Library of Heaven's Path

"Yes, I have no doubt that my teacher is the number one teacher in the world!" Hearing the First Elder's compliment, Zhang Jiuxiao nodded readily in agreement.

Putting him aside, even his seven seniors were figures who would rattle the entire continent in the near future!

Considering how each and every one of his teacher's students was so outstanding, who could dare claim to be able to rival him?

Listening to Zhang Jiuxiao's response, the First Elder naturally attributed it to the innate respect that a student would have toward their teacher, and he simply smiled politely at those words, not bothering to refute them. He flicked his wrist and passed a token over. "Since your teacher wishes not for his identity to be revealed, I won't question you any further on the matter either. However, the fact still remains that he has helped us groom such an outstanding offspring in our Zhang Clan, so there's no questioning that he's a great benefactor of our Zhang Clan!

"This is our highest honorary guest token of our Zhang Clan; I hope that you can pass it over to him in my stead. As long as he holds this token in hand, any member of the Zhang Clan who encounters him will have to accord him the utmost respect and fulfill his demands to the best of their ability!"

"Thank you, First Elder!" Seeing that the other party had chosen not to pursue this issue, Zhang Jiuxiao heaved a sigh of relief and took the token.

Despite the small size of the token, it was actually much heavier than it looked. It carried an air of history to it, reminiscent of an ancient artifact. With just a glance, it was apparent that it was an extremely valuable item.

"In the entire history of the Zhang Clan, we have only given out this honorary guest token thrice. It's in view of the fact that he's your teacher and his ability to groom you to be such an outstanding individual that we have decided to show the utmost goodwill of our clan," the First Elder said grimly.

In terms of the sheer purity of bloodline, Zhang Jiuxiao could be said to nearly be on par with the young prodigy back then. With such a figure amid their ranks, it seemed like the Zhang Clan's greatness would be secured for the next millennium to come. Not only so, the issue that they had been worrying about all along would also be successfully resolved!

On this in itself, Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was indeed a benefactor of the Zhang Clan.

Putting aside an honorary guest token, as long as the other party's demands were not too overboard, the Zhang Clan would surely try their best to fulfill his needs.

"I understand!" Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

Considering that his teacher was a Celestial Master Teacher, he was bound to be a figure who would stand at the very top of the Master Teacher Continent in the end. Naturally, it was only right for the Zhang Clan to fawn over him.

"I won't pursue the matter concerning the identity of your teacher, but there's one matter that I need you to explain to me." The First Elder looked at Zhang Jiuxiao sternly before continuing on. "I heard that you were with the Sanctum of Sages' Zhang Xuan last night. Do you know where he is at the moment? Also, what were the both of you doing?"

That Zhang Xuan was truly the herald of catastrophe. The Zhang Clan had to tread carefully around him, or else, before they knew it, everything around them would be turned to rubble. Naturally, they had to keep a close eye on his whereabouts so as to guard against him.

As for associating Zhang Xuan together with Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher… honestly speaking, such a thought had never flashed across the First Elder's mind.

In his view, Zhang Xuan could only be considered a slightly more talented youngster. How could he possibly be able to achieve something that even he and Yang shi were incapable of pulling off?

Not to mention, considering how talented Zhang Jiuxiao was, he surely did not have to take someone younger and weaker than him as his teacher!

"Te… Zhang shi is a close friend of mine. I visited him last night in order to ask him about some matters, but we went our separate ways shortly after. I'm not too sure about where he went afterward," Zhang Jiuxiao replied.

"You aren't too sure?" the First Elder asked with a frown. He was just about to continue questioning Zhang Jiuxiao when he suddenly raised his eyebrows. Following which, he whipped out his token and took a swift glance at it before turning his gaze back to Zhang Jiuxiao. "You have just undergone the lightning tribulation and utilized your unique bloodline, so your body is currently quite frail. For the time being, you can use this room to recuperate from your injuries. I have some matters to attend to at the moment, so I'll have to take my leave for a short while."

After which, the First Elder took out a pill and passed it over to Zhang Jiuxiao. "This is a pill specially forged for our clan members. It has the effect of allowing one to quickly recover from the side effects of activating one's unique bloodline. Under normal circumstances, a Zhang Clan member who has activated their bloodline would have to recuperate for an entire month before they regain their fighting prowess and are able to continue cultivating, but this medicine allows one to make a full recovery within just ten days! Of course, given the higher purity of your bloodline, you should be able to recover fully within just three days!"

