficult for me to slip back into it…

After a moment of depression, Zhang Xuan suddenly realized that even if his body were to be caught, the lady would never allow his soul to slip into his body. Thus, he immediately rushed off to chase his body as well.

However, the next sight he saw left him dumbfounded. His body was crashing through wall after wall as it fled with all its might.

Calm down, stop doing that! Zhang Xuan bellowed within as he watched the sight before him with an aching heart.

All actions conducted under the effects of Mind of Void was instinctive, so it was impossible for it to conduct precise movements like a living human. Even so, to be crashing straight through walls, that was a little over the top!

You are supposed to save me from danger, not to leave my body bruised all over!

Even if you get out of this situation alive, if you leave my body mortally wounded in exchange, what good will you have done?

“You better stop right there!” Just as Zhang Xuan was wallowing in self-pity at his unfortunate plight, the lady ahead of him caught up to his body. With a flick of her hand, several surges of zhenqi gathered and sealed the space around his body, forming an invisible cage around it.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Sensing the immense threat looming over it, his body executed the Heaven’s Path Fist Art in an attempt to break open the cage. However, with just a total might of 16,000,000 ding from his zhenqi cultivation and physical body, it was impossible for him to break the zhenqi cage constructed by a Saint realm expert.

Knowing that the other party wouldn’t be able to break free of her Zhenqi Spatial Lock, the lady turned to the figure before her and asked with a sharp glint in her eyes, “Who are you? Why were you snooping around the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion?”

Peng peng peng peng!

Naturally, Zhang Xuan’s body, driven only by its instincts, was unable to answer the question. It continued striking the cage frenziedly, creating loud sonic booms.

“You are courting death!”

Seeing that the other party actually dared to snub her, the lady’s face flushed crimson in rage. She raised her hand, and a destructive force swiftly gathered on her palm.

From the looks of it, if the figure before her continued to remain silent, she would simply kill him.

Mind of Void was an ability that only the most powerful soul oracles possessed. However, with the disappearance of the soul oracles and their heritage, the knowledge regarding Mind of Void had vanished as well. This was the reason—despite being a Saint and a 6-star pinnacle master teacher—the lady was unable to tell that the figure standing before her was just a soulless body incapable of speech.

If my body is smashed into minced meat, it will be of no use even if I do get it back…

At this moment, Zhang Xuan finally arrived at the scene. Seeing that the lady preparing her hand to smash his body into pieces, his soul nearly dissipated from fright. Not daring to waste a single second, he immediately dived straight through the cage and into the glabella of his body.

Unlike the Zhenqi Spatial Lock, the zhenqi cage didn’t harness the spatial laws of the world and could only block physical beings. It couldn’t interfere in the passageway of a soul at all.

As soon as his soul entered his body, he immediately saw immense energy gathered on the lady’s palm that was on the verge of landing on him, so he hurriedly had his body stop whatever he was doing. Clasping his fist, he spoke resoundingly, “Elder, thank you for helping me suppress my inner demons, sparing me from the fate of going berserk…”

Chapter 772: Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

The reactions his body made was simply too unnatural that he could only attempt to pass it off as his inner demons acting up. Otherwise, there was no other way he could explain his unnatural actions.

Naturally, he couldn’t talk about Mind of Void either as it was intricately linked with the soul oracles.

As for the soul the other party noticed earlier, as long as he adamantly denied it, there was no way the other party could investigate the matter and trace it back to him.

“Inner demons?”

As expected, upon hearing those words, the lady in the sky dissipated the violent energy in her hand. However, given that she didn’t dispel the zhenqi cage, it seemed that she still carried some doubts towards Zhang Xuan’s words.

From the looks of it, it seemed that she was intending to hear Zhang Xuan’s story out, but if she were to detect any falsehood in his words, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

“Indeed. I am a freshman of this academy, and I was intending to enter the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion to read up on some books so as to prepare myself for the terpsichore examination. However, on my way here, an inspiration suddenly struck me, and in order to prevent others from interrupting me, I can only hide on a tree for the time being…” Zhang Xuan explained.

“Sudden inspiration?” The lady frowned.

Cultivators did have moments of sudden enlightenment from time to time, and they disappeared as abruptly as they appeared. Thus, it was important for one to muse over it as soon as possible so as to not allow it to slip their minds. For this purpose, the academy had built innumerable gazebos all over the academy so as to allow students to rush in and focus their attention on developing their sudden inspiration.

If that fellow really had a sudden stroke of inspiration, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for him to hide in the midst of the trees for fear of being interrupted.

“What is the relationship between you and the thing hiding in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion then?”

But of course, just because it was logical didn’t mean that it was necessarily true. Ultimately, this was just a one-sided story from the other party. She wasn’t ready to believe it so easily.

It was just a moment ago that she spotted an uninvited guest within the library, and the next moment, this fellow fell from the tree. It was difficult to believe that the both of them weren’t related!

“Pardon me, but I am not very sure what elder is asking me. I was in the midst of pondering about the details regarding the [Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe] 1 when a stroke of inspiration hit me, but due to a slight mistake I made, my cultivation almost went berserk. I have only recovered from my berserk state just a moment ago, so I’m not too sure what has happened in between…” Zhang Xuan replied sheepishly.

