Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
Right after Zhang Xuan left, Song Chao and Elder Hu arrived at the residence.
After waiting for several hours, they could only leave regretfully.
Right when the duo was waiting, Zhang Xuan arrived at the Master Teacher Pavilion's library.
As the center of the entire alliance, Myriad Kingdom City was both an economic powerhouse and a martial arts hub. Secret manuals were something that was never and would never be in short supply here.
Upon entering the library, Zhang Xuan immediately saw rows and rows of bookshelves extending beyond the limit of his sight.
In terms of quantity, even the humongous library he had visited in Honghai City was far from a match with this.
'With so many books, I won't be able to duplicate all of them without several days of effort even if I were to go full throttle...' Zhang Xuan contemplated.
Given that he was heading to the Yin-Yang Lake with Pavilion Master Kang the next day, even if he were to give it his all, it was clearly impractical for him to duplicate everything in his Library of Heaven's Path within the limited time he had.
'Forget it, I should just focus on cultivation techniques for now!'
Knowing the impossibility of the matter, he decided to focus on the bookshelves relating to cultivation techniques and battle techniques.
As a 4-star master teacher, he had access to all of the resources in the Master Teacher Pavilion. Soon, he found the area where Transcendent Mortal 3-dan cultivation techniques were placed.
With just a glance, Zhang Xuan could tell there was more than a thousand books here.
'Flaws!'
Muttering beneath his breath, he placed his finger on the first book and started collecting the books.
'Compile!'
Soon, a complete Transcendent Mortal 3-dan Heaven's Path Divine Art appeared before Zhang Xuan's eyes.
Without sufficient spirit stones, he was still unable to cultivate it at the moment. Thus, he proceeded forward, hoping to find Transcendent Mortal 4-dan cultivation technique manuals.
But after looking around, he couldn't help but shake his head.
There were indeed Transcendent Mortal 4-dan cultivation technique manuals here, but there were only a hundred books or so. He was still a long way from compiling a complete Heaven's Path Divine Art.
But considering that the strongest expert in Myriad Kingdom Alliance was only at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, such books were likely to be carefully hoarded by the various powers in the alliance. As such, it was already rather impressive that the Master Teacher Pavilion had a hundred of such books.
'Now to see whether there are any books on soul here...'
Even so, Zhang Xuan didn't wallow in his disappointment. He quickly moved on to look for soul secret manuals.
Having received Mo Hunsheng's inheritance, Zhang Xuan had learned the cultivation technique of soul oracles. However, as there were flaws in the manuals from Transcendent Mortal 3-dan and onward, he only cultivated his soul until Transcendent Mortal 2-dan.
Since there were all kinds of books here, there just might be some manual on souls that might be useful to him here. If he were to compile it along with his existing knowledge, he just might be able to form higher level Heaven's Path Soul Art.
The rise in the cultivation of a soul also boosted his strength as well.
Zhang Xuan looked around as he walked between the shelves, and a long period of time later, he finally stopped.
"'Ways of Strengthening Your Soul', 'What You Have to Know About Consonant Spirit Realm', 'How to Cultivate Your Soul in Clarifying Turbidity Realm'... These are notes from master teachers of previous generations!"
Zhang Xuan's hands brushed across the books.
The soul oracle inheritance had been terminated so it was impossible to find their cultivation techniques anywhere. However, many experts had left behind notes regarding the tempering of one's soul as it was a fundamental condition for reaching Consonant Spirit Realm.
Even though the noted had little to do with soul oracles, they detailed the profound secret of souls. As such, they could be used to fill up the gaps in the soul oracle's cultivation techniques.
Thus, Zhang Xuan began collecting all of these books, and around eleven hours later, he finally managed to collect several thousand of books on the introduction and tempering of souls.
Having overexerted himself in the process, Zhang Xuan's body felt heavy and he was on the verge of sleeping already. Even so, his eyes were glowing in excitement.
"Compile!"
After conditioning his state for a moment, he immersed his consciousness into the Library of Heaven's Path and fused the knowledge in the books along with the inheritance of the soul oracles.
"Hmm? I have the Heaven's Path Soul Art for both Transcendent Mortal 3-dan and 4-dan..."
After double checking the results, Zhang Xuan's eyes glowed in agitation.
