Chapter 1384: Too Low-Key!

"You..."

Having used all his strength, yet before even jumping onto the platform, he was slapped back by the other party. Zhang Xu struggled to pull his head out of the ground, nearly going mad.

He was a favored son of heaven, the most formidable and invincible existence among his peers in the Zhang family. He had thought that even if he couldn't win, he could at least put up a fight, locked in a fierce battle. He never dreamed that he would be knocked off before even stepping onto the arena.

Most crucially... he had been so despised.

Overwhelmed by a strong sense of humiliation, he was on the verge of losing his mind!

However, despite his anger, he also recognized the other party's true strength... he had actually stepped into that realm one step ahead of him, becoming an expert of the Entering Void Realm!

Though only a hair's breadth away, it was like a chasm, impossible to cross.

"Since he's already reached the Entering Void Realm, why is he challenging Teacher Zhang?"

Clenching his fists, he didn't impulsively charge forward to fight again but was instead filled with doubt.

If the other's strength were comparable to his own, thinking this Zhang Xuan was a genius and wanting to challenge him to give him a lesson would be one thing. But now that he had reached the Entering Void Realm, even stronger than some senior students, why would he pick on a freshman?

Bang!

Just as he was wondering, he heard a muffled grunt, and then saw another figure flying over and landing beside him.

It was Zhang Zhuo, whom he had thought would surely win.

At this moment, Zhang Zhuo's face was swollen like a pig's head, indescribably miserable. His previously fierce aura had completely vanished, and he lay crookedly on the ground, twisted into a strange angle, looking very bizarre.

His eyebrows twitched as he quickly looked toward the platform. He saw Chen Leyao, her face somewhat pale, walking down. She came to Zhang Xuan, bowed with clasped hands, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Impossible, this is impossible... How could you win?"

He had been knocked flying by Feng Ziyi with a single punch, outmatched in skill. But... Zhang Zhuo had clearly held an absolute advantage, so how could it end like this?

Seeing this scene, he found it even more unbelievable than his own defeat.

"Impossible?"

Chen Leyao looked over, extending her index finger and waving it in front of her chest: "Teacher Zhang gave me some guidance. Now that my cultivation has improved, if I still couldn't defeat him, wouldn't that be worse than before? Teacher Zhang's guidance is not something just anyone can learn. You can't!"

Teacher Zhang was the young palace master's teacher. Such a figure, even if only giving casual pointers, was not something a small fry like him could compare to.

"But..."

Zhang Xu clenched his fists, his face turning ashen.

Losing to Feng Ziyi, who was in the Entering Void Realm, was one thing, but losing to a little guy in the Out-of-Body Realm... he was filled with resentment.

"No, the fact that I guided Zhang Zhuo will eventually become known. If I gave guidance and he still lost to someone of such low cultivation, where would my reputation be?"

His eyes narrowed: "If it comes to it, I'll have a match with him and crush him with absolute strength first..."

As these thoughts flickered through his mind, he heard Feng Ziyi's voice again from the platform.

"Teacher Zhang, let me see if your full power is as you described!"

"As you wish!"

Seeing that the other was determined to test him, Zhang Xuan had nothing to hide. He leaped onto the platform and pointed a finger.

Whirr!

Over a hundred long swords floated before him, each pointing straight ahead, exuding a killing intent.

"Good!"

Knowing the power of these swords, Feng Ziyi did not dare to be careless. He immediately traced a semicircle with his long sword, and countless sword energies gathered around his body, forming a light membrane.

"Is that the Falling Catkin Sword Technique from the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall?"

Zhang Xu's expression turned serious.

"Falling Catkin Sword Technique?"

Someone asked in confusion.

"It's a holy-rank upper-grade martial technique, created by a master teacher from the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall after observing catkins floating in the sky. Its defense is only slightly weaker than the Flowing Water Sword Technique of the fourth hall master of the Saint Son Hall. Once executed, catkins fill the sky like falling flowers, ranking alongside the Snowfall Sword Technique of the Yin-Yang Palace..."

Zhang Xu said slowly.

At this moment, he finally understood the strength of the person before him. Even without using his Entering Void Realm combat power, if he fought with the same strength as him, it wouldn't be easy to win with this sword technique.

Unless... he used his bloodline power!

But unless it was a life-or-death situation, it was best not to use such power; otherwise, even with his high status in the Zhang family and considerable control over resources, it would be difficult to recover from the loss of vital energy.

"He has such a deep understanding of swordsmanship, yet he starts with defense... Could it be that this Zhang Xuan can match him?"

While shocked, he also realized something and looked at the young man not far away with great curiosity.

Feng Ziyi was so powerful, yet he immediately used such a formidable sword technique... Could it be that this Teacher Zhang was even stronger?

"No matter how strong, he's only in the Out-of-Body Realm. How strong can he be?"

Shaking his head, he was about to see how Feng Ziyi would strike when he saw the super-strong expert in his mind point his left hand forward.

Hum!

True qi surged from his body, forming a light shield in front of him.

"That's the Big Dipper True Yuan Shield..."

His eyebrows twitched again, and Zhang Xu's mouth twitched.