It was best for him to feign ignorance and deny his involvement vehemently right from the start. Once it was established that he was involved in the incident, the matter could potentially spiral out of his control.

“Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe? That is a grade-6 terpsichorean art that only 6-star terpsichores are able to comprehend. What is a freshman like you pondering over it for? Are you taking me for a fool?” The lady harrumphed in displeasure.

The fellow before her was seemed to be only in his early twenties, and he had also just said for himself that he was a freshman of the academy. Yet, he also said that he was musing over a grade-6 terpsichorean art. It was obvious that there was a clear contradiction in his words, so it was inevitable that she would get even more suspicious of him.

Thus, she began gathering power in her palm once again, ready to make a move should the other party fail to come up with a good explanation for his words.

But on the other hand, seeing that he had managed to divert the other party’s attention away from the appearance of his soul in the library, he heaved a sigh of relief within. After which, he flicked his wrist and took out an emblem, “Even though I am a freshman, I am a 6-star blacksmith as well. Thus, it shouldn’t be too bizarre for me to be musing over a grade-6 terpsichorean art, right?”

“6-star blacksmith?” Seeing the six shining stars on the emblem, the lady frowned.

The emblems were made out of a special material, making it impossible to falsify them. In other words, the other party was truly a 6-star blacksmith.

Blacksmith was one of the Upper Nine Paths occupations. Considering that he was even able to achieve such heights as a blacksmith, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise for him to be musing over a grade-6 terpsichorean art.

“Yes. The Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe is one of the stronger grade-6 terpsichorean arts, and if executed well, it can even beguile a Saint realm expert, leaving him deep in a trance. However, after analyzing it for some time, I realized that despite the impressive prowess of the technique, it has several conspicuous flaws that need to be corrected.”

Seeing that he had managed to capture the other party’s attention, a faint smile crept onto Zhang Xuan’s lips as he continued, “Firstly, just as the name ‘Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe’ suggests, the technique requires resplendent clothes and accessories in order to maximize its effectiveness. However, if you were to find yourself placed in a dangerous position abruptly and a battle was imminent, would your opponent give you time to change your clothes and accessories to prepare for battle? This is the greatest flaw in the technique I have found so far. Next, even though the terpsichorean art is indeed enchanting, it hasn’t reached the level where one is unable to guard against it. On top of that, the soul energy consumption for the dance is enormous, making it extremely exhausting for the terpsichore executing the technique as well. In other words, if the technique were to fail to work on your enemy, there is a good chance that you might already be too drained to fight any longer, thus making it a double-edged sword. This is the second flaw…”

“… This is the third flaw!”

“… This is the fourth flaw!”

…

“… This is the seventeenth flaw!”

Word shot out from Zhang Xuan’s mouth like a machine gun, leaving the other party no chance to interject at all. In a mouthful, he pointed out seventeen flaws in the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe.

There was a detailed introduction to this terpsichorean art in many of the books in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion. He had glanced through them momentarily, so he had a clear idea regarding their content. Thus, it wasn’t too difficult for him to dig up those flaws.

If he wanted to pull the other party’s attention away from the matter regarding the soul entirely, he would have to dominate the conversation so as to dictate the flow of the conversation.

The Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe was one of the more common terpsichorean arts used by 6-star terpsichores, so Zhang Xuan knew that he would be able to shock the other party by pointing out their flaws. Judging from the shocked look on the other party’s face, he knew that he had succeeded.

“You managed to analyze… so many flaws in the terpsichorean art?” The lady could hardly believe her ears.

She had often used this terpsichorean art herself, but even she hadn’t noticed these flaws at all. Yet, the young man before her actually pointed all of them in a single breath, so it was inevitable that she would be shocked.

As a 6-star terpsichore, she was sufficiently proficient in the occupation to conclude swiftly that there was no mistake with the other party’s analysis regarding the flaws of the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe at all!

To be able to see what even she had neglected… Just what kind of eyes did the fellow before her possess? Could he really be here to take the terpsichore examination?

“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Do you have any proposed solutions for the flaws you have listed?” Hearing the confidence in Zhang Xuan’s voice, the lady couldn’t help but ask.

“I wasn’t too sure before, but my sudden inspiration has given me some insight into the problems. I might be able to solve some of them now.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“The first problem I have raised is that the clothes worn must be resplendent. However, I believe that it is a misinterpretation of the technique. The main focus of the terpsichorean art lies in the ‘Rippling’ and not the ‘Cloud Robe’. What that truly draws people in is not the beautiful clothes but the ripples flowing through them with each movement. Take me for example, even if I were to execute the technique in my plain clothes, its offensive ability is still not one to sneeze at…”

As Zhang Xuan spoke, he raised his arm and lightly shook it.

Weng!

Zhenqi flowed across his sleeves, creating layer after layer of ripples on it. In an instant, it was as if a stone was thrown into a lake, bringing life and harmony to the once stagnant water.

Despite the young man’s ordinary wear, under the effects of the harmonious ripples, she was still put under the illusion as if he was dressed like a majestic deity of the heavens. In an instant, the beautiful aesthetics permeated deep into her soul, bringing her inexplicable pleasure.