He was only giving it a try since there was no better method he could think of. In truth, he hadn't thought it was likely to succeed. Yet, the effects exceeded his expectations. He had managed to complete the Transcendent Mortal 3-dan and 4-dan of Heaven's Path Soul Art in a single go.
In other words, as long as he had sufficient middle-tier spirit stones, his soul cultivation could easily reach Transcendent Mortal 4-dan!
"Not bad..."
Zhang Xuan's lips curled up into a smile.
Even though it was a disappointment that he couldn't compile the perfect Transcendent Mortal 4-dan Heaven's Path Divine Art, the results weren't too bad since he'd managed to complete Transcendent Mortal 3-dan and 4-dan of the Heaven's Path Soul Art.
"To think that a night has already passed..."
Unknowingly, while looking for the cultivation technique manuals, a night had already passed.
Walking out of the library, the sun was already high up in the sky, glaring down at him.
"Zhang shi, you're finally out. The pavilion master is waiting for you at the backyard..."
An apprentice walked up to inform Zhang Xuan.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded his head before walking over to the backyard. It seemed like Pavilion Master Kang and Ruohuan gongzi had already been waiting for some for him already.
"Alright, let's head off!"
Seeing Zhang Xuan walking over, Pavilion Master Kang raised his hand and a massive beast slowly landed on the ground.
It was a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle aerial spirit beast. Most probably, it was the private of Pavilion Master Kang or the Master Teacher Pavilion.
"Ah, hold on for a moment. I would like to bring a student along with me..." Zhang Xuan said.
"A student?"
Pavilion Master Kang frowned. "The Origin Flame Glacier Plain isn't under the jurisdiction of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. It's an independent power, and I had to pay a heavy price before I could obtain these two slots for you two..."
If he could bring people to the Origin Flame Glacier Plain freely, he would have surely brought Fu Xiaochen and the others over long ago. There would be no need for him to waste time on a selection beforehand, cutting it so close for the Master Teacher Tournament.
It was due to the limit that he'd had to go through so much trouble.
"Only two slots? It's impossible to add another person in?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"That won't do. In fact, the two slots are not guaranteed-you all have to undergo the tests of the Origin Flame Glacier Plain first. If it was that easy to negotiate with the Origin Flame Glacier Plain, the master teachers of our Master Teacher Pavilion would be much stronger than they are now. At the very least, we wouldn't be ranking at the bottom in nearly every tournament!"
Pavilion Master Kang smiled bitterly.
"If that's the case... I'll pass on my opportunity to my student then," Zhang Xuan said.
As long as he had sufficient middle-tier spirit stones, it didn't make a difference to him whether he entered the Yin-Yang Lake or not. Since there were only two slots, he would rather pass the chance on to Zhao Ya. After all, this was a rare opportunity for her to further awaken her unique constitution.
"This won't do. You're Myriad Kingdom Alliance's greatest hope in the Master Teacher Tournament, how can you pass on such an opportunity!"
Upon hearing the decision Zhang Xuan made, Pavilion Master Kang quickly refuted his words.
Are you joking?
I'm still waiting for you to break the records in the Master Teacher Tournament. If you don't go to the Yin-Yang Lake, wouldn't the heavy price I paid for this opportunity go to waste?
"My student has to come along!" Zhang Xuan said resolutely. "How about this? If the other party make things difficult for you, I can negotiate with him on your behalf."
"This..."
Pavilion Master Kang shook his head. "You're underestimating the men of the Origin Flame Glacier Plain. If it's that easy to negotiate with them, I would have surely tried to obtain more slots. But actually, they aren't to be blamed for this. There's a fundamental limit to the number of the people who can enter the Yin-Yang Lake every time it opens. It isn't even enough for their own use, let alone, outsiders like us."
Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
Having read many books, he knew that many of such natural blessed lands had a fundamental limit to them. If too many people were to cultivate on such lands, it was very easy for the place to 'dry up'.
As such, a limit was imposed in view of its long-term sustainability.
"Forget it, you should bring your student along with you for now; I'll negotiate with them later. We'll think of another solution if that fails!"
Seeing the resolute attitude of the young man, Pavilion Master Kang rubbed his glabella and said.
"Un, let's give it try first. Perhaps, we might really be able to get an additional slot!"
Zhang Xuan nodded his head.
