Library of Heaven's Path

Xiao Qin's lips twitched.

This sudden encirclement... Was he going to have to challenge a group single-handedly, and was the group going to 'single-handedly' challenge him?

Individually, they were all weaker than him, but the overwhelming fighting will that was reflected in his eyes left him feeling as if he was a prey standing amidst a group of predators... Didn't they come from a weaker vassal state of Qingyuan Empire? Weren't they exhausted from their long journey?

Not only was there not the slightest hint of exhaustion from them, their eyes were even gleaming in excitement. It was almost as if they were waiting for him.

"I am at Saint 1-dan pinnacle. Is there any one of you who is at the same cultivation realm as me?" Xiao Qin asked.

Since he was going to test the strength of the Xuanxuan Faction, it would only be a fair assessment if he were to face someone who was of the same cultivation realm as him. Otherwise, facing a weaker opponent, even if he were to suppress his cultivation, he would still be able to easily subdue his opponent with his superior battle experience and eye of discernment. That would be no different from bullying his opponent.

And of course, if he were to play it fair, hopefully, the other party would be too embarrassed order a lynching on him too...

"Saint 1-dan?" Ruohuan gongzi frowned.

Their Xuanxuan Faction mostly consisted of freshmen, and it had only been several months since the start of the school term. Despite the incredible speed of their cultivation, their strongest member was still only at Perfect Harmonization realm. Thus, to find a member who had reached Saint realm was... Hmmm? It seemed like they did have a Saint 1-dan pinnacle member amongst them after all!

"Invite Senior Qiqi over!" Ruohuan gongzi turned around and issued an instruction to a nearby member.

The member swiftly sprinted away, and not too long later, Luo Qiqi appeared in the courtyard.

So far, other than the monstrous Zhang Xuan, this young lady was the strongest member of their faction.

"My apologies, but it seems like Senior Qiqi is the only one who has achieved a cultivation of Saint 1-dan pinnacle in our Xuanxuan Faction. Why don't you... have a duel with her then?" Ruohuan gongzi said a little awkwardly.

Luo Qiqi was an individual who had received the individual guidance directly from Principal Zhang, so her cultivation and eye of discernment were far beyond the other members. It did seem like they were bullying the other party by having him face her.

"You want me to fight against a woman?" Xiao Qin frowned.

He was an unparalleled genius of the Combat Master Hall. Be it in terms of zhenqi, physical resilience, reaction speed, and the such, he was far superior to his other peers. To randomly find a woman to face him... Weren't they looking down on him a little bit too much?

"What's wrong with facing a woman?" Luo Qiqi frowned in displeasure. Raising her hands, she beckoned, "Make your move!"

"Since that's the case, pardon me then!" Upon the other party's insistence, Xiao Qin sighed lightly and did a gentlemanly bow. After which, he drove his zhenqi throughout his body, and an aura overflowing with strength surged from his body.

Hu!

Xiao Qin took a step forward, and his figure abruptly disappeared.

As a Thousand Men Commander of the Martial Arts Division, he specialized specifically in martial arts. It was just a single step forward, but there were at least seven to eight transformations contained in it. In an instant, multiple identical figures all around him, making it impossible for one to determine which direction he was going to attack from.

Battle technique, Steps of Thousand Illusory Shadows!

Steps of Thousand Shadows was a battle technique which was created by a Primordial Spirit realm expert of the Combat Master Hall two thousand years ago. It could produce multiple illusory figures around one, making it impossible for one to determine one's location. This would, in turn, make the opponent vulnerable to one's attacks.

Even though his opponent was a woman, he still chose to go all out right from the start.

This was also one of the core teachings of the Combat Master Hall—Never underestimate any opponent that you are facing!

Huala!

As soon as the Steps of Thousand Illusory Shadows was executed, he raised his finger to serve as his sword and directed it against the opponent before him.

This was also a battle technique, known as the Rising Crouching Dragon. It was known for its swift and precise movements, reminiscent of a dragon swiftly subduing its prey, making it an extremely difficult move to guard against.