His disposition and exterior changed in just a split instant, as if the dirty beggar from a moment ago had turned into the charming prince in a night banquet.

Unwittingly, she found herself delving deeper and deeper into a trance.

She quickly shook her head to regain her senses, and it was only then that she realized that the other party’s motion had already stopped. The other party was still wearing the same old clothes, as if nothing had happened at all.

“Impressive!” The lady’s heart jolted in astonishment.

As a 6-star terpsichore, she had always been the one to charm others. Yet, the other party managed to make her lose herself momentarily despite his humble clothes. Most likely, his understanding of terpsichorean arts had already far surpassed her, reaching a level she had always dreamed of.

Seeing the shock on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan knew that he had already succeeded in convincing the other party about his identity, and he heaved a breath of relief. With a light chuckle, he continued, “As for the second flaw regarding the high soul energy consumption of the technique, as long as one were to drive his soul energy in such a manner, one will be able to avoid…”

Given his current proficiency as a terpsichore, it wasn’t too difficult for him to resolve the flaws in the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe.

That terpsichorean art was highly demanding on the soul energy consumption, making it extremely damaging to the terpsichore executing the technique as well. However, if the terpsichore were to drive her soul energy using his circulation method, she would be able to lower the soul cultivation expended to less than a third while enhancing the might of the technique by a significant amount as well.

“Th-this…” Hearing the formula, the lady swiftly did some calculations, and her eyes slowly widened in disbelief.

She had just given the soul energy circulation formula a brief try just a moment ago, and she realized that the other party was right!

Not only did the fellow before her revolutionize their understanding of the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe, he even enhanced the efficiency of the technique immensely as well!

“As for the third flaw…”

Amidst her shock, the other party continued on proposing the solutions to the problems he had listed.

The fourth flaw, the fifth flaw, the sixth flaw…

In a few moments, he had proposed unique solutions to resolving all seventeen flaws he had listed!

“If we were to implement the changes you have proposed to the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe, its prowess will be boosted by more than twofold. If I were to execute it, I would be able to even beguile a Saint 2-dan expert, rendering him helpless in battle…” The lady felt her throat dry up, and her body stiffened from the sheer agitation she was feeling.

How could someone with her eye of discernment possibly not notice how valuable and fearsome the revised Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe was?

To be able to list out seventeen flaws and resolve them impeccably… Despite his young age, the fellow before her possessed an understanding of terpsichorean art that was far beyond her imagination!

“This is all I have just gotten from my inspiration regarding the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe. I hope that this will be useful in perfecting the technique. If there is anything else that you are unsure of, feel free to ask me. I will try to answer everything within my means!” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.

Forced to a corner, he had to apply the knowledge he had just learned on the spot. Otherwise, considering how even ten of him wouldn’t be a match for a Saint realm expert, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine how tragic his outcome would be.

Fortunately, everything seemed to have turned out well.

“It just happens that I do have some problems I wish to consult you on. It is regarding the Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art. Every time I attempt to cultivate it, I will feel a heavy and stifling sensation in my heart. May I know if there is any way I can resolve the issue?” The lady hesitated for a short moment before asking.

There were indeed some issues regarding the cultivation of her terpsichorean art that had confounded her for some time. Considering how the fellow before her was able to further refine the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe, perhaps he might be able to resolve the problems she was facing?

“Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art… Are you referring to the technique created by 6-star Terpsichore Zui Linglong three thousand years ago?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Indeed!” The lady nodded.

“The Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art can stir one’s soul and produce a fragrance that reaches up to ten li away, inviting birds and bees to dance in joy to it. It is one of the most advanced grade-6 terpsichorean art, possessing immense power. If you feel a heavy and stifling sensation in your heart upon its execution, if my deduction fails me not…”

Frowning deeply, Zhang Xuan paused for a brief instant as he assessed the lady before him before asking, “You haven’t been in love before, have you?”

“I… That’s right.” The lady shook her head.

She had dedicated her life to the terpsichore, spending her time doing nothing but cultivate. Never had she met a man who had caught her eyes, so naturally, she hadn’t had the opportunity to fall in love as well.

“That’s indeed the problem! Zui Linglong created the Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art in the days when she first came to know love. Innocent and pure, she and her lover and vowed to spend their days together until their hair loses its color and their lives come to an end. This terpsichorean art consisted only of a few simple movements, but it reflected her expectations for the blissful life ahead of her. You have never been in love before, so it will be hard for you grasp this kind of emotions. As a result, your intent is not aligned with your dance, and forcefully executing it will only cause you to suffer injuries instead!” Zhang Xuan explained.

“Alright, why don’t I modify this terpsichorean art for you to remove this flaw. If you wish to learn it…”

With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan turned to the other party and said:

“I can teach you!”

Chapter 773: Poor

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

“Teach me?” The lady’s eyes lit up.

The Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art was currently the strongest technique she possessed, but she had never been able to successfully cultivate it. If she could master the technique after its modification, it would surely augment her fighting prowess significantly.

