Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Zhang shi"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the eyes of Hu Yaoyao and the others immediately lit up. They immediately attempted to retreat from the battle to unite with him, but their opponent harrumphed coldly. "Do you think that you can stop this battle just because you want to?"

Hu hu!

The opponent brandished the sword in his hand, and a powerful might immediately chased after Hu Yaoyao and the others, leaving them no choice but to turn around to counterattack.

However, their counterattack was still a little late, and the opponent's slash left them with a deep cut on their arms.

What swift swordsmanship! Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

The opponent's swordsmanship wasn't exceptionally profound, but it made up for its simplicity with speed, preciseness, and exceptional mastery in the comprehension of Sword Intent. Despite collaborating with one another, Hu Yaoyao and the others were still unable to withstand its might, and they were pulled back into the battle once more.

Seeing the opponent attack Hu Yaoyao and the others relentlessly, leaving them no opportunity to escape at all, Zhang Xuan frowned. "That friend over there, we are all master teachers, so surely we can talk things out. There is no need to resort to a life-and-death duel!"

"You want the duel to stop? Sure, if you think that you can save them, you are free to try. Otherwise, I am afraid none of you will be getting out of here unharmed!" the Chrysalis realm pinnacle cultivator fighting Hu Yaoyao and the others taunted with a smirk.

The opponent's voice sounded extremely young, which drew Zhang Xuan's gaze to his facial features. Astonishingly, he realized that the opponent seemed to be even younger than Hu Yaoyao and the others, possibly only in his early twenties.

To reach Chrysalis realm pinnacle at such a young age and subdue Hu Yaoyao and the others simultaneously, the opponent's talent was truly fearsome!

Turning his gaze to the Half-Saint realm cultivator as well, Zhang Xuan noticed that the other party was only in his mid-twenties as well.

"Since that is the case, pardon me!"

Seeing that the opponent had no intention of stopping, if the battle were allowed to continue, Hu Yaoyao and the others would eventually suffer severe injuries. Thus, without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan leaped into the battle as well.

"Ethereal Treading realm?"

Sensing Zhang Xuan's cultivation, the disdainful sneer emerged on the lips of the Half-Saint standing by the side, seemingly anticipating that Zhang Xuan would make a fool out of himself.

Even four Chrysalis realm pinnacle cultivators are no match for my companion. What can an Ethereal Treading realm primary stage like you possibly do? You are merely courting death!

"I was thinking, how formidable must you be to talk so much by the side? But it turns out that you are only at the Ethereal Treading realm. Since that's the case, I will have you collapse first!"

The fighting young man also noticed Zhang Xuan's weak cultivation, and the same disdainful sneer surfaced on his face as well. After pushing back Hu Yaoyao and the others with a powerful slash, he rushed straight toward Zhang Xuan with a stab.

Even before the sword arrived, the powerful aura it emanated would have already pierced deep into one's body, leaving one shivering uncontrollably.

That young man might only have been at Chrysalis realm pinnacle, but the might of his sword surpassed even some Half-Saint experts.

It was no wonder Hu Yaoyao and the others couldn't defeat him even in a four-to-one battle.

Facing such a powerful stab, Zhang Xuan didn't bother to hide at all. Activating his Eye of Insight, he swiftly analyzed the area where the sword would land, and abruptly exhaled deeply.

Hu la!

Zhang Xuan's chest immediately deflated along with the exhalation.

In a battle between experts, the slightest millimeter could make the greatest of difference. The sword was aimed right at his chest, but it seemed that the other party had no intention of killing him with this stab, aiming to only achieve a shallow pierce and stop right before his heart. However, with the deep exhalation Zhang Xuan had made, the rampaging force of the advancing sword stopped right before his chest instead.

Even the sharpest of sword can't pierce the thinnest of cloth once it loses its momentum!

As powerful as the young man's stab was, it had already run out of strength at this point. With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan lifted his hand and held the other party sword's lightly between his forefinger and middle finger.

Weng!

As if a captured snake, the sharp sword wouldn't budge no matter how the young man tried to pull it away.

What sharp insight and mental fortitude

The Half-Saint cultivator by the side narrowed his eyes.

This movement might seem simple and lackluster, but it wasn't something that just anyone was capable of pulling off. One's eye of discernment and mental fortitude must reach be on par.

