Library of Heaven's Path

Hearing the words from the middle-aged man before her, the Second Elder was astounded.

"You said that you brought her away? That's impossible! The Chanting Serenity Hall is shrouded by a 9-star pinnacle formation set up painstakingly by the ancestors of the Glacier Plain Court. Without the token, it's impossible to enter its premises. Not even the guild leader of the Formation Master Guild headquarters would be able to take her away discreetly!"

She did not believe something like this could be true nor even possible.

The Chanting Serenity Hall was the place where criminals were housed, and its security was so tight that it was impossible for anyone to sneak in discreetly without alarming them!

Putting aside the head of the Formation Master Guild headquarters, even the head of the Luo Clan, who could be considered the leading expert in the field of spatial manipulation, was not capable of achieving this feat.

But… the impossible had indeed happened. Zhao Ya had disappeared, and the middle-aged man before her claimed that he had taken her away. If so, just who could this middle-aged man be?

And how powerful could he be?

"This…"

While You Ruoxin could not help but hold some skepticism toward this matter, she still swiftly composed herself and clasped her fist. "Yang shi, I was unaware that Zhao Ya is your grandstudent, so I ask of you to forgive me if I have offended you in any way. However, I would like to clarify that it wasn't my intention to make things hard for her by placing the Heaven Sealing Lock on her!"

While Zhao Ya was a member of their Glacier Plain Court, now that Yang shi was involved, the entire nature of the matter had changed.

Lineage was of the utmost importance on the Master Teacher Continent. If a student was humiliated, it was normal for the teacher to step forward and stand up on their behalf. In fact, as long as the teacher did not go too overboard, the Master Teacher Pavilion would not restrict such behavior.

"Humph! You used the Heaven Sealing Lock to seal her meridians, placing her through great suffering… Do you honestly believe that I'll let this matter go just because it wasn't your intention to do so?" Zhang Xuan spat as his voice gradually turned wintry.

"This…" You Ruoxin bit her lips nervously. "To tell you the truth, Yang shi, Zhao Ya's Pure Yin Body must be awakened as soon as possible because it involves the major affair of the Master Teacher Pavilion, so I had no other choice!"

"The major affair of the Master Teacher Pavilion?" Zhang Xuan repeated questioningly.

"Indeed." Hearing Zhang Xuan's doubtful voice, Elder Qu asked with a hint of wariness in his voice, "Yang shi, are you not aware of the matter? Aren't you from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters?"

While he still did not think that the other party was Grand Elder Yang Xuan, considering that the other party had been able to point out the root of his ailment and treat it swiftly, he felt that it was still very likely that the other party was someone from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters. Perhaps, he might be one of the more senior elders who had long gone into seclusion.

Harboring such doubts in his mind, he had decided to take a step back and simply watch things progress by the side so as to figure out the intentions of the middle-aged man before him, especially since the other party had not really shown any breach of respect or caused any trouble so far.

Furthermore, he had come in order to save his grandstudent, which was a perfectly valid reason.

Just that… that matter was something that had resulted in the mobilization of the entire Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, yet the person before him actually knew nothing about it at all. Could he be not from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters after all?

If he was not a master teacher and yet possessed the ability to cure his affliction and save his grandstudent from the Glacier Plain Court silently… this matter might not be as simple as it seemed!

"Of course I am. I am just not too sure about some matters!" Zhang Xuan's heart jolted in alarm, but he did not allow it to surface on his face. Maintaining his ever-nonchalant face, he waved his hands casually.

What did Zhao Ya's unique constitution being awakened have to do with the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters? What was going on?

Serving as the role model for the whole of mankind, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters had its reputation to uphold and would not do or allow anything that was too immoral. It was hard to believe that they would condone the First Elder's act of forcing Zhao Ya to use the art of harvesting to awaken her unique constitution.

"You aren't too sure? That's impossible. That matter was decided by Yang shi himself, and he entrusted it to the deputy pavilion master to carry out. There's no 9-star master teacher in the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters who doesn't know of this matter, so how could you be unsure of it? You… who in the world are you?" Elder Qu said as he took a step toward Zhang Xuan.

Even if the other party had treated his injuries and was his benefactor, as long as the other party was not from the Master Teacher Pavilion, he would have to take the other party down.

That matter was simply too important to allow anything to go wrong. He could not afford to compromise on it, and he could not take responsibility for the consequences if anything went wrong.

