Chapter 1372: I Am Very Capable

After an unknown amount of time, the lightning vanished. Old Man Feng crawled out of the pit, covered in dust, his face bearing an expression of utter dejection, as if he had been violated by savage beasts countless times—the picture of despair.

The many buildings and books before him were completely destroyed. Being powerless to resist was one thing, but... blue sky, white clouds, a clear expanse—then suddenly thunder and lightning, striking him again and again—what on earth was going on?

He only wanted to take on a disciple... That wasn't a heinous crime, was it? Not enough to violate the heavenly laws...

Fortunately, these lightning bolts carried only a lesson, not a killing intent; otherwise, even as a peak Saint Domain ninth-layer powerhouse, he would have been unable to withstand them and would have been blasted to ashes.

“Master...” Yuchen pulled him out of the pit, his face full of conflict, unsure whether to comfort him or say something else.

In over two hundred years of following his master, this was the first time he had seen him like this.

“It's all my fault...”

Seeing the once-spirited old man reduced to this state in just over ten minutes, Zhang Xuan was filled with apology.

After several attempts, he had fully understood—just as the other had said earlier—it was indeed heavenly punishment.

A Heaven Fate Master peeping at the great Dao of Heaven and Earth might go unnoticed, but he himself, as the master of the Library of Heaven's Path, once he approached and communicated, such transgressive acts would be immediately detected.

It was like cheating on an exam: if undetected, one could get away with it; but if caught, without punishment, how could authority be established?

Otherwise, where would the dignity of Heaven's Dao lie?

Where would its authority be?

If everyone came to peep and secretly seek the Heavenly Fate... Heaven's Dao probably wouldn't survive!

Originally, he had only wanted to use the Library to examine Old Man Feng, form a book, and see if he could help resolve the hidden danger in his physical strength. He never dreamed that by looking at him, his profession would be detected by Heaven's Dao, and then the lightning came—one probe, one strike. After several consecutive tests, he finally confirmed...

This thing was brought here by him...

His intention was to save someone, but it turned into harming them...

Thinking about it filled him with shame.

“The books of a Heaven Fate Master cannot be read, and this profession cannot be investigated... It seems I have no way to learn it...”

At the same time, Zhang Xuan revealed a look of disappointment.

No matter what, this profession was of the upper nine ranks, respected and admired. If he could learn it, his status and position would surely increase.

But instead of helping him condense a book of Heaven's Dao, the Library had caused massive destruction... It seemed he was utterly fated to be incompatible with this profession.

“Old Man Feng, I'm truly sorry for what happened today. If I hadn't come here, perhaps such a great upheaval wouldn't have occurred...”

Approaching the bewildered old man, Zhang Xuan cupped his fists and apologized sincerely.

Whether others took him as a master or not, the entire Hall of Fate would not be affected. But he carried the Library of Heaven's Path, which meant he carried Heaven's Dao... and then he came to a place that peeped at Heaven's Dao...

It was merciful that this group of Heaven Fate Masters hadn't all been struck dead.

But regardless, the situation here was his fault—he couldn't shirk it or deny it; he could only admit it openly.

“It has nothing to do with you...” With vacant eyes, Old Man Feng sighed and shook his head again.

In his view, this was the punishment that Heaven Fate Masters deserved for revealing too many secrets. Even if this young man had extraordinary talent, he couldn't possibly control Heaven's Dao to attack them.

So, in the end, it was still his own problem, unrelated to others.

“Old Man Feng, since it's so chaotic here, you probably have no intention of taking a disciple for now. I won't disturb you any longer...”

Knowing that even if he explained, the other wouldn't believe him, Zhang Xuan said no more.

“Alright, you go back first. Once I've settled things here and figured out what happened, I'll come find you...”

Old Man Feng nodded.

With his entire foundation and lair destroyed... saying more was useless. It was better to let the young man leave for now, while he himself tried to find the root of the problem and ease the awkwardness before discussing taking a disciple.

Otherwise, in this state, even if he wanted to take a disciple, the other wouldn't agree!

“Farewell!”

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan turned and walked out.

Seeing him leave, Luo Xuanqing followed closely.

Once they were beyond the range of divine sense detection, he could no longer hold back. He came up beside Zhang Xuan and lowered his voice: “Master Zhang, what exactly happened just now?”

“I'm not sure either...” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Even to his brother-in-law, he couldn't say much about this matter—it was too significant.

“Not sure?” Seeing his answer, Luo Xuanqing frowned but held back and didn't press further.

Although he couldn't deduce the specifics, it was definitely related to this young man.

Otherwise, why did nothing happen when others came, but as soon as he appeared, something collapsed here or there?

People called him the Destroyer, wreaking havoc wherever he went, but after a short time of contact, this guy seemed even more ferocious than himself!

When he caused destruction, at least there were traces—either he used too much force or lost control of his cultivation... But this guy had completely wrecked the entire Hall of Fate without leaving any trace to investigate...

This was the highest realm of destruction—admirable.