Even within the Combat Master Hall, there were hardly any peers who could equal him whenever he executed the two powerful battle techniques in unison.

"Not too bad!"

The young lady chuckled. Without resorting to any huge movements or battle techniques, she simply raised her hand and smacked downward.

It was a very simple palm strike!

Yet, for some reason, Xiao Qin felt as if his movement technique had been completely suppressed by the other party. It was sensation similar to being cornered by a predator; no matter where he attempted to do, there was no way he could avoid that palm strike.

"What is that move?"

Xiao Qin's eyes narrowed in shock, and cold sweat trickled down his back.

While the young lady's moves seemed simple enough, it was exquisitely executed in a manner which sealed all of the transformations 1 in his battle techniques. It seemed like no matter how he moved, there would only be a single conclusion—he would be sent flying by that palm strike!

"It seems like I can only clash with her forcefully…" As expected of a genius of the Combat Master Hall, Xiao Qin was able to derive the best solution to his current plight in an instant. Since he was unable to dodge the palm strike, he would only find himself defeated if he were to attempt all of his transformations desperately to escape. Thus, he gritted his teeth and raised his palm as well.

He might have lost in a battle of skill against the young lady, but he wouldn't necessarily lose in a battle of strength.

While his defense wasn't as formidable as that group of monsters from the Protector Division, his zhenqi and physical body resilience had still reached a fairly decent level. At the very least, he would be able to overpower most cultivators in a direct clash of power, let more a female cultivator who was unlikely to specialize in strength.

Hu!

Just as he was about to thrust his palm forward to meet the other party's, the young lady figure abruptly blurred before disappearing from his sight altogether.

"Shit…" Realizing that he had erred, cold sweat trickled down Xiao Qin's body.

He had thought that the other party had intended to clash directly with him, so he had gathered all of his strength into his palm strike. Yet... it was actually a feint!

"AHHHHH!!" With a furious battle cry, Xiao Qin swiftly withdrew his attack and backed away.

Considering how he had been using his full strength, it was impressive that he was able to pull back his palm strike and retreat so quickly. However, it was a pity that he was still a step too slow. A powerful might suddenly pressed down from behind him, and even before it struck, he could already feel his organs being torn apart by the incredible might.

"I won't be able to make it in time…" Knowing that by the time it was too late for him to turn around and meet the other party's attack, he quickly drove all of his zhenqi towards his back to ward off the force of the attack as much as he could.

At this point, he could only endure the strike and try to find a way to counterattack later on.

Gugu!

Anticipating a powerful strike landing on his back, he gritted his teeth and mentally resolved himself to withstand the strike. However, the powerful aura which had gathered behind him abruptly dissipated, and the pressure of the attack dissipated all of a sudden.

Bewildered, he anxiously turned around, only to see that the young lady had already retreated eight steps away. Standing calmly on the spot, as if not having moved at all, she calmly said, "You have lost."

Pu!

Right after those words were spoken, Xiao Qin's face suddenly turned ghastly pale, and a spurt of blood gushed from his mouth. It was only in this instant did he realize that he had been completely sapped of his strength, and even remaining on his feet had become an incredibly arduous task for him.

It didn't take him long for him to realize what was going on. Even though he had never directly clashed with the young lady throughout the fight, he had been forced to retract his zhenqi twice within a short duration of time, and the impact from doing so had caused immense damage to his body.

To be able to induce severe internal damage within him without even crossing blows... the young lady's comprehension of combat and battle techniques were truly fearsome!

At this point, Xiao Qin had no choice but to admit that he wasn't a match for the other party.

After recuperating for a moment, Xiao Qin stood up with a depressed look on his face and sighed deeply before conceding, "I have lost."

He had thought that the rumors concerning the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy were mostly exaggeration, but after facing the young lady, he realized that the notion he had couldn't be more wrong.

He couldn't even withstand the might of a random woman within the Xuanxuan Faction, so how incredible would their top-notch expert be?

"Actually, your zhenqi, physical body strength, agility, and reaction speed are all not bad. What that is truly limiting you is your battle techniques!" Seeing Xiao Qin's gloomy look, Luo Qiqi consoled.

