Chapter 1129: Heaven-Defying Technique for the Second Level of the Holy Domain

"This..."

Watching the most outstanding geniuses in his hall bow down one by one to that young man, Hall Master Feng was completely bewildered.

What... just happened?

Aren't the war masters of our War Master Hall all extremely proud and unwilling to submit to anyone?

In just this short while, how did they even bow to him as a teacher?

"Old Qi, this... what's going on?"

Hall Master Xing could no longer hold back and strode over in two steps.

"Master Sun just explained some techniques for applying martial skills... it was immensely beneficial!" Old Qi's face was flushed red, and his fingers kept twitching, as if even he had gained a great deal and was barely restraining the urge to bow and become a disciple.

"Some techniques for applying martial skills made them act like this?"

Hall Master Feng couldn't believe it.

Their Martial Skills Hall had studied countless techniques for applying various martial skills, but everyone had their own opinion, and they had never reached a consensus. This Master Sun only explained a few techniques, and it made everyone so impressed... That's a bit exaggerated!

"You didn't hear his explanations... Forget it, it's a long story. When you get the chance, find a war master and ask carefully!"

Without hearing the lecture firsthand, one simply couldn't understand its profundity. Old Qi ignored the still-confused Hall Master Feng and quickly stepped forward to stand before Zhang Xuan, his face full of respect.

"Thank you, Master Sun, for saving my life. We meet again..."

Although this Master Sun had slightly altered his appearance, his voice was not disguised. After just one sentence, Old Qi confirmed his identity.

"It's you! What are you doing here?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

This strange old man, back when he was in Jingyuan City, had been tormented by a deadly poison and could die at any moment. Now, his face was ruddy, his strength formidable. If he hadn't addressed him, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have dared to confirm it.

"Master Sun helped me detoxify, restoring my body to health. Recently, I had some insights and made another breakthrough... so I planned to come back for revenge!" Old Qi said.

Zhang Xuan understood.

The other party must have been poisoned by someone back then. After suffering for so long, once freed, how could he let the culprit go?

"It was just a small favor. I also received your medicinal herbs as compensation, so it's nothing!"

Zhang Xuan smiled. "Alright, I won't talk more with you. Hall Master Wei, I defeated the puppet and passed the assessment. I should be able to enter the library now, right?"

"Of course!"

With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Hall Master Wei quickly nodded.

Passing the assessment allowed entry into the library—that was the rule. There was no need to trouble Hall Master Feng anymore. Besides, the latter had been beaten into that state. If other war masters found out, he would be utterly disgraced. They would avoid him if possible, so why would they bother him with such a trivial matter?

Following Hall Master Wei, Zhang Xuan soon entered the library.

After he left, Hall Master Xing and the others quickly gathered around.

"Old Qi, he... is the Sun Qiang you mentioned?"

The reason Old Qi had come so urgently was to confirm whether this person was the benefactor who had saved him.

"Yes, he is my lifesaver. It seems he is not the Zhang Xuan you mentioned!" Old Qi nodded.

This Master Sun, whom he had met in Jingyuan City, belonged to the Hongyuan Empire. There was no need for him to disguise his identity, so he should not be Dean Zhang Xuan.

"Good, that's a relief..."

Hall Master Xing breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted.

"What's wrong? Do you have a conflict with Dean Zhang? In the Hongyuan Empire, his reputation is great, and I've never heard of any misconduct. How could he have offended the War Master Hall?" Seeing his attitude, Old Qi was puzzled.

The name Zhang Xuan was thunderous in the Hongyuan Empire, even more famous than Emperor Yu Shenqing, and he was an idol worshipped by countless young people.

As the dean of the Master Teacher Academy, he had many legendary experiences, and no misdeeds had ever been heard of. Why was Hall Master Xing so wary of him?

"We have no conflict..." Realizing he had lost his composure, Hall Master Xing quickly waved his hand.

"Hall Master, since it's not Zhang Xuan, this Master Sun has such high talent and such a deep understanding of martial skills... If we could get him to represent our War Master Hall in an exchange with... the Xuanxuan Society..."

Hall Master Liao approached.

"This..." Hall Master Xing blinked.

Indeed, the Xuanxuan Society was aggressive. Even though he had broken through and cultivated a mental cultivation technique, it would still be difficult to make them admire him in terms of martial skills and other aspects.

But this Master Sun was different!

In martial skills, he could defeat Hall Master Feng with a single finger using a newly learned ultimate move; in mental cultivation, he could make the founding patriarch willingly hand over the Glazed Heart Cultivation Technique; in true qi, he could split ten stone tablets with one palm; in combat, he could smoothly escape under the siege of the three of them...

From any perspective, this Master Sun was a powerhouse among powerhouses, absolutely invincible at the same level!

If they could get him to represent the War Master Hall in an exchange with the Xuanxuan Society, the War Master Hall would surely gain great fame and no longer be so passive.

"That's a good idea!"

After thinking for a moment, Hall Master Xing said, "But... he is not a member of our War Master Hall. If we let him represent us and the news gets out, would it... damage our reputation?"