While walking there, Zhang Xuan had seen many different things. He had also realized many things that others deemed to be impossible. Even if the men of the Origin Flame Glacier Plains were to be difficult, Zhang Xuan was confident that he could find a flaw in the other party and exploit that to resolve the situation.
"Un!"
Having come to a decision, Zhang Xuan sent an apprentice to call Zhao Ya over. After which, the four of them got onto the back of a spirit beast and flew toward Myriad Kingdom City.
Yesterday, when he returned to the residence, he had entrusted the Demon Cinque Beast with the responsibility of overlooking the safety of the others. Given its immense strength and Zhang Xuan's identity as a 4-star master teacher, there shouldn't be anyone so blind as to harm his students.
Not to mention, Zhao Feiwu, the princess of the alliance, was looking after them as well.
Thus, there was no need for Zhang Xuan to worry for the safety of Zheng Yang and the others.
As for the Soulrouse Grass, as it couldn't be placed in his storage ring, he didn't bring it along with him. Instead, he had Wang Ying and Sun Qiang take care of it. Given their meticulous personality, it should be in safe hands.
This departure was, in truth, a secret of sorts. Even the other master teachers in the Master Teacher Pavilion didn't know about this. Otherwise, if news were to leak out and the other powers tried to hinder them, things might turn out to be disastrous.
But of course, the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had always fared badly in the tournament. The other powers probably had their hands busy with tripping over the potential top ten contenders instead.
...
White clouds flitted past them as the spirit beast soared through the skies. The four of them were seated in the room on the back of the spirit beast. At this moment, Pavilion Master Kang was staring at Zhao Ya, and the perplexed expression on his face was gradually deepening.
After a moment, Pavilion Master Kang couldn't help but exclaim, "Zhang shi, the physical constitution of your student... doesn't seem to be ordinary!"
As a 4-star pinnacle master teacher, he possessed outstanding eye of discernment. Even though Zhang Xuan had Zhao Ya conceal the true nature of her Pure Yin Body to avoid trouble, it still wasn't sufficient to escape from Pavilion Master Kang's sharp eyes.
"Pavilion master sure has an incredible eye of discernment. Zhao Ya possesses the Pure Yin Body. That's why I wish to bring her along so that she could cultivate at the Yin-Yang Lake," Zhang Xuan admitted.
"Indeed..."
Pavilion Master Kang's breathing hastened.
As the head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he understood how fearsome such a unique constitution was. Cultivators possessing a Pure Yin Body became insanely strong once their unique constitution was unlocked, and from the looks of it, this young lady seemed to have awakened a portion of it already.
It was no wonder Zhang shi insisted on bringing the latter to the Yin-Yang Lake, even offering to give up this opportunity to her. For the future of such a talented student, the sacrifice was indeed worthy.
"The Pure Yin Body is one of the rare Innate Unique Constitutions. Once it awakens entirely, one's body would become completely flawless. With such a constitution, one's rate of cultivation would reach an insane speed..."
Pavilion Master Kang recited the unique properties of the Pure Yin Body, and the more he spoke, the brighter his eyes glowed. A moment later, he couldn't hold it back anymore. Turning around to look at Ruohuan gongzi, he said, "Alright, I've decided. Ruohuan, you shall pass your slot on to her!"
"Ah?"
Ruohuan gongzi's body swayed, and his eyes widened in shock.
Talk all you want... but why did you have to involve me in this?
It wasn't easy for me to get this slot; do you know how hard I worked? Upon hearing that I was going to the Yin-Yang Lake yesterday, I spent the entire day preparing everything I would need. And yet, due to him bringing along his student, you're going to deprive me of my slot?
"Teacher..."
Ruohuan gongzi immediately looked at his teacher with a panicked expression.
"Say no more, this matter is decided. Don't worry, I will definitely make it up to you for this!"
Pavilion Master Kang waved his hands to signify that this matter wasn't up for debate.
Zhang shi was the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's greatest hope in the Master Teacher Tournament so he had to raise his cultivation as fast as possible.
Without sufficient strength, he would be at a disadvantage for many of the tests.
On the other hand, his student possessed the Pure Yin Body, so the opportunity at Yin-Yang Lake was incomparably important to her.
After pondering over the matter, the only option was to abandon his own student.
"..." Ruohuan gongzi burst into tears.