Zhang Xuan contemplated for a moment before saying, “That’s right. The core of this terpsichorean art lies in its intent. Even though you have never experienced the deep anticipation in wanting to spend your life together with a person you deeply love, you have experienced the loneliness and determination in striving for excellence in your cultivation. Even though that is a different emotion from the former, it doesn’t pale in its intensity. If you can tap on it, you will still be able to draw out immense power from the terpsichorean art.”

“I ask of you to enlighten me!” The lady clasped her fist and bowed.

From their previous conversation, she could already tell that the other party’s understanding of terpsichorean arts far surpassed hers.

Master teachers believed in taking the proficient as their teacher. Even though she was a Saint realm expert, it wouldn’t be a humiliation for her to humbly seek guidance for the doubts she was facing from someone weaker than her.

“Okay!” Seeing the other party’s polite attitude, Zhang Xuan nodded in commendation.

A true master teacher should always remain humble and prepared to learn from the strengths of others, regardless of how young or weak they might be.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan reshaped the Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art to fit the intent the other party was capable of drawing out. He reconfirmed the feasibility and effectiveness of the technique before imparting it to the other party.

Hearing the details of the revised Fleeting Fragrance Terpsichorean Art, the lady slowly went through every part of it so as to better comprehend the technique, and the astonishment on her face gradually increased. Realizing that the technique imparted to her was tailored to her needs, she turned to the other party with eyes filled with awe.

The lady hurriedly dispelled the zhenqi cage around Zhang Xuan, clasped her fist, and earnestly apologized, “Pardon me, I was reckless…”

If she had been thinking that the other party intended to steal something from the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion earlier, such a thought had already vanished from her mind by this moment.

While the collection of books in the library was beneficial to most students and teachers, it was already no longer useful in advancing her proficiency as a terpsichore.

Since it was useless to her, considering the fact that the other party’s comprehension of the terpsichorean art was even deeper than hers, what could possibly interest him in there?

It seemed like the young man before her really had nothing to do with that fellow she had found hiding in the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion earlier. The entire matter was just a coincidence.

“May I know how I can address you?” Having thought this matter through, the lady’s attitude became much politer than before.

“Elder, you are too polite. I am Zhang Xuan, a freshman who has just enrolled at the academy!” Zhang Xuan quickly replied.

“Zhang Xuan? You are Zhang Xuan?” Taken aback, the lady’s eyes slowly widened into huge circles.

“You know me?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Of course, you are the student whom School Head Mo proactively wanted to take under his wing and School Head Zhao wanted to acknowledge as his junior… These two matters have spread like wildfire amongst the teachers in the academy! I would have to be living under a rock to not have heard of it…” the lady said with a bitter smile.

This freshman had broken far too many records right after his arrival. While he might still be little known amongst the student populace, he had already caused a massive stir amongst the teachers.

Never in the history of the Master Teacher Academy had there been a student who had earned the favor of two school heads, only to reject the both of them flatly.

“I thought that Zhang shi only possesses outstanding talent in beast taming and smithing, to think that your understanding of terpsichorean arts has reached such astounding depths as well…” the lady said with eyes gleaming in admiration.

She had tried looking into Zhang Xuan’s background at one time, and according to the rumors, he had a teacher who was sufficiently capable to even offer pointers to Pavilion Master Mo.

How could such an outstanding figure possibly intend the Terpsichore School harm? There was no benefit that the Terpsichore School could offer him.

Thus, it could only mean that she had wronged him.

“Elder, you are too courteous. The study of terpsichorean arts is deep and expansive, I have barely scraped the surface!” Zhang Xuan quickly replied.

Each occupation that had withstood the test of time was powerful and profound in its own right. Even though Zhang Xuan had gained a deep understanding of terpsichores over the past few hours, it was just the tip of the iceberg of the entire occupation. As such, his words were not just humility.

The lady nodded. “To be able to remain humble despite your achievements, it is no wonder School Head Mo and School Head Zhao have such a high opinion of you!

“My name is Wei Ranxue, and I am an elder of the Terpsichore School. Honestly speaking, your mastery as a terpsichore is far above mine, so you need not address me as elder; just ‘Little Wei’ will do. I might have more problems regarding terpsichorean arts that I will require your advice on in the future, so I will be in your care.” Since the other party had offered her valuable guidance, he could be considered as half a teacher to her.

As such, despite her older age and higher cultivation, she couldn’t accept Zhang Xuan addressing her as ‘elder’.

“Alright then.” Seeing the other party’s earnest expression, Zhang Xuan could only nod in agreement.

In truth, such a situation was nothing much.

This was somewhat similar to the relationship between him and Luo Qiqi. Despite the latter’s higher cultivation and older age, she still addressed him as teacher nonetheless.

This was one of the master teacher traditions, taking the proficient as one’s teacher, as well as an acknowledgement of a master teacher’s desire for knowledge.

Recalling the matter beforehand, Wei Ranxue turned to look at Zhang Xuan thoughtfully.

“Zhang shi, I seem to recall you saying that you are here to take the terpsichore examination… Does that mean that you don’t have an emblem yet?”

“I have been learning my terpsichorean arts from my teacher all along, so I haven’t had a chance to take the terpsichore examination yet,” Zhang Xuan said.

