Chapter 1150: The Golden Source Cauldron Battles the Vice Hall Master

"Not dead?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. "Where?"

This Elder Xu trusted him, which was why he had brought him to the Poison Hall. If he had died because of this, he would surely feel deeply guilty.

"He was captured by King Zhongqing and imprisoned in the dungeon..."

Ming Zhen said.

"Dungeon?"

"My informant has been cut off. It seems King Zhongqing intends to have Elder Xu and the others concoct even more potent poisons, so he spared their lives. Of course, I'm not clear on the specifics..."

Ming Zhen explained.

"Mm." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Regardless of whether they were concocting poisons, as long as Elder Xu and the others were alive, it was good news.

But he couldn't go rescue them now.

Otherwise, it would be the same as before—giving others a handle to use against him.

"You are now poisoned by my deadly venom, which only I can cure. You should know how to speak..."

After inquiring further and learning that Xu You and the others were not in immediate danger, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes!"

Ming Zhen nodded, not daring to waste words.

This man before him could kill even the Poison Hall Master's venomous insects in the blink of an eye, and even White Poison Master and Sea Poison Master dared not speak carelessly. His skill with poison was nothing short of astonishing—far beyond Ming Zhen's own ability.

Given that, it was better to obediently comply.

Having learned what he needed, Zhang Xuan stopped his actions and casually grabbed, dispelling the surrounding restrictions.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of crashing sounds reached his ears.

Looking up, he saw Vice Hall Master Tian Qing still locked in battle with the Golden Source Cauldron.

The cauldron blazed with raging flames, using all its strength, while Vice Hall Master Tian Qing was now disheveled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—clearly bearing not insignificant injuries.

Although this Vice Hall Master's strength was formidable, the Golden Source Cauldron was no pushover either; the two were evenly matched.

Seeing that the Golden Source Cauldron had yet to show signs of defeat, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to King Zhongqing, who stood to one side.

At this moment, King Zhongqing was drenched in blood, his body pierced by at least forty or fifty holes from Sun Qiang's attacks, barely clinging to life, as if he might die at any moment.

"How dare you torture me! You must be blind! Don't you know who I am? I'm the steward of..."

While stabbing wildly with a sharp knife, Sun Qiang roared, as if venting the humiliation he had suffered earlier.

"..." Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Sun Qiang, take it easy. Don't kill him..."

"Don't worry, young master!"

Hearing the order, Sun Qiang nodded, then produced a bottle of chili powder from somewhere and sprinkled it over the wounds.

Seeing that King Zhongqing might die at any moment, Zhang Xuan could no longer bear to watch. Just as he was about to say something more, he saw Luo Qiqi and Yu Fei'er looking over with worried expressions.

"Teacher Zhang, causing such a big scene... I'm afraid it will be hard to settle."

After hesitating for a long time, Yu Fei'er couldn't help but speak.

Although it was to rescue Sun Qiang... beating the foremost prince of the Qingyuan Empire to such a state and thrashing the most powerful Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Pavilion—if word got back to the Pavilion, things would blow up.

At the very least, he would likely lose his master teacher qualification.

"It's fine. If it were any other master teacher, I wouldn't dare act this way, but... this Vice Hall Master is nothing."

Zhang Xuan shook his head, calculated the time, took out a jade token, tapped it lightly, and sent a message.

"Nothing?"

The two were baffled.

Regardless, he was a Vice Hall Master, with high status and noble rank—why would he be considered nothing?

"This King Zhongqing colludes with the Poison Hall—that's beyond doubt. This Vice Hall Master Tian, instead of investigating, comes after me. If there's no shady business between them, I won't believe it!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Earlier, he had indeed been somewhat wary of this man, but given the unfair judgment and the information he had gathered, he was now almost certain.

"If they were friends before and helped each other, that's just personal favor, not a breach of etiquette, right..."

Luo Qiqi frowned.

"Indeed, it's not a breach of etiquette. However, there are some things you don't know, and it's not convenient for me to elaborate. Let's wait for Teacher Wu to arrive before making a decision."

Zhang Xuan said.

Seeing that he seemed confident and unconcerned, Luo Qiqi and the others relaxed.

"Young master, I'm done teaching him a lesson..."

At this point, Sun Qiang had also finished sprinkling the chili powder and walked back with a satisfied expression, as if the earlier torture had been swept away.

Zhang Xuan turned to look and indeed saw King Zhongqing on the verge of death, appearing as if he might expire at any moment.

After a moment's hesitation, he approached, flipped his wrist to produce a gourd of fine wine, lifted the man's neck, and forcefully poured it down.

The black-robed youth, Steward Qin, was weaker than him, and even Ming Zhen, though stronger, was not far off. He could channel true energy directly into their bodies without detection, but this man was different.

As a Saint realm fourth layer peak expert, his primordial spirit was meticulous; if Zhang Xuan directly infused true energy, it would be easily noticed.

Heaven's Path true energy was his greatest secret, so he had to be cautious.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

As the wine entered his throat, before long, the wounds inflicted by Sun Qiang healed completely.