Just like the Luo Clan, the activation of the Zhang Clan's bloodline would require at least a whole month's rest before one was able to make a full recovery.

In view of this problem, for many generations, the Sage Clans had been trying to formulate a medicine that could alleviate this problem, and after much research, they had finally managed to create this pill. It could allow one to swiftly recover from the side effects of the activation of their unique bloodline, but unfortunately, the medicinal herbs required to forge the pill were simply too valuable, such that, unless it was an extremely important situation, not even core members of the Zhang Clan like Zhang Chun were allowed to use one.

Only the older generation of the Zhang Clan had access to the pill.

It was only upon hearing those words that Zhang Jiuxiao finally realized how exhausted and fatigued he was. He had been so preoccupied with dealing with the First Elder that he had not realized that his body was completely sapped of energy. Thus, he swallowed the pill without any hesitation.

As soon as the pill melted within his body, a warm and powerful surge of medicinal energy suffused his entire body, slowly replenishing his depleted energy. Gradually, his withered aura recovered.

"What a fine medicine!" Zhang Jiuxiao could not help but exclaim as he felt his injured body and depleted bloodline recovering at a visible pace.

"It indeed is!" Seeing how fast Zhang Jiuxiao was recovering, the First Elder nodded in satisfaction. After which, he turned around and left the room.

Not too long later, he encountered Zhang Wuchen, who was heading in his direction, and he immediately asked severely, "Has Zhang Xuan returned to his accommodation?"

"Yes, I have just checked on it," Zhang Wuchen said. "Has Zhang Jiuxiao explained the reason behind his sudden surge in cultivation?"

"It seems like he has acknowledged a formidable expert as his teacher," the First Elder said.

"An expert?"

"Yes. I have no idea what means that person used, but he was actually able to alter the purity of Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline. I can't say for sure at the moment, but I suspect that there's a spy in our clan!" The First Elder harrumphed coldly.

"Someone discreetly took Zhang Jiuxiao into the Blood Reservoir in order to temper Zhang Jiuxiao's bloodline… This means that there's someone on the inside liaising with Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher!"

There were currently two possibilities. Either Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was an elder of the Zhang Clan, or Zhang Jiuxiao's teacher was liaising with someone within the Zhang Clan to access the Blood Reservoir.

Furthermore, since Zhang Jiuxiao did not leave the clan last night, his teacher was likely to currently be in the clan as well.

Regardless of which of the two possibilities it was, it meant that there was someone in the Zhang Clan working behind their backs.

"The art of removing a unique bloodline and grafting it over to another individual is an ability that very few people in the clan know of. Do you suspect that it's one of them?" Zhang Wuchen exclaimed in shock.

"It's hard to say for sure. This art has been passed down since ancient times, so even I can't say for sure whether the art has been leaked out to others or not. However, I have already prepared countermeasures against the matter. In the honorary guest token that I have passed to Zhang Jiuxiao, I have hidden just a tinge of my will. If a foreign hand comes into contact with it, I'll be alerted of the matter immediately," the First Elder said with a wave of his hand.

"Then… how should we deal with Zhang Jiuxiao?" Zhang Wuchen asked.

"I have checked his bloodline, and there's no doubt that he possesses the purest bloodline in the Zhang Clan at the very moment. Regardless of how he obtained his bloodline, he is already one of the top geniuses of our clan. From this day onward, the Zhang Clan shall devote its resources into grooming him so as to push him toward a breakthrough to Saint 9-dan or even higher before the end of the year. Afterward, we shall have him take the young prodigy's place in the engagement," the First Elder said.

"Given his strength, there's probably no one in the younger generation who's able to match him. He's indeed the best choice we have to complete the engagement we have with the Luo Clan," Zhang Wuchen said with a nod. "Then, what about his relationship with Zhang Xuan?"

"Based on what I've gathered so far, it seems like the both of them are only acquaintances, so there's no need to be too concerned about that. Bring me to meet him! If he's willing to pledge loyalty to the Zhang Clan and support Zhang Jiuxiao, he will indeed become an invaluable asset to our Zhang Clan. Otherwise, we'll have to send him on his way as soon as possible so that he doesn't cause any more damage!"

At this point, the First Elder's eyes turned cold as he continued. "Even if he's Yang shi's student, I have no mercy whatsoever toward those who intend to harm the Zhang Clan!"