Library of Heaven's Path

"I have misunderstood you. Please accept my sincerest apologies," Hall Master Xing said as he bowed deeply.

Putting everything aside, if the other party truly intended to kill him, why would he have repaired his Primordial Spirit in the first place? There was no need for him to do so at all.

Furthermore, just as the other party had said, if the other party wanted to kill him, given his control over the formations, he would have just done it. There was no need for him to waste his breath.

To think that he, as the head of the Combat Master Hall, actually tried to kill a man who was earnestly doing his best to help him… A deep feeling of guilt and shame crushed down on his heart, choking him within.

Subconscious bias had influenced his train of thought, and the Trial of Inner Demons had further dulled his judgement. Otherwise, someone of his wits should have been able to figure all of that out.

"After all we have done, we dare not ask for Sun shi's forgiveness. We only hope that you will give us an opportunity to compensate you. No matter what it is, we will definitely have it done without the slightest complaint!" Hall Master Xing implored.

They were at fault for this matter, and no matter what, they had to clear things up. Putting aside the fact that this matter would bring shame to the Combat Master Hall, they would not even be able to forgive themselves.

"I don't need your compensation. However, if you are willing to trust me, I can resolve your problem right now," Zhang Xuan replied.

He was still angry over the matter, but at the very least, the other party had not done what they did out of ill will against him. Rather than souring the relations with the Combat Master Hall just so that he could vent his emotions, it would be better if he could use this incident to forge a sense of camaraderie between them and the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy instead.

"Of course, I trust Sun shi!" Hearing the other party not asking for compensation and even offering to resolve his problem for him, Hall Master Xing could not help but feel deeply grateful and ashamed at the same time.

This was the magnanimity of a true master teacher!

Compared to him, they seemed like hypocrites instead.

Zhang Xuan nodded. "Alright, I'll need you to lower the defenses around your Primordial Spirit."

"Very well!" Without any hesitation, Hall Master Xing sat down on the ground and bared his Primordial Spirit to the other party without any reservations.

Given that the other party controlled the formations of the Heart Division, there would have been nothing he could do even if the other party meant him harm. Since he was completely helpless, he might as well just completely let go. This way, he would at least be able to salvage the situation a little by displaying his trust in the other party.

Seeing that the other party was cooperating with him obediently, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

It was indeed difficult to deal with a spirit once it had fused with the cultivator's Primordial Spirit. Nevertheless, if he could slip his consciousness into the other party's Primordial Spirit and specifically pinpoint the location of the target, it would not be too difficult to eliminate it.

Hu!

Thus, Zhang Xuan extended his consciousness into Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit and began his work. Not too long later, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Sun shi, how is it?" Division Heads Liao and Wei asked anxiously.

"Take a look for yourself…" Zhang Xuan left them those words and sat down on the ground to recuperate.

The other party's Primordial Spirit was simply too strong, such that he had to exert a lot of energy in order to maneuver his consciousness within it to find the spirit. Even though the process had only taken ten short minutes, it had ended up depleting his soul energy by almost 80%.

Boom!

A while later, a loud buzz suddenly sounded from Hall Master Xing's body, and amid a brilliant glow, a Primordial Spirit suddenly gushed out of his body.

"Leaving Aperture realm…" Division Heads Liao and Wei widened their eyes in disbelief.

Just how long did it take for them to achieve a breakthrough?

Hu!

Returning his Primordial Spirit back to his body, Hall Master Xing opened his eyes once more. He jolted his body, and the cactus on his head and the flower on his bottom fell to the ground before withering to death.

Turning to the young man, he kneeled down in gratitude.

"Thank you, Sun shi!"

His Primordial Spirit had long reached a level far surpassing any other Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert. Were it not for his injury, he would have achieved a breakthrough many years ago. After his trauma was resolved with Zhang Xuan's help, his flow of power finally became whole again, and with the incredible accumulation of power he had, he was able to achieve a breakthrough easily on the spot.

Of course, while he had managed to draw his Primordial Spirit out from his body, he had not undergone the lightning ordeal yet, so he could not be considered a full-fledged Leaving Aperture realm expert. Nevertheless, he was still many times stronger than before.

