Chapter 294: Ambushed

Could it be that... Uncle Zhang?

Lu Xun swayed twice, feeling as if he might vomit blood.

Ever since he had challenged him in Tianxuan Kingdom, he had been constantly crushed. He had thought that after painstakingly coming to Tianwu Kingdom, he could take a breather and show off a little, but he had only just arrived and was already crushed again.

Are you my nemesis in life?

Why do you haunt me everywhere I go, and worst of all... you're always so incredible?

Suppressing his frustration, he asked, "What does this Master Zhang look like?"

"He's about my height, slightly thin, with very smooth skin, even smoother than a girl's..." The young servant in blue thought for a moment and described his appearance.

Hearing halfway, Lu Xun knew it was definitely that guy.

"Forget it, I'm used to being crushed anyway..."

Confirming it was him, though frustrated, Lu Xun also breathed a sigh of relief.

This freak was not only powerful himself, but even the few students he casually taught were incredibly impressive. On the way here, he had figured out that he couldn't compare himself to him; whoever did would only end up furious.

When he first heard the legendary deeds of this master, he had thought that Tianwu Kingdom also had such a freak.

Since it was the same person, he could rest assured; at least there was still a way out for him. Otherwise, if everyone was this formidable, there would be no point in living.

"Let me first take the apprentice exam. After it's done, I'll go back and tell the teacher and Zheng Yang. They'll probably go crazy with joy!"

Having adjusted his mindset, Lu Xun stopped dwelling on it and began the calligraphy and painting apprentice assessment.

...

Zhang Xuan had no idea that as soon as he left, Lu Xun had gone to the Calligraphers and Painters Guild. At this moment, he was wandering aimlessly on the streets.

To form golden pages, he needed to find students and make them feel genuine gratitude.

Where could he find students?

He couldn't just grab someone off the street and make them his disciple. If he did, he'd probably be beaten to death on the spot.

"Tianwu Academy!"

His eyes suddenly lit up.

Grabbing someone and forcing them to become a disciple would get him killed, but... in an academy, it was different.

Students were there to learn knowledge, and as long as he was a teacher, they would believe him.

He could easily pretend to be a teacher, find a suitable student, and make them grateful.

Before arriving at Tianwu Royal City, he had heard that the kingdom's most prestigious academy was located within the city.

"Great, I'll go now!"

With that thought, he didn't hesitate. Just as Zhang Xuan was about to ask someone where this so-called academy was, his mind stirred, and his brows suddenly shot up.

"Someone's following me!"

He was now a half-step Grandmaster. Even without using the Library of Heaven's Path, his body and spirit had strong self-protective abilities. Despite the crowd, he could clearly sense faint malice directed at him from time to time.

Although this aura was well-hidden, and other Grandmaster-level experts would find it hard to detect, his mental state had reached 5.0 or above, making it easy for him to discern things clearly.

"Could it be that Young Master Ji Mo?"

He had just arrived at Tianwu Kingdom and didn't know anyone. He had only severely taught Ji Mo a lesson, and he didn't expect this guy to be so petty as to send people to cause trouble for him so soon.

He glanced casually.

There were five people in total, all at the middle or late stage of the Tongxuan realm, with two reaching the peak.

It seemed that Young Master Ji Mo didn't know his true strength and thought sending these few would be enough to cause trouble.

Calligraphers and painters were different from other prestigious professions.

Beast tamers and alchemists needed at least Grandmaster-level strength to reach two-star, and at least Sovereign-level strength to reach three-star.

Calligraphers and painters didn't need high personal strength. Even if they were only at the Tongxuan or Bixue realm, as long as their understanding was sufficient to paint a five-realm work, they could still reach three-star.

That said, those who could paint five-realm works all had rich life experience and were mostly in their seventies or eighties. Coupled with their high status and valuable paintings, they lacked no resources. Even if they didn't reach Sovereign, they were at least at the peak of Grandmaster. Overall, they were not much different from other professions.

However, there was an anomaly like Zhang Xuan, who, under twenty, could produce five-realm works, breaking the rules entirely.

At the guild, he hadn't displayed his strength, and his Heavenly Dao true qi was adept at concealment, so no one could tell his exact cultivation level. But based on his age, the Tongxuan realm was a major hurdle. Thus, in Ji Mo's view, finding a few experts of this level would be enough to teach him a lesson.