If one's discernment wasn't sufficiently keen and a wrong judgement was made, the sword could end up piercing one's chest instead. On the other hand, if one lacked sufficient mental fortitude, it would be impossible to retain one's composure before a life-and-death situation such as this.

Interesting!

For an Ethereal Treading realm cultivator to dare to face the sword of a Chrysalis realm pinnacle expert head-on, the other party sure had a lot of guts.

However, Wu Xu's sword can't be stopped that easily. He will have to pay a heavy price for it!

His companion might possess a weaker cultivation than him, but his mastery of swordsmanship was astonishing. The other party might have managed to catch his companion's sword out of a stroke of luck previously, but the true challenge had yet to come.

With his lips curled up, the Half-Saint cultivator turned his sight to the battlefield calmly, expecting to see how his companion would subdue the young lad. However, what he saw instead was his companion exerting all of his strength, such that his face had turned red, but was still unable to pull his sword out of the other party's fingers.

What is going on? the Half-Saint cultivator's eyebrow shot up.

His companion could be said to be invincible among cultivators of the same cultivation realm, but for his sword to be captured by an insignificant fellow who was nearly two realms weaker than him, and be unable to retrieve it from the other party's fingers at that How could that be possible?

"Y-you"

While he was shocked, the person who was experiencing the situation personally, Wu Xu, was nearly scared out of his wits.

He had thought that the other party was a small fry who he could defeat in an instant. Yet, the stab that he had put a significant amount of strength into was not only negated by his opponent easily, he even had his sword trapped within the other party's grasp!

"Let go!" Wu Xu roared as he gathered his strength and pulled furiously.

"Here you go!" Zhang Xuan abruptly released his grip.

"Humph!"

As expected of a combat talent, unlike the situation with Ying Qin, Wu Xu immediately did a somersault to neutralize the momentum from his pull, allowing him to recover his balance swiftly. After which, he charged forward and quickly sent another stab toward Zhang Xuan.

Knowing that his opponent wasn't ordinary, Wu Xu's stab was abrupt and much swifter than before. Before one could even process what was happening, the sword would already be right before one.

The Half-Saint nodded in approval upon seeing the stab. "This 'Blithe Sword' is well-executed. It seems he has achieved at least twenty percent of my mastery!"

That stab was swift and agile, carrying the aura of a conqueror!

It might be only twenty percent of his mastery, but that was already a fearsome level. Considering how close the two of them were, even of an average Half-Saint intermediate stage cultivator would be unable to dodge the attack!

There was no doubt about it; the Ethereal Treading realm lad's defeat was certain!

"You really want to have a go at it, don't you?"

If Zhang Xuan had been unable to react, he would have surely suffered severe injuries under the assault. Even if he were to survive this ordeal, he would have to spend at least the next few months in bed.

He had already gone easily on the other party, but the other party still launched such a vicious attack on him. Displeased, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as he bent his middle finger and flicked it lightly.

Ding!

With a crisp echo, as if a cracked glass, Wu Xu's sword abruptly broke into numerous pieces and fell to the ground.

When Zhang Xuan had held Wu Xu's sword previously, he had already compiled a book regarding it, so he knew where its weakness was. On top of that, he possessed strength comparable to a Half-Saint pinnacle, making it an easy feat for him to destroy the sword with a simple flick of his finger.

"What?"

Seeing his Spirit pinnacle sword destroyed by a single flick of the other party's finger, Wu Xu nearly fainted from shock.

Even if a Half-Saint pinnacle expert were to exert the full extent of his strength, it would still be nigh impossible to destroy a Spirit pinnacle sword. Yet, for it to shatter with a single flick of the other party's finger Just how could that be possible?

At the same time, the eyeballs of the Half-Saint watching the battle by the side also nearly popped out of their sockets.

He had thought that Zhang Xuan would be surely be severely injured at the very least, but the latter had actually managed to shatter Wu Xu's sword with a simple flick of his finger How could the other party possibly wield such fearsome strength?

Was the other party really an Ethereal Treading realm cultivator?

They had always prided themselves on being invincible among cultivators of the same cultivation realm, so how could his companion be defeated by someone of a weaker cultivation level than him?

"Damn it!"