“You have never taken the terpsichore examination? This is no problem at all. Unlike those Upper Nine Paths occupations, where one has to go through all kinds of examinations in order to obtain their emblem, with my testimony that your comprehension of terpsichorean arts is beyond mine, I will apply for a 6-star terpsichore emblem for you right now and deliver it to you later!” Wei Ranxue chuckled.

The ranking system amongst the Upper Nine Paths was much stricter, and one had to go through all kinds of examinations in order to advance a rank. At the same time, there was a rigid prerequisite on one’s cultivation realm as well.

Even though terpsichores were one of the ten supporting occupations taught in the Master Teacher Academy, it was a Lower Nine Paths occupation. As such, it didn’t have requirements as strict as the others. As long as Wei Ranxue served as a guarantor of his abilities, she would be able to apply for a 6-star pinnacle terpsichore emblem for him straightaway, thus sparing him the trouble.

“Thank you for this…” Not expecting the other party to volunteer to help him apply for the 6-star terpsichore emblem, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately clasped his fist in gratitude.

Once the application passed, he would have two 6-star supporting occupations. Four more and he would be able to take the 6-star master teacher examination.

“You’re too polite!” Wei Ranxue replied. With a smile on her lips, she invited, “If Zhang shi doesn’t mind, do you want to take a seat in the Terpsichore Hall? I wish to learn more about your insights regarding terpsichorean art!”

“That… With my current state, I think I shall not impose on you. Furthermore, I have only just recovered from my berserk state, so I will need to rest for a moment…” Zhang Xuan said as he glanced at his muddied clothes.

His body was first face-planted into the ground before bashing through innumerable walls in an attempt to escape. He had also been injured by the other party’s soul attack, thus leaving him with both internal and external injuries. Therefore, he needed to return to his residence to recuperate from his wounds.

“Ah, pardon me for my discourtesy…” It was only at this moment that Wei Ranxue recalled that the other party had just gone berserk a moment ago, so she immediately apologized in embarrassment.

“I’ll be bidding farewell now then!” Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan turned around and walked away.

The Terpsichore School was severely lacking in male students, and considering that it was already noon, it was inevitable that Zhang Xuan would catch the gazes of many as he walked amidst the crowd. However, he couldn’t care less at the moment.

Rushing forward, he soon returned back to his residence in the Elite Sector.

“Teacher, you are injured?”

As soon as Zhang Xuan walked into the room, Luo Qiqi immediately walked up to welcome him. However, upon seeing his unkempt look, she froze in shock.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not a problem at all. I’ll go take a rest first.” Too exhausted to explain, Zhang Xuan pushed open the doors to his room and walked in.

His physical wounds weren’t a problem. By circulating his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, he would be able to recover from the swiftly. The main problem lay with his soul.

He had taken several heavy blows from a Saint realm expert, leaving his soul with a feeling as if it had been ripped apart. If not for the extraordinary resilience of his soul, it might have already dissipated by now.

Hu!

Zhang Xuan took out a high-tier spirit stone from his storage ring.

Without any hesitation, he began driving his cultivation technique, and pure spiritual energy began flowing from the high-tier spirit stone into his body, mending his injuries.

The wounds on his soul were more difficult to treat than his physical injuries. Even with the Heaven’s Path Soul Art and a high-tier spirit stone, it still took him some time.

Only after relentless effort over four hours did his soul finally regain the glow and power it had before.

Recalling the various matters that had happened today, a feeling of helplessness couldn’t help but wash over Zhang Xuan. I really should be more careful the next time I wish to browse through books!

He had been thinking of taking all of the books in the Master Teacher Academy into his Library of Heaven’s Path and leave the empire, but it seemed like this thought was far too naive.

For one, there were many restrictions imposed on the libraries throughout the academy. Even as a soul, it wouldn’t be easy for him to enter or leave those areas.

It was fortunate that he had read the Heaven’s Path Terpsichorean Art up to 6-star beforehand, allowing him to convince the other party that he wasn’t there to cause any harm. But there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be caught before he was done reading through the books the next time, or that the person he encountered would be as patient and rational as Wei Ranxue.

“Forget it, I should focus on cultivating my soul first!”

In the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, Zhang Xuan had managed to compile two Heaven’s Path Soul Arts. Now that his soul energy had recovered, it was about time for him to start cultivating.

The higher his soul cultivation was, the faster he could browse through the books, and the better he would be able to conceal himself from others.

Hu!

Zhang Xuan took his clone out and imparted the simplified versions of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art to him as well.

Constructed out of a God artifact, his clone possessed an incredibly resilient body. His core weaknesses came mainly from his low zhenqi and soul cultivation realm.

Due to the lack of a suitable soul cultivation technique, his soul cultivation realm had been stuck at Consonant Spirit realm for quite a long time.

Since Zhang Xuan had managed to obtain the next two dans of the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, it was best for them to cultivate together. After all, his clone was also a part of his fighting prowess as well.

Zhang Xuan and his clone drew their souls out of their bodies simultaneously, and holding a high-tier spirit stone each, they began to drive their zhenqi according to the cultivation technique they had.