"There's no damage. Let him represent our War Master Hall in a competition with that Zhang Xuan. If he wins, the members of the Xuanxuan Society will join the War Master Hall of the Qingyuan Empire... Once successful, our War Master Hall will surely flourish. We're all from the same hall; our reputation won't be harmed, but will grow stronger!"

Hall Master Liao said.

"That's true!"

Hall Master Xing nodded.

Indeed.

If they could get all the members of the Xuanxuan Society to join the War Master Hall, their Qingyuan Empire branch would grow stronger and stronger, and dominating the alliance would not be difficult.

Even if others talked, it would only be an internal matter and wouldn't affect the big picture.

"But... what if we lose?"

Hall Master Xing was still uneasy.

Although this Master Sun was very powerful, that Dean Zhang Xuan was reportedly no pushover either!

After all, he had personally trained Zheng Yang, a prodigy capable of challenging for the position of War Son... and had made the Xuanxuan Society so strong in such a short time!

To say he was weak—even he wouldn't believe it.

"If we lose... we'll have to accept it. At worst, our entire War Master Hall will join the Xuanxuan Society!" Hall Master Liao said.

"This..." Hall Master Xing's mouth twitched.

"We have no other choice now. If the members of the War Master Hall find out that Hall Master Zhou, Hall Master Lu, and the others have already gone over to exchange and join... it will definitely cause an uproar, and then even more war masters will become members of the Xuanxuan Society!" Hall Master Liao said bitterly.

This was a last resort.

Although the members of the Xuanxuan Society were not very powerful, their understanding of martial skills and combat was extraordinary and astonishing.

If they could truly join and exchange knowledge with them, it would surely bring a qualitative leap to the War Master Hall.

Now it was all about who seized the initiative, to avoid the War Master Hall losing face and becoming a laughingstock.

"Alright, let's do it. When Master Sun comes out later, I'll discuss it with him!"

After thinking it over, Hall Master Xing sighed.

Being forced into this situation by a small force from a first-class empire felt somewhat pathetic.

But for him, there was no other way.

The reason master teachers were willing to become war masters was to pursue greater combat power and strength. The members of the Xuanxuan Society possessed more exquisite combat techniques. Not only the hall masters, but even he was somewhat tempted.

If not for the dignity of the War Master Hall, he would have gone over to study seriously long ago.

...

"So this is the library of the Martial Skills Hall? So many martial skills..."

Unaware of Hall Master Xing's thoughts, Zhang Xuan entered the library, glanced around, and his eyes lit up.

As expected of the War Master Hall's Martial Skills Hall, there were countless martial skills, densely packed, an unknown number.

The two hundred martial skills used in the assessment were mostly at the saint grade, but there were even more below saint grade, adding up to tens of thousands.

"With these martial skills, the Great Compassion Demon Palm might be able to converge into a heaven-defying technique..."

His eyes gleamed.

What he lacked now were high-level martial skill manuals. With so many, he could definitely elevate his understanding of martial skills to a higher level.

"Flaw!"

Smiling slightly, he stopped thinking and let his eyes fall on the rows of bookshelves before him.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, countless books rapidly entered his sea of consciousness.

After ten minutes, all the martial skills had been absorbed.

"There are indeed many cultivation techniques for the first and second levels of the Holy Domain."

After finishing with the martial skills, his eyes fell on the last few rows of bookshelves, which were indeed filled with various true qi cultivation techniques. There were hundreds of books for the first and second levels of the Holy Domain.

There were also techniques for the third and fourth levels, but far fewer, only four or five in total.

He swept his eyes over them and recorded them all.

"Correct!"

With a low exclamation, in an instant, three books appeared before him, for the second, third, and fourth levels of the Holy Domain.

He quickly opened them.

"The second level of the Holy Domain indeed has no flaws..." His eyes lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Among these three books, the one for the second level of the Holy Domain was perfect, while those for the third and fourth levels still had flaws and could not be cultivated normally.

Even so, he was very satisfied.

"I'll do it here!"

Seeing that the library was empty and very quiet, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to find another place. He found a corner, shook his body, and slipped into the Ant Queen's Nest.

His accumulation was profound, and once he broke through, it would inevitably cause a huge commotion. If he damaged the other party's library because of that, it would be embarrassing.

It was safer to cultivate here.

Arriving at the prepared cultivation site inside the nest, he set up a seventh-level spirit gathering array, then threw several thousand high-grade spirit stones into it and sat down cross-legged.

High-grade spirit stones had diminished effects for him now; he had to rely on the spirit gathering array to produce greater effects. Otherwise, even if he absorbed them, he wouldn't be able to break through.

After preparing everything, Zhang Xuan carefully recalled the heaven-defying technique for the second level of the Holy Domain in his mind, opened all his pores wide to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy, and slowly circulated the true qi in his body.

The second level of the Holy Domain, the Divine Sense Realm, allowed one to see farther and more clearly. Although it didn't greatly increase power, it enhanced observation to the minutest detail, thereby increasing combat effectiveness.

"Divine sense is produced by opening the fetal eye... Let's begin!"

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan's spirit slowly entered his dantian and settled on a golden elixir-like fetal embryo at its center.