He could not help but feel incredibly blessed to have met with Sun shi.

Despite all of the misunderstandings between the both of them, the other party was willing to shrug off the matter magnanimously and treat him. In that moment, he was filled with nothing but admiration for the other party.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony!" Zhang Xuan swiftly helped the other party up.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled a certain matter, and he said, "Previously, after I cleared the Trial of Inner Demons, I met with the founder of the Heart Division!"

"Sun shi met with the founder?"

"But… Despite Cang Xu introducing so many inner demons into the trial, you were still able to successfully clear the trial?"

Everyone leaped in shock. This was especially so for the head of the Heart Division, Division Head Liao. His eyes were widened in disbelief.

Initially, considering that the other party's cultivation was only at Saint 1-dan, he had thought that it was unlikely for him to clear the trial. Furthermore, the other party had said that Cang Xu's Primordial Spirit had drawn in more than a hundred inner demons, and that only further convinced him so.

He had thought that the other party had only managed to get away unscathed by backing out of the formation through using some unknown method while his mind was rational the moment that the inner demons appeared. But who knew that the other party had managed to clear the trial!

He knew full well how difficult the Trial of Inner Demons was. Of the many generations of hall masters, only five had cleared the trial. Yet, a Saint 1-dan cultivator… had actually managed to clear it. This was too fearsome!

After a moment of shock, Division Head Liao asked, "Did the founder… impart the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra to Sun shi?"

"He did." Zhang Xuan nodded before continuing. "Since all of you are around, let me impart the secret art to the rest of you. It should prove to be useful in helping you all temper your state of mind!"

"You want to impart it to us?"" Hall Master Xing swiftly shook his head with a bitter smile. "I appreciate Sun shi's kind gesture, but there are fundamental requirements to cultivating that secret art. Until we are able to clear the Trial of Inner Demons with our own ability, we will only hurt ourselves by cultivating the secret art."

They would have loved to cultivate the strongest technique of the Combat Master Hall as well, but it was a pity that they were not strong enough to overcome the temptations of the mind. Even with the secret art right before them, they would not dare touch it. Otherwise, it might just very well cost them their lives.

In the many millenniums of history behind the Combat Master Hall, there had been a handful of combat masters who did not believe in such matters and demanded to learn the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra from the hall master, and eventually, their cultivation all ended up going berserk.

It was for this reason that it was eventually firmly sealed behind the Trial of Inner Demons of the Heart Division, becoming one of the forbidden secret arts of the Combat Master Hall.

In truth, they could not help but feel deeply impressed by the young man before them. Despite his young age, he had already attained a state of mind far beyond theirs, and with his own prowess, he had managed to earn the right to cultivate the secret art. They hoped to do the same, too, but it was still impossible for them in their current state.

The dangers concerning the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra were in no way exaggerated. Once a cultivator started to cultivate the secret art and fell for its temptation, they would find themself unable to stop cultivating, and it was a matter of time before disaster struck.

"The secret art did have such a flaw previously, but there's no need to worry about it anymore. You can take a look at it first before deciding on whether you want to cultivate the technique or not!" Zhang Xuan chuckled as he raised his hand. A screen of zhenqi appeared before him, and a string of gleaming words materialized in midair.

"This…" Not expecting the other party to show the secret art to them without any reservations, Hall Master Xing and the others felt a little conflicted.

It might seem as if there was no harm just looking at it, but even they could not guarantee that they would not succumb to the temptation of the technique and cultivate it. But again, as combat masters, avid pursuers of strength, it was extremely difficult for them to turn their eyes away when they knew that a powerful secret art stood before them. Curiosity gnawed at their hearts.

"Forget it! It won't hurt to take a look…" Eventually, the trio failed to withstand the allure of the secret art and began examining the secret art manual in the air.

Perplexed frowns gradually crept onto their faces.