Pure spiritual energy flowed into their souls, and the aura they exuded swiftly grew stronger and stronger.

After an unknown period of time…

Hong long!

With a sudden jolt, both of their souls achieved a breakthrough, reaching Cosmos Bridge realm.

However, they didn’t stop cultivating there.

Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage!

Cosmos Bridge realm intermediate stage!

Cosmos Bridge realm advanced stage…

An hour later, both Zhang Xuan and his clone’s souls reached Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle simultaneously.

Even though his clone was cultivating the simplified version of Heaven’s Path Soul Art, his rate of cultivation was able to remain on par with the main body due to it being nourished by the Nine Hearts Lotus over an extended period of time.

Kacha!

Just as they were about to strive for a higher realm, with a ‘kacha’, the high-tier spirit stones in their hands abruptly shattered into dust.

Both the souls of the main body and the clone were ten-meters tall, so the spiritual energy required for them to achieve a breakthrough was significantly higher than normal souls as well. As a result, one high-tier spirit stone was only barely enough for them to advance from Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle.

“Continue!” Zhang Xuan said through gritted teeth.

If advancing to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle would take him a high-tier spirit stone, it was hard to imagine how many more he would require in order to reach Perfect Harmonization realm or even higher.

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan took out the remaining eight high-tier spirit stones he had and split them equally between him and his clone.

“Let’s start!”

Drawing his soul out once more, Zhang Xuan resumed his cultivation.

Spending one high-tier spirit stone, he managed to make the breakthrough to Perfect Harmonization realm.

Spending yet another one, he reached Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage.

Before long, he was done consuming all four high-tier spirit stones, and his cultivation stopped at Perfect Harmonization realm advanced stage. To think that even four high-tier spirit stones wouldn’t be sufficient for him to reach pinnacle!

Isn’t this rate of consumption a little… way too high?

Looking at the powdery remains of the ten high-tier spirit stones which he had gathered with great difficulty, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel incredibly frustrated.

He was only at Perfect Harmonization realm, but the rate of consumption of spirit stones was already astounding. Without a doubt, the number of spirit stones he would require would only increase exponentially. Where in the world was he supposed to gather that much money?

He’d thought that he had already become a little tycoon with ten high-tier spirit stones in his possession, but in the blink of an eye… he was poor once again!

Chapter 774: Hu Yaoyao’s Invitation

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Origin Heavy Water costs ten high-tier spirit stones per bottle. I need ten bottles to cultivate the Third Incandescence of Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, so in other words, I require a hundred high-tier spirit stones!

Considering that I have expended four spirit stones cultivating from Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle to Perfect Harmonization realm advanced stage, in order to reach pinnacle, I will need two high-tier spirit stones or perhaps even more. Beyond that, Ethereal Treading realm, Chrysalis realm, Half-Saint… The number of high-tier spirit stones will only increase exponentially. Without at least a hundred high-tier spirit stones, I won’t be able to go far…

Zhang Xuan’s head began aching.

It seemed like his wish of reaching Saint realm within ten days was nothing more than a pipe dream at this point.

Putting everything aside, just the lack of spirit stones was already a huge problem in itself.

I really should start finding a way to earn more money… Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress.

It was clear that he would need to find a stable source of income, but several hundred high-tier spirit stones was no small sum.

It would be hard to find a viable solution at a whim.

I should take a look at how much I have progressed for the time being…

He could slowly contemplate the issue regarding earning money in the future. For the time being, he looked inward in order to assess his current strength as a result of the recent breakthroughs.

With his soul reaching Perfect Harmonization realm, his strength had soared once more, leaping from 3,200,000 ding to 10,000,000 ding!

Factoring in the 8,000,000 ding he could harness from both his physical body and zhenqi cultivation, he had a maximum of 26,000,000 ding at his disposal, putting him on par with a Chrysalis realm primary stage expert!

(Chrysalis realm primary stage 25,000,000 ding, intermediate stage 28,000,000 ding, advanced stage 31,000,000 ding, pinnacle 34,000,000 ding!)

It must be said that the rate at which he was growing was truly frightening.

Zhang Xuan turned to his clone and noted that the latter had also stopped at Perfect Harmonization realm advanced stage.

Noticing Zhang Xuan’s gaze on him, his clone’s eyes gleamed in excitement. “Shall we have a duel?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head awkwardly. “Ah… I’ll pass…”

Even though his clone’s cultivation was mainly derived from his soul, his physical body was simply too powerful; it would be a grave mistake to gauge his strength just by his soul cultivation alone. Furthermore, it seemed his physical body was gradually growing stronger as he advanced his soul cultivation.

With Zhang Xuan’s current strength, he could easily defeat opponents with higher cultivation realm than him. But even so, he was still a far way off from matching with that fellow.

If he were to challenge the other party to a duel, there was not a shadow of a doubt that he would be utterly crushed.

It was already extremely embarrassing that he, as the main body, was unable to defeat his clone. Why would he intentionally ask for a beating one top of that?

Returning his clone to his storage ring, Zhang Xuan pushed open his door and walked out.

As he made his way to the main hall, Luo Qiqi suddenly walked up to him and greeted him.