If the other's use of the Falling Catkin Sword Technique had already puzzled him, this light shield was even more baffling.

The Big Dipper True Yuan Shield was a unique technique created by a nine-star master teacher from the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall after observing the Big Dipper. Once executed, its defense was invincible, unbreakable by anyone of the same level... He had already used the Falling Catkin Sword Technique, and now he was using this...

What exactly was he defending against?

Whoosh!

Before his shock subsided, Feng Ziyi grabbed again and crushed a jade talisman.

Hum!

Another layer of light purple light enveloped him.

"This is a protective talisman refined by an Entering Void Realm expert. Though not as strong as the Great Universe Protective Talisman, it can still defend against attacks from a Saint Realm seventh level expert..."

He twitched again.

Wasn't this supposed to be a spar?

Feng Ziyi had used sword techniques, defensive techniques, and now even a protective talisman. What on earth was scaring him so much?

Crack, crack!

In his confusion, Feng Ziyi's body swelled again, returning to his muscular form.

"That's... the Golden Toad Body from the headquarters of the Master Teacher Hall! It's said that a master teacher created it by observing the cultivation methods of golden toads. Once executed, the body forms a thick layer of scales, with defense like a tiger and immense strength, making it impossible to break through even the strongest attacks..."

Zhang Xu grabbed his hair: "What kind of move requires so many defensive measures?"

Cultivators learn defense before offense; only by preserving one's life can one kill the opponent... Therefore, even he knew many defensive techniques and had learned quite a few.

But... using so many at once, was Feng Ziyi crazy, or was he about to do something?

"Are you ready?"

Ignoring the shock of the crowd below, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly and said.

"Alright, let's begin!"

Taking a deep breath, Feng Ziyi nodded.

Though he thought the other might be boasting, he still didn't dare to be careless and used all his means.

"Then... I'll start!"

He pointed a finger forward.

True qi immediately poured into the swords in the air. In the blink of an eye, the swords shot through the air, forming a vast river that engulfed Feng Ziyi.

"This..."

His face turning pale, Zhang Xu involuntarily stepped back seven or eight paces, cold sweat pouring from his head.

He calculated that even with all his strength, he couldn't withstand this move!

Wasn't he only at the Out-of-Body Realm?

How could he have such powerful attack power?

His throat dry, he turned to look and saw Teacher Fei on the side, eyes wide as if someone had grabbed his throat, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Teacher Fei... Can't you withstand this sword technique either?"

Knowing what the other was thinking, Zhang Xu couldn't help asking.

Teacher Fei slowly closed his eyes, shook his head, and forcibly suppressed his inner panic: "I can't withstand it either... If I were to fight, I might be directly killed if he used it, so I'd have to avoid its edge!"

"That powerful?"

His body swayed, and Zhang Xu felt like crying.

Fortunately, he hadn't challenged the other; otherwise, he would probably be worse off than Zhang Zhuo.

"No wonder he could make Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng submit in defeat... I didn't expect to misjudge him too. He is the most terrifying among this year's freshmen!"

Teacher Fei smiled bitterly.

"Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng admitted defeat?"

Zhang Xu was startled and quickly looked over.

He had been cultivating these days, ignoring worldly affairs, and didn't know what was happening outside.

"Yes, Zhang Chun came to me yesterday looking for information on Zhang Xuan, saying he had been beaten up by this guy... He hasn't fully recovered yet!"

Teacher Fei nodded.

Zhang Xuan was a freshman, and he was the freshman's homeroom teacher. If Zhang Chun wanted to investigate, he naturally had to go through him, so he learned about the beating.

Though he didn't go into details about how it happened, the miserable state was undeniable.

"As for Zhang Feng... news just came out that this Zhang Xuan went to the Spirit Awakener Guild and caused a big scene, becoming the guild's saint son... and awakened his physical body, making him beat himself up..."

He flicked his hand and tossed a communication jade slip over.

A student from his own class causing such a stir, he, as the homeroom teacher, had already received the news.

"Awakened his physical body? Saint son of the Spirit Awakener Guild?"

His face twitched, and Zhang Xu nearly fell over.

He had thought that among this year's freshmen, only Feng Ziyi was worth noting. He never dreamed that this one was even more terrifying.

Others might not know, but he knew Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng very well. They were famous top geniuses of the Zhang family, his idol figures, defeated by a freshman...

If Teacher Fei hadn't said it, he wouldn't have believed it!

"With his strength and ability, how did he only rank fiftieth in the assessment?"

A thought struck him.

He himself had managed to rank second. This guy, not to mention anything else, with just this sword technique, would surely be first.

"It should be that he has a low-key personality and doesn't want to show off too much... Otherwise, it's impossible that he ended up exactly at fiftieth, no more, no less..."

Recalling what happened on the day of the assessment, Teacher Fei nodded.

In the last three minutes, he suddenly became fiftieth, without showing any signs before. Clearly, unlike others, he hadn't used all his strength.

"Hmm..."

He had also heard about that incident. Now that it was mentioned, Zhang Xu understood and, with admiration in his eyes, couldn't help but sigh.

"He is really too low-key!"