Chapter 1424: Studying the Palace Master's Token

Ever since leaving the Saint Son Palace, he had been sneezing nonstop. This person who missed him was really persistent!

"I still need to keep a low profile. If Luo Ruoxi finds out that many people like me, she will definitely be unhappy..."

Nodding to himself, Zhang Xuan sighed inwardly.

To be honest, he had indeed been more low-key recently, only having stirred up the Master Teacher Tower...

Otherwise, would the Forest of Techniques, the Master Teacher Tower, the Inner Court, and even the Kui Saint Statue still be intact now?

They would have long been destroyed.

"Being low-key is so tiring..."

He rubbed his temples.

If not for wanting to keep a low profile, he would have long since taken the sternum of the ruthless man. Challenging many holy sons in succession would have caused a bigger stir... But to avoid drawing too much attention, he casually stormed the Master Tower and broke a few records. It was a struggle to hold back.

Still, this was fine, more in line with his excellent quality of not liking to show off.

Having cultivated for so long, he had long understood the importance of keeping a low profile. He was not like his clone, who loved to show off.

After sighing for a moment, he flipped his wrist, and a token appeared in his palm. He looked down at it.

It was the Hall Master Token that Kuǐ Shèng had given him.

Earlier, when he became an Eight-Star Master, the seal on it had been lifted, but he had no time to examine it then. Now that he had some free time, he could study it carefully.

The Hall Master Token now emitted a warm, gentle glow. He lightly brushed his hand over it and immediately felt a thought transmitted to him. His body remained seated in place, but his consciousness seemed to be drawn into a special space.

Whoosh!

The thought of Saint Kui appeared before his eyes, a faint smile on his face.

"Becoming an eight-star master so quickly—your progress has exceeded my expectations!"

His voice carried relief and satisfaction: "By the way, how far have you cultivated the Nine Nether Pupil Art? Let me check!"

"Well... I haven't practiced it yet..." Zhang Xuan said with slight embarrassment.

This pupil art had too many errors; he really didn't want to cultivate it. Since obtaining it, he hadn't even looked at it.

Saint Kui frowned: "If you don't cultivate it, how can you break the seal and truly inherit the position of Hall Master?"

To become Hall Master, the greatest requirement was to possess the Eye of Clear Reason. Without practicing the pupil art, he was unqualified.

"I really want to practice, but this technique is too... well, do you have any other cultivation methods for pupil arts that I could reference?"

Afraid that mentioning too many flaws would shatter this thought as well, Zhang Xuan hesitated before speaking.

To learn, he first needed to supplement it with the Heavenly Dao technique; otherwise, he didn't want to become colorblind or blind before mastering it.

"Pupil arts are profound and mysterious. Only your teacher, the ancient sage Bu Shang, had the ability to create them. How could they exist elsewhere?" Saint Kui looked at him: "If there's something you don't understand, speak up, and I'll explain!"

"No need for now..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It seemed this Saint Kui was inferior to the ancient sage Qiu Wu; the latter's thought could communicate, but this one clearly didn't know the content of their previous conversation.

"No need?"

Saint Kui's face showed displeasure: "What attitude is this? To become Hall Master, you must learn the Nine Nether Pupil Art. I have immersed myself in it for countless years, with endless insights. Do you think you understand it better than I do..."

"Senior, let's set aside the pupil art for now. I happen to have something to ask you..."

Too lazy to listen to the other's understanding of the Insight Eye, Zhang Xuan recalled something and asked.

“Speak!”

Waving his hand, Saint Kui put on the air of a master.

“In the inner courtyard of the Saint Son Hall, inside your stone statue, there seems to be the skeleton of an alien tribesman... I wonder how you suppressed the aura within, preventing anyone from detecting it?”

He voiced the doubt in his heart.

After entering the inner courtyard and discovering this, he had been curious, but until now he hadn't figured it out.

Since Saint Kui's will had appeared again, it was a good time to ask clearly.

“You... know that inside my stone statue there is the skeleton of an alien tribesman?”

Saint Kui's face turned pale, his earlier lofty demeanor gone, replaced by wide-eyed disbelief.

“Yes, it should be from the ancient era, an alien tribesman called the Maniac!”

Zhang Xuan smiled.

As a grand-disciple of Confucius, Saint Kui should have heard of this Maniac Emperor.

“You... know the Maniac?” Saint Kui's face twitched again.

“You sealed his sternum inside the stone statue, how did you manage to keep any aura from leaking out...”

Zhang Xuan continued.

“This...”

Seeing that he spoke clearly, with no trace of speculation, Saint Kui paused: “Since you've already seen through it, telling you won't hurt... That is indeed the Maniac Emperor's sternum! When I discovered it back then, it already had its own will. To prevent its resurrection, I borrowed Confucius's power to suppress it.”

“Confucius's power?”

“Mm, the inner courtyard happens to be at the core of a formation formed by the five halls of Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Faith. It possesses Confucius's personal writings, and with the flourishing fortune of the human race, the Maniac's sternum, though powerful, is suppressed to the point of having no ability to resist!”

Saint Kui said slowly.

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan ran the positions of the inner courtyard and the five halls through his mind and indeed found that the inner courtyard was at the core of a formation in the Saint Son Hall.

No wonder it had such rich spiritual energy and such a suitable cultural atmosphere for learning.

“The Maniac Emperor fought with Confucius back then, his strength already surpassing that of ancient sages, beyond what I can contend with. To completely suppress him and prevent his resurrection, only this method was possible...”

Shaking his head, Saint Kui looked over with great confusion: “This sternum, placed inside the stone statue, has its aura suppressed to the point of being completely undetectable. Your Insight Eye is only at the third level—how did you see through it?”

Over the generations, many hall masters had surpassed the present one in their understanding of the Insight Eye, yet none had detected this skeleton. Not only did you detect it, but you are so certain—how did you manage it?

“It was a stroke of luck...”

Zhang Xuan did not explain.

The Maniac, relying on his own strength, certainly couldn't suppress it; it depended on the Heavenly Dao Manual, which involved the library. Even if the other party was just a wisp of will, there was no need to mention it.

“Regardless of how you saw it, I warn you: never touch it. Otherwise, even if you reach the ninth level of the Saint Domain, you may not be able to withstand it...”

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Saint Kui did not press further but still gave a warning.

“What if I am confident I can tame this sternum and prevent it from doing evil? Can it be removed?”

Zhang Xuan said.

With the Heavenly Dao Manual, as well as the Maniac's heart and brain, he was absolutely confident he could subdue this sternum. He just didn't know how to remove it without affecting the inner courtyard and the statue.

“Tame?”

Hearing this, Saint Kui was taken aback, then shook his head: “You can tame the Maniac? What a joke! Even Confucius couldn't accomplish that back then—do you think you can?”