Zhang Xuan had already changed into a fresh set of clothes. With the advancement of his soul cultivation, his eyes seemed to have grown a little profounder, and his aura had become more indiscernible, creating an unfathomable aura around him.

“Teacher, Senior Hu Yaoyao has just sent a letter over inviting you to a night banquet,” Luo Qiqi said as she assessed Zhang Xuan with doubtful eyes.

Yesterday, when her teacher had returned injured in the afternoon, she’d thought that it was a result of a confrontation with Hu Yaoyao while trying to get the location of Elder Wu Yangzi’s old residence out of her… But considering the fact that Hu Yaoyao had sent an invitation letter to them just a moment ago, that possibility could be eliminated.

The chances were that her teacher hadn’t met Hu Yaoyao outside of the first meeting.

But if that was the case… where did he go the previous night?

And who was it that injured him?

“Night banquet? What night banquet?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback by those words.

Was Hu Yaoyao already going to make her move against him?

“Here, take a look at this!” Luo Qiqi raised her hands to pass an envelope over.

Zhang Xuan took the envelope from her hands and opened it.

Contained within the envelope was an invitation letter, and putting aside the pleasantries written, the content was mainly speaking about how she’d felt a strong affinity with them when they’d met the previous night. Therefore, she’d decided to extend an invitation to them for her night banquet, and she hoped that they wouldn’t turn down her goodwill.

The address was the Terpsichore School, Cloud Sparrow Lodge.

“Cloud Sparrow Lodge?” Zhang Xuan asked questioningly.

“That is Senior Hu Yaoyao’s private residence. It is located within the Terpsichore School!” Luo Qiqi explained.

Fearing that her teacher wouldn’t understand, she further elaborated, “The Elite Sector is divided into four subsectors, namely D, C, B, and A, which correspond to Grade-1, Grade-2, Grade-3, and Grade-4 students respectively. Grade-5 students don’t reside in the Elite Sector. Instead, outstanding Grade-5 students can have private residences constructed for them in the school of their main supporting occupation. Naturally, the location and facilities of those private residences are far better than those in the Elite Sector!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had heard it from Huang Xing and the others when he first arrived at the Elite Sector.

Of the four subsectors, he was currently living in Sector D.

Sensing the scent of a scheme from this matter, Luo Qiqi said with a frown, “Teacher, the other party refused our request yesterday, but she still chose to send us this abrupt invitation letter today. I fear that she is up to no good…”

“There is no doubt that she is up to no good. However, if we don’t go, it will be impossible for us to locate Elder Wu Yangzi’s old residence,” Zhang Xuan analyzed calmly.

Hearing those words, Luo Qiqi could only nod in agreement with a bitter smile on her face.

If there was another way around this matter, they would have already made a move. However, with the other party holding the vital information they required, they could only play along with her games.

“Since that’s the case, what is there for us to hesitate about? Since she has invited us to a night banquet, we will just have to head over to take a look!” Zhang Xuan said.

He had headed over to the Hu Yaoyao’s residence in the hope of sounding her out, but in the end, due to the other party abruptly stripping, he could only abandon his original intention.

It was just a matter of time before they would have to confront one another. This night banquet might be a trap prepared for him, but it was also an opportunity to get the location of Wu Yangzi’s old residence out of her.

Naturally, Zhang Xuan wouldn’t give this chance up so easily.

He was severely lacking money at the moment. If he could find Wu Yangzi’s treasure, he might be able to free himself from the troubles he was facing.

Hearing her teacher’s decision, Luo Qiqi made up her mind as well and asked, “Then… should we head off now?”

“Now?” Zhang Xuan glanced at the sky, and only then did he realize that the sun had already set.

It was already afternoon by the time he returned from the Terpsichore School, and his recuperation and cultivation had taken him around five hours or so. As a result, by the time he was done, the sky was already pitch black.

“Let’s head off then!”

It was already about time for the night banquet to start, so they had to make haste.

Leaving the residence, the duo headed straight for the Terpsichore School.

While the Terpsichore School wasn’t as large as the Blacksmith School, its size was still nevertheless impressive. It took some time before the duo arrived at the courtyard where Zhang Xuan had seen Hu Yaoyao stripping last night.

“So, this is the Cloud Sparrow Lodge…” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Based on what he had seen yesterday while following Hu Yaoyao, the residence was much more majestic and larger than the surrounding residences and those in the Elite Sector as well.

“This residence wasn’t called the Cloud Sparrow Lodge initially. According to the rumors, back when Senior Yaoyao was taking the 6-star terpsichore examination, she wore a magnificent dress and performed the Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe. Her dance was so alluring that it attracted the excited chirping of the visiting Cloud Sparrows, and their calls resounded for a very long time even after the dance had ended… In commemoration of that event, this residence was renamed the Cloud Sparrow Lodge,” explained Luo Qiqi via zhenqi telepathy, knowing the story behind the name.

Zhang Xuan nodded in respond.

The Dance of the Rippling Cloud Robe did possess such astonishing capability when paired with resplendent clothes. It could easily beguile humans and beasts alike, sending them into a feverish state.