"My battle techniques are limiting me?" Hearing those words, Xiao Qin's mouth twitched, suffering an even greater blow than before.

He was the greatest genius of the Combat Master Hall's Martial Arts division. Despite being only at Saint 1-dan, he had already grasped four Saint low-tier battle techniques!

It could be said that other than the Thousand Men Commanders whose cultivation were higher than him, there were no peers who possessed a deeper understanding of martial arts than him...

Despite such, the other party actually said that... his battle techniques were limiting him! This was a direct slap to his face!

"You don't believe me?" Luo Qiqi chuckled softly, not offended by Xiao Qin's response at all. "You can ask any student here and have them evaluate your performance in the fight earlier!"

"Evaluate? They will evaluate me?" Shaking his head, Xiao Qin looked at the several thousand students around him.

Most of them were at Perfect Harmonization realm, and there were some who were still only at Consonant Spirit realm. He wouldn't even spare an additional glance at such cultivators on the streets, and yet, to have them evaluate his performance...

Were they able to see through the essence of his moves?

Were they able to understand how profound his moves were?

Evaluate his performance?

What a joke!

"You seem to doubt my words. Do you feel that they are unable to see through the flaws in your battle technique due to their limited cultivation?" Luo Qiqi shook his head. "It's not that I want to traumatize you, but with your current comprehension of battle technique, even if you were to suppress your cultivation and fight with any one of them here, you won't survive past two blows!"

"Any one of them here?" Xiao Qin's complexion turned extremely awful. "I know that I have lost to you, but I have to ask you not to humiliate me like that!"

No matter what, he was still an expert of the Combat Master Hall. To claim that he would be unable to receive two blows from Perfect Harmonization realm cultivators... that was blatantly making a mockery out of him!

"Senior Luo Qiqi is right, your strength is indeed very lacking."

"Even if you were to lower your cultivation and fight with you, you still wouldn't be a match!"

"We aren't deceiving you. Your comprehension of battle techniques is truly appalling…"

Seeing the indignant look on Xiao Qin's face, the crowd began remarking.

They were looking forward to the arrival of an expert who would allow them to go all out, but who knew that he would turn out to be so weak in the end. Honestly speaking, they couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed.

Since the Combat Master Hall was going to challenge them, why didn't they send a couple of stronger combat masters?

Given how appalling that fellow's comprehension of battle techniques was, it was as good as sending them a sandbag to pummel!

Hai!

Everyone in the room couldn't help but sigh deeply in lamentation.

"You all... Very well! I was afraid that it would be too much if I were to suppress my cultivation and challenge the rest of you, but since that's what you all think, let's do it then!" Hearing the sighs and seeing the disappointed looks around him, Xiao Qin was on the verge of exploding. Unable to take it any longer, he consumed a recovery pill to heal from his injuries before suppressing his cultivation is a roar. In the blink of an eye, his cultivation had fallen to Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle.

"I have already suppressed my cultivation. Is there anyone who wishes to fight against me?" Xiao Qin scanned his surroundings and he declared coldly.

"Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle? Many of us are at that cultivation realm here, so feel free to pick…" Seeing that the other party was still intent on challenging them, Ruohuan gongzi shook his head and replied.

"Alright!" Seeing how the leader of the Xuanxuan Faction was fearlessly asking him to have his pick, Xiao Qin couldn't help but feel as if his face had been slapped once again. Gritting his teeth in anger, he scanned the surroundings and selected an ordinary-looking young man. That person seemed to be in his early twenties, and with fair complexion and a slender physique, he had an appearance reminiscent of a weak scholar.

"You want to fight with me?" The person who was specifically pointed out widened his eyes in shock, as if he had just won the lottery.

"That's right!" Xiao Qin flung his hands majestically.

"I can fight with you, but you are injured at the moment. I would be bullying you if I were to fight with you like that…" After hesitating for a moment, a hint of excitement flashed across the eyes of the young man as he spoke earnestly. "Why don't I tie both of my hands up then? I'll fight against you without my hands... It should be fairer this way!"