Their eyes of discernment might not have been on par with the founder of the Heart Division, but they were still top-notch experts of the Combat Master Hall. With their deep experience and knowledge of all kinds of secret arts, it did not take them long to realize that the secret art was a little different from how it had been described to them. Astonishingly, the prerequisite mental resilience to begin cultivating the technique was not high at all. Putting aside them, even ordinary combat masters would be able to practice it without facing any serious danger.

"This…" The trio traded intrigued gazes with one another.

After a long moment of silence, Hall Master Xing asked hesitantly, "Sun shi, are you certain that this is the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra?"

"It is." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"But… that secret art can't be cultivated by those who lack mental resilience…" Hall Master Xing muttered in confusion.

"That's right. The secret art did have such an issue when I first obtained it." Zhang Xuan nodded. "I thought that it was a huge flaw, so I casually changed some parts of it. Now, even ordinary cultivators should be able to practice it!"

"You casually changed some parts of it?"

"Sun shi… did you really… alter the Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra?"

The three combat masters felt the back of their throats turning dry, and their bodies began shaking involuntarily.

The secret art had been around ever since the founding of the Heart Division. If it could be altered that easily, one of the countless geniuses in the long history of the Combat Master Hall would have long done so!

Sun shi had barely been in the Heart Division for twenty minutes… and within this period of time, not only did he deal with the hundred inner demons from Cang Xu, he even inherited the heritage and altered it on a whim.

You must be joking with us! You've got to be!

That is the greatest secret art of the Combat Master Hall!

Is it really possible to change it just like that?

"Indeed. The secret art had simply too many flaws, and more importantly, ordinary cultivators were not even able to cultivate it at that! A flawed technique that ordinary cultivators are unable to practice, is there a reason for such a technique to continue existing in the world?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea why the founder of the Heart Division left such a secret art behind!"

To regard a secret art that no one was able to cultivate as its unparalleled treasure, this Combat Master Hall sure was…

Zhang Xuan shook his head. "It's pity that I wasn't able to correct all of the flaws due to my ineptitude. I was only able to lower the prerequisites of the technique such that ordinary cultivators are able to practice it. It's still rather lacking, but I'm afraid that you will have to just make do with it."

He was still lacking books on the aspect of tempering one's mind, so he could only alter it this far for the time being.

Honestly speaking, he could not help but feel a little embarrassed for imparting a technique riddled with flaws to others.

The simplified Heaven's Path techniques that he would usually impart to others might have its flaws as well, but they numbered very few. However, as for this Vitreous Heart Tempering Sutra… he had only altered one of the flaws, and there were still many more within it. If others were to learn that he was the one who had passed this technique over to the Combat Master Hall, he might just die of shame!

"Limits of your knowledge?"

"Make do with it?"

The trio staggered upon hearing those words, and they nearly collapsed to the floor.

Big brother, are you sure you aren't joking with us?

Generation after generation of our predecessors have failed to achieve what you did! If what you have done is considered ineptitude, shouldn't our predecessors have just banged their heads against the walls to repent for their uselessness?

And more importantly… it is such a profound cultivation technique, but why do you keep speaking of it with disdain, as if it is little more than trash?

Noticing the bizarre expressions on the faces of the trio, Zhang Xuan thought that they were worrying about the dangers of cultivating the newly-modified secret art, so he quickly clarified the matter. "Ah, are you afraid that I might have altered it incorrectly? Don't worry, your founder has taken a look at it personally and confirmed that it's fine. It's also for this reason that he passed down the top authority over the formations in the Heart Division to me."

"The founder has taken a look at it as well?"

While the trio was shocked by the news, realization also struck them at the same time.

They had been wondering how the other party had suddenly gained control over the Heart Division's formations just after making a trip into the Trial of Inner Demons. It turned out that the founder had passed his control rights over!

Just that gesture in itself was sufficient to prove that there was no mistake in the other party's alteration. Otherwise, the founder could not have possibly gone to the extent of passing his authority over to a stranger.

To receive the recognition of the founder and gain authority over the Heart Division's formations… Wouldn't that mean that the time the other party had spent on altering the secret art was far less than twenty minutes?

To be able to alter their highest secret art so quickly… Could it be that Sun shi's greatest strength lay not in spirit enchantment but his comprehension of cultivation techniques?