"You aren't Yang shi? Then who are you? What do you mean by coming over to the Glacier Plain Court and kidnapping our young court chief?" Seeing that Elder Qu had turned on the middle-aged man, You Ruoxin's heart jolted in astonishment as she began assessing the middle-aged man before her with narrowed eyes.

The auras of the two experts pressed down on Zhang Xuan heavily, leaving him short on breath.

"Elder Qu, I'll explain this matter to you when we return. I need you to remain silent for the time being."

Not expecting to give himself away in such a manner, Zhang Xuan snapped his fingers.

Padah!

Elder Qu suddenly felt the zhenqi that he had just assimilated coming to life. It dived into the most remote corners of his body and began tearing apart everything.

"Ahhh!"

The sudden assault of pain nearly left his knees crumbling to the floor. Cold sweat rained down his cheeks. He tried to open his mouth, but he found himself unable to say a word at all. Even his zhenqi telepathy was being interrupted.

In an instant, he understood that he had fallen for the other party's scheme.

Could he be… the newly-appointed hall master of the Poison Hall? Elder Qu thought in alarm.

He tried to move, but as if he was trapped within quicksand, his stiffened body simply would not budge.

Not too long ago, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters had received news that the Poison Hall headquarters hidden in the deep mountains had ushered in a new hall master. It was said that she was the reincarnation of their founder, and despite her young age, she possessed unparalleled affinity with poison, making her a force to behold.

The Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters had sent a 9-star master teacher skilled in the art of concealment to sneak into the heart of their base and scout the matter. But before he could even reach the hall master's residence, he had already been afflicted with lethal poison and nearly lost his life.

Unexpectedly, not only did the hall master cure the 9-star master teacher of his poison, she even told him that her teacher was a master teacher, and she had no intention of going against the Master Teacher Pavilion, so there was no need for them to be so tense.

Further investigations on the matter had shown that the Poison Hall had truly toned down significantly after the inauguration of the new hall master, and only then did the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters' heart finally rest easy.

Could all of that actually have been a facade? They had toned down on the surface, but in truth, they were moving in the shadows, preparing to launch a devastating blow on the Master Teacher Pavilion, starting with the Glacier Plain Court—was that it?

Otherwise, who else in the world could be capable of planting poison into a 9-star master teacher like him without incurring his notice?

Possessing such formidable means, if that fellow truly intended the Glacier Plain Court harm, he could easily start a massacre!

Alarmed, Elder Qu drove his zhenqi anxiously in hopes of gathering the strength required to move his body. However, the more he tried to drive his zhenqi, the stiffer his body became. The pain engulfing his body intensified, and he felt as if he would be torn to pieces.

How can this be? How did he manage to get the poison into me?

The poison had originated from the surges of zhenqi that the middle-aged man had given him previously. However, he had checked on the surges of zhenqi beforehand and ensured that there was nothing wrong with them. Had the Poison Hall really grown so powerful?

Damn it!

Knowing that it was futile to get anxious, Elder Qu took a deep breath and forcefully calmed himself. He began driving his zhenqi with greater intensity, hoping to suppress those surges of zhenqi that he had just taken in.

While that would not resolve the poison, with his strength, it should not be too much of a problem for him to suppress it temporarily.

"Elder Qu!"

On the other hand, seeing that her pillar of support had fallen silent, You Ruoxin's heart leaped in trepidation.

She knew just how powerful Elder Qu was, and yet, by some kind of sorcery, he had really fallen silent with just a few words from the middle-aged man before her.

Was the middle-aged man before her really that powerful?

"There's no need to turn to him for support. Qu Buping has been suppressed by my will, and he can't even fend for himself anymore. Since it has already come to the point, I don't think there's any need for me to maintain my act. Indeed, I'm not Yang shi. However, not even the Yang shi whom all of you look up to so much will be able to hold a candle to me!"

Raising his eyelids to look at You Ruoxin directly, Zhang Xuan took a step forward, and an indomitable aura flowed forth from his body. It was almost as if he was a deity from the heavens. Every single move that he made represented the will of the heavens, and at that very moment, the will of the heavens bore malevolent intent, seeking to bring divine retribution to the world.

"Just because I haven't made a move yet doesn't mean that I won't. Tell me how the Heaven Sealing Lock can be resolved, and I'll spare you and your Glacier Plain Court. Otherwise, I don't mind…

"… letting the Glacier Plain Court vanish hereafter!"