Wu Xu shook his head in disbelief, unwilling to believe what had just happened. With a frenzied look on his face, he charged at Zhang Xuan once more.

It was impossible for someone who was nearly two cultivation realms weaker than him to defeat him so easily. Impossible!

On the other hand, seeing that the young man was still unwilling to give up, Zhang Xuan shook his head with a sigh and raised his fist.

Heaven's Path Fist Art!

Peng!

Before Wu Xu could even process what was going on, he had already been struck by a punch to his chest. He collapsed to the ground, coughing an endless stream of blood. It felt as if his internal organs had shifted under the incredible force, and even after a brief respite, he was still unable to catch his breath.

"You"

It took him a few more moments before he managed to recover sufficiently to return to his feet. With a face completely warped by rage, Wu Xu glared at Zhang Xuan, seemingly preparing to make his next move, when the Half-Saint cultivator by the side abruptly intervened. "Enough! Don't you think that you have embarrassed yourself enough?"

" Yes!"

Wu Xu glared at Zhang Xuan hesitantly for a moment longer before hesitantly backing down to the side. He took out a pill and swallowed it, and only then did he feel his condition alleviate slightly. Even though he had decided not to make a move, his hostile gaze was still fixated on Zhang Xuan, seemingly tempted to tear him apart.

Ignoring the duo, Zhang Xuan whipped out a wine gourd and infused his zhenqi inside before passing them over to Hu Yaoyao and the others to heal their injuries. After that was done, he turned his gaze back to the duo with a deep frown on his face.

"We are all master teachers here, but you willfully made a move on my companions, and not to mention, you even resorted to such vicious moves. Do the rules of the Master Teacher Pavilion mean nothing to you?"

"Vicious moves? You haven't seen what truly vicious is yet! Hand over the Scarlet Firefly Fruits, and I can consider letting you off. Otherwise, none of you will be getting out of here unscathed today!" Wu Xu roared in response.

Hearing those words, the short-tempered Xue Zhenyang bellowed furiously, "Scarlet Firefly Fruits? We have been behind you all this while, how in the world could we possibly have obtained the Scarlet Firefly Fruits ahead of you?"

From the start to the end, they had never found an opportunity to approach the cavern. Yet, the duo actually came over to demand the Scarlet Firefly Fruits from them. Was there something wrong with their minds?

Even if you wish to accuse us, at least find something less illogical than that!

"We confirmed earlier that there were Scarlet Firefly Fruits inside the cavern, but they suddenly disappeared when we entered the cavern just a moment ago. On top of that, we noticed traces suggesting that someone had hastened the maturity of the fruits. There are only the few of us in this valley, so who else could it be if not you?" Wu Xu snapped.

The two Sabertooth Spirit Tigers had lost their consciousness, and there were no signs to say that they had devoured the fruits ahead of them. From this, they deduced that someone must have beaten them to the Scarlet Firefly Fruits.

There weren't too many people in the valley, so the culprit could only be them!

"If we had obtained the Scarlet Firefly Fruits, we would have already long left the valley. Why would we waste our time loitering around this area and talking to you? You are clearly making up nonsense to extort our wealth!" Hu Yaoyao harrumphed.

In her opinion, the duo were the ones who had harvested the fruits, and they were only making use of this opportunity to extort them.

They were truly a disgrace to all master teachers.

"Preposterous, we" Wu Xu was just about to argue with Hu Yaoyao when the Half-Saint cultivator beside him abruptly waved his hands and bellowed, "Enough!"

Wu Xu immediately fell silent.

"I am sure that we can agree that the Scarlet Firefly Fruits are very important to all of us here. Like you have said, we are all master teachers. If you have harvested the Scarlet Firefly Fruits, we are willing to officially negotiate the distribution of the fruits with you under the rules of the Master Teacher Pavilion," the Half-Saint said calmly.

"How do you intend to negotiate?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Simple. If any of you can withstand three blows from me, we will turn around and leave straightaway. Otherwise pardon me, but you won't be leaving until you hand over five Scarlet Firefly Fruits today!" the Half-Saint replied.

"If we win, you get to leave without any compensation, and if we lose, we have to hand you five Scarlet Firefly Fruits? Hahaha, this is the most hilarious joke I have heard in the longest time. You call this a negotiation? What makes you think that we will agree to such terms?" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.