Cloud Sparrow was a small savage beast that possessed minimal fighting prowess. However, it was a connoisseur of art, and its excited chirping could be considered the greatest applause and recognition to a dancer.

“That matter solidified Senior Hu Yaoyao’s standing in the Terpsichore School, and even the head of the Terpsichore School accepted her as her direct disciple!” Luo Qiqi continued.

The head of the Terpsichore School was naturally one of the Ten Great Master Teachers as well. Being the direct disciple of such an incredible figure, little had to be said about Hu Yaoyao’s standing in the Master Teacher Academy.

This was also one of the reasons the Bewitching Devil Faction had grown to become one of the largest factions in the academy with innumerable followers.

At that moment, ‘jiya!’, the doors to the Cloud Sparrow Lodge creaked open, and the lady whom Hu Yaoyao had addressed as Xinru yesterday night walked out and clasped her fist respectfully.

“The two of you must be Zhang shi and Luo shi, right?”

As Zhang Xuan had been too focused on Hu Yaoyao the previous night, he’d neglected the lady before him. However, standing at such proximity to one another, he realized that her cultivation had reached a fair level as well.

Transcendent Mortal 8-dan pinnacle expert.

With this, she could probably be considered as one of the top experts amongst the Grade-4 students.

Yet, she was still ordered around as a subordinate in Hu Yaoyao’s residence. It seemed Hu Yaoyao’s influence was greater than he had initially thought.

“We are!” Luo Qiqi replied.

“Faction Leader Yaoyao has instructed me to escort you in, please follow me!” With a graceful smile, Xinru turned around and led the way.

Following behind her, Zhang Xuan and Luo Qiqi stepped into the Cloud Sparrow Lodge.

As Zhang Xuan had been too engrossed in following Hu Yaoyao’s trail and avoiding the eyes of others last night, he hadn’t thought much about the residence. Strolling through it leisurely now, however, he realized that the residence was enormous! It was at least seven times larger than his residence in the Elite Sector.

In the courtyard, there was a pond in which many koi fishes were swimming to and fro. Beautiful flowers were cultivated in the area, and they exuded a light but refreshing fragrance.

Furthermore, there seemed to be a Spirit Gathering Formation constructed beneath the residence. The spiritual energy in the area was even more concentrated than that in the Elite Sector. Even if an ordinary human incapable of cultivating were to live in this residence, their body would be nourished by the concentrated spiritual energy, leaving them energized and invulnerable to most common illnesses.

“This way!” Xinru gestured with her hands.

After walking through a long corridor, walking across two small bridges in between, they finally arrived at the main hall.

The interior of the main hall was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

“There is no one inside?”

Stepping into the main hall, Zhang Xuan scanned the room, and he was surprised to see that it was devoid of people.

There were small wooden tables laid out for both the host and the guests in the vast room, and they were filled with fine wine and food. However, the person who had invited them, Hu Yaoyao, was nowhere in sight.

“Faction Leader Yaoyao has some urgent matters to deal with, so she had to leave for a moment. She will be back very soon, so she instructed me to lead you to the main hall to take a seat first,” Xinru explained with a smile.

“I see!”

Based on the conversation he had overheard yesterday, Zhang Xuan knew that Hu Yaoyao intended to deal with him. Most probably, her absence was also a part of her plan as well. Knowing that it would be futile for him to probe deeper, he shrugged the matter off with a smile.

After which, he and Luo Qiqi walked over to the two empty guest seats and sat down.

Zhang Xuan had to admit that the other party did make ample preparations for this night banquet. The dishes on the table were all top-grade delicacies made of the meat of valuable spirit beasts. With just a sniff, one would immediately start salivating.

Just this table in itself is probably already worth several hundred middle-tier spirit stones. As expected of the leader of the Bewitching Devil Faction, she sure is rich… If I really find myself in need of money, perhaps I could find some way to shake some out of her… Zhang Xuan thought as he stroked his lower jaw.

It was just a moment ago that he had gone bankrupt, so such extravagance felt exceptionally stinging on his eyes.

Since that fellow could spend several hundred middle-tier spirit stones just on a meal itself, she should surely have some money to spare for a poor man like him?

“Enjoy your meal, I will take a look at how our faction leader is doing…” Xinru walked up to their table and poured them a cup of wine before backing out of the main hall with a courteous smile.

“Teacher, what do you think she’s trying to do?” Looking at the lavish spread before her, Luo Qiqi was bewildered.

“Regardless of what she is up to, I will make her reveal the location of Elder Wu Yangzi’s old residence today. Don’t worry!” Zhang Xuan replied confidently.

If it had been a day ago, he would have been hesitant to speak such words.

However, after a night of studying at the Terpsichore Compendium Pavilion, he was now a 6-star terpsichore whom even Wei Ranxue was in awe for. No matter what Hu Yaoyao was up to, he was confident that he would be able to deal with whatever she was going to throw at him.

If it came down to it, he could even utilize his terpsichorean art and beguile her to resolve the situation.

“Alright.” Luo Qiqi was still a little apprehensive inside, but she still nodded in response.

She had no idea where her teacher’s confidence came from, but since he dared to utter such words, he must have an idea in mind!