“It seems I need to have a good talk with him about how to cause destruction without anyone knowing...”

He stroked his chin, lost in thought.

“Oh, right, I was so focused on following you out that I forgot to beat up Zhang Chun...”

After a long sigh, he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.

He had been so preoccupied with asking whether the Hall of Fate incident was related to this young man that he forgot the main purpose of this trip.

That Zhang Chun was still inside and hadn't come out, so he hadn't had a chance to beat him up...

If he met him and didn't strike, wouldn't that mean his hard-earned breakthrough in cultivation was for nothing—no chance to show off?

“Going out of your way to beat someone up is low-class... If you really want to hit him, you don't need to go find him—you can make him come to you...” Zhang Xuan said.

“Oh?” Luo Xuanqing looked over. “How?”

“Simple. Among the many professions in the Hall of Saints, are there any Zhang family disciples who rank high?”

Zhang Xuan looked at him.

“Of course!” Luo Xuanqing snorted with displeasure. “Although the Zhang family members are all despicable in character, their talent is indeed no joke. Many are not only strong in combat but also excel in auxiliary professions...”

The strength of the Zhang family was not only reflected in combat power but also in high achievements in other professions.

That was why they had such a great reputation in the Hall of Saints, feared and admired by all, securing their position as the top family, unshakable.

“Good. Besides Zhang Chun, who is the most famous? Take me to him—I want to challenge him in auxiliary professions!”

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Xuan's eyes. “As long as I challenge them one by one, I don't believe Zhang Chun won't step forward!”

Although the matter of the Hall of Fate couldn't be traced back to him in the short term, given enough time, they would surely figure out it was related to him.

Most importantly, he now knew of the existence of that Yang Xuan... If that person didn't show up, fine; but once he denied Zhang Xuan's identity, the Library of Heaven's Path would likely be exposed, making him a target of public criticism.

The reason the Master Teacher Continent, unlike other places, didn't disregard rules and kill for treasures was mainly due to the master-disciple lineage. Everyone knew that if you hit the junior, the senior would come; a single branch was deeply intertwined, and no one knew how deep the connections went... Therefore, unless there was a life-or-death grudge, people generally didn't act.

It was said that back then, a third-rank sage clan under an empire casually disposed of a minor figure at the Mortal Transformation realm, which dragged in the ancestral master of a Nine-Star Artifact Refiner... eventually leading to the clan's collapse, nearly causing its extinction.

Since then, as long as one's heritage was revealed, few dared to touch them. The reason Zhang Xuan had traveled so smoothly, without even a single assassination attempt, was largely due to the name “Yang Xuan.”

If that person didn't really exist, the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall would have long sent people to investigate after so many successful hall challenges.

Therefore, time was of the essence. He had to, before others discovered he could conceal the Heavenly Fate and before that Yang Xuan came looking for him, reach the level of an Eight-Star Master Teacher, unlock the seal, become the true Hall Master, or achieve an even higher cultivation.

With the identity of Hall Master, no matter who it was—even the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall—if they wanted to cause trouble, they would have to think twice.

His brother-in-law wanted to beat up Zhang Chun. After careful consideration, it was better to take the opportunity to deal with all the Zhang family members.

As Master Fei had said, every person who became Hall Master had to undergo various challenges and crush all opposition to establish deterrence. Since he was the only candidate for Hall Master, there was no need to hide anymore—he would go all out.

If he didn't turn the entire Hall of Saints upside down, his surname wasn't Zhang!

“Challenge auxiliary professions?”

Luo Xuanqing hesitated. “Your formations are formidable, and your beast taming is extremely powerful, but in other auxiliary professions, the Zhang family members are no slouches either. Are you sure... you can beat them and not be taught a lesson?”

It wasn't that he didn't believe in this young man.

Each profession has its specialty, and knowledge has its order. Even a master teacher couldn't be strong in every profession. He was convinced of Zhang Xuan's attainments in formations and beast taming, but when it came to other professions, thinking of the records left by those Zhang family members made even him feel daunted.

If he could slap their faces, fine; but if he failed and got slapped himself, that would be awkward...

“Don't worry. As long as I can find enough books, slapping my face... won't be that easy!”

A glint flashed in Zhang Xuan's eyes as he snorted.

“Since you're confident, that's good. I happen to need to go to the Awakener Guild. Do you want to come?”

Seeing his response and recalling the young man's various wonders, Luo Xuanqing paused, then said.

“Awakener Guild?”

Zhang Xuan looked over. “Are there Zhang family members there?”

“Zhang Chun's younger brother, Zhang Feng, is one of the saints there... But his level has already reached Eight-Star... Can you handle it?”

Luo Xuanqing nodded, still somewhat worried.

“Awakener? Zhang Chun's younger brother?”

A smile curled at the corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth. “Don't worry. A man can never say he can't. If this Zhang Feng has decent character, I'll just take the Awakener assessment and let it go. But if he's as despicable as his brother, then I won't be polite...”