"It's crowded here. Let's find a secluded place and have some fun with them!"

He smiled lightly.

Since crossing over and cultivating for so long, he hadn't really fought much, and he was itching for action. Since these guys dared to come looking for trouble, he could use them to practice.

Pretending not to have noticed them, he looked around, trying to find a secluded alley. Unfortunately, Tianwu Kingdom was too prosperous, and it was just after dark, so every street was bustling, making it impossible to find a suitable place.

"Let's go out of the city!"

Since he was near the city wall, not far from the outskirts, he strode out.

"Why is this guy going out?"

The followers, seeing him stride away and exit the city gate, were all bewildered.

Inside the city, with so many people, any conflict could easily escalate. They were just worrying about how to get this guy to a deserted place, and now he was going on his own.

He was too cooperative!

"Who cares? He's just a kid under twenty. Are we afraid of him?"

"True. Even if he started cultivating in the womb, he'd be at most at the Tongxuan realm. There's no way he can stop us!"

After a moment's hesitation, they all nodded.

Although Tianwu Kingdom's cultivation environment and resources were much better than Tianxuan Kingdom's, the Tongxuan realm was still considered expert level.

Sending five of them to deal with a kid under twenty—no wonder they were confident.

"Let me say it again: the young master instructed that this guy is a three-star calligrapher and cannot be killed. If he dies, the headquarters will investigate, and there will be trouble. We can only humiliate him. The specific procedure, I'm sure I don't need to explain!"

A peak Tongxuan realm expert who seemed to be the leader lowered his voice and instructed.

"Don't worry, we know our limits!"

Everyone nodded.

Although the Calligraphers and Painters Guild was not a combat-oriented organization, if a three-star professional was killed, the headquarters would definitely send people to investigate.

Even though the Ji family was not weak, they couldn't afford to provoke that.

Thus, Young Master Ji Mo had instructed them not to kill, but to humiliate—severely humiliate.

...

The group followed behind and soon left the royal city. After walking for a while, they arrived at a deserted forest.

"Be careful. This guy probably noticed us and deliberately led us here..."

The leader lowered his voice.

"What's there to fear? It's good that there's no one around. Perfect for teaching him a lesson!"

The others were unconcerned.

In their view, they had seen people asking for trouble, but never someone actively seeking death.

Knowing he was being followed, he still dared to go to a deserted place. Wasn't he tired of living?

Swish!

They drew their weapons simultaneously and entered the forest.

Just as they wondered if the guy was hiding somewhere, waiting for them, they saw him leaning quietly against a tree trunk, looking at them with a smile.

"Did Ji Mo send you?"

Since no one was around, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to hide. A few petty thugs were nothing.

"Attack!"

Unexpectedly, the young man didn't hide and even acted so brazenly. The leader snorted coldly and waved his hand.

"Let me handle this!"

The weakest of them, a mid-stage Tongxuan realm cultivator, laughed, stamped his foot, and shot straight forward.

Swish!

In midair, his surging true energy pressed down on the surrounding grass and flowers, causing a series of air whistles.

"Zhang Qing's move is good—his aura is full, his strength abundant. It seems he's not far from the late Tongxuan realm!"

The leader nodded to himself and called out, "Control your strength, don't kill him..."

"Don't worry, I know my limits..."

Zhang Qing replied, thinking about how much force to use to injure the opponent, when he saw a blur before his eyes.

Slap!

A crisp sound, a slap to the face, a sharp pain. Before he could react, his body twisted like a pretzel, flew sideways, crashed dozens of meters away, coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and his teeth scattered all over the ground.

"Ah?"

"What?"

They had thought Zhang Qing would easily succeed, but he was sent flying with a single slap. The leader and the other three were all startled.

"Sorry, I've been cultivating alone and haven't fought much. I used a bit too much force!"

Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

He had always cultivated alone and never fought anyone, so he didn't know how much power a palm strike carried. He thought a light slap would only sting a little, but the result was... the guy was nearly dead. He looked embarrassed.

"This guy is no ordinary. Use all your strength!"

Seeing his casual expression, the leader's face turned pale.

Even he had thought the young master was overreacting by sending so many of them—dealing with a nobody didn't require this! They were just completing a simple task, nothing serious.

Now he realized... that wasn't the case at all.

This guy's strength was definitely higher than his.

A man under