Although Zhang Xuan's current strength was inferior to the other's, it was not far off, and Heaven's Path true energy could still easily repair injuries.

"Young master..."

Seeing Zhang Xuan heal the man, Sun Qiang felt a pang of regret.

Since he was going to heal him anyway, he should have been even harsher earlier... instead of holding back and not having enough fun.

"He can't die yet, nor can he be injured... Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan fed a few more mouthfuls of wine into the man's body, but this time he secretly concealed the true energy without activating it.

After handling this, he looked at Sun Qiang again.

"What exactly happened? How did you run into King Zhongqing's men and get captured?"

He found this somewhat strange. Under normal circumstances, they had nothing to do with each other. Even if someone called out the name 'Sun Qiang,' it could refer to many people on the street.

Why did they specifically capture him and firmly believe he was Zhang Xuan?

"This..." Sun Qiang scratched his head, his face full of embarrassment.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Xuan knew things weren't that simple. He frowned. "Speak!"

"It was... last night, I went out to find something to eat. Just as I sat down, I heard someone whispering, discussing my name..."

Sun Qiang's face reddened. "Young master knows I'm rather nosy. Hearing them talk about me, I naturally went to ask. Then they said there was a person named Sun Qiang who was incredibly strong and gifted, full of admiration. I thought that was so impressive... it perfectly matched my style, so I subtly hinted at it to them. And then... then I got beaten up..."

"..." Before he even finished the explanation, Zhang Xuan was already speechless. So that's what happened.

He knew his steward's character all too well.

He had no idea who he learned it from, but he loved showing off. When he found such an opportunity, how could he let it slip? He must have bragged extravagantly.

When the other party praised him, he naturally agreed, thinking he would be treated as an expert. Instead... he got beaten!

"Sigh, such a handful. If only he had half my humility..."

Shaking his head, he was full of helplessness.

Wherever he went, he remained extremely low-key, never deliberately flaunting his achievements or strength, and disliked causing trouble. He was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. But this fellow—half a bottle of water, sloshing around—with such strength, showing off in a small place like Tianxuan Kingdom was one thing, but coming here... was he asking for death?

This disaster was well-deserved, a lesson to make him wiser. He should remember this and not be so reckless in the future.

"Young master, I won't dare again..."

Seeming to realize his mistake, Sun Qiang looked at him apologetically.

When the young master showed off, no matter how he did it, it was impressive. But he just casually showed off, going along with what the other said... and ended up beaten like this!

Thinking about it was disheartening.

"After we return, you will go into seclusion. If you don't reach Saint realm within three months, get lost and don't call yourself my steward!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Yes..."

Hearing that he had to reach Saint realm in three months, Sun Qiang's face twisted in misery.

Ignoring this self-important, pretentious fellow, Zhang Xuan turned his attention back to the battle before him.

"Young master, this guy is too fierce. I can't beat him. Give me some pointers quickly..."

By now, the Golden Source Cauldron had fallen into a disadvantage, completely suppressed by Vice Hall Master Tian Qing. Seeing Zhang Xuan look over, it called out urgently.

"When fighting, you only use brute force and don't use your brain. There's a vital point at his Jianhai acupoint on his waist. Try it."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Got it!" Hearing this, the Golden Source Cauldron grew excited. With a long roar, it rammed its thick cauldron leg fiercely toward Vice Hall Master Tian Qing.

"You..."

Unexpectedly, the young man below had pointed out his weakness in one sentence. Vice Hall Master Tian was furious and hastily retreated.

"When his true energy gathers at his chest, it doesn't flow smoothly, with a stagnation of 0.3 breaths. His primordial spirit attack has flaws..."

Seeing the other retreat, Zhang Xuan's mouth kept moving, speaking rapidly.

As the other executed his martial technique, the Library of Heaven's Path smoothly formed a book. Opening it, it was full of flaws.

However, the greatest flaw was in his primordial spirit.

Normally, a Half-Exit expert with a powerful primordial spirit should have few flaws, but this man had numerous vulnerabilities, which puzzled him somewhat.

But now was not the time to study it in detail; guiding the Golden Source Cauldron was the priority.

Rumble!

With his words, Vice Hall Master Tian Qing grew increasingly frustrated, soon spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, his face turning uglier by the moment.

"Fighting like this, I'm bound to lose..."

Every flaw the other pointed out was a fatal weakness in his cultivation. Normally, these weaknesses were hidden, undetectable by those of the same level, and even an Exit expert would find it impossible to locate them!

Yet this Zhang Xuan had spoken them all out, not a single mistake... driving him mad.

"I'll kill this guy first, or I'm definitely dead!"

Gritting his teeth, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. Vice Hall Master Tian Qing's body flickered, turning into an afterimage to deceive the Golden Source Cauldron, and in the next moment, he was already before Zhang Xuan.

At that moment, Zhang Xuan was still speaking with the Golden Source Cauldron. Before he could react, he was struck in the chest, blood spurting from his mouth, and he was sent flying backward.

"Teacher..."

"Teacher Zhang..."

"Young master..."

Everyone's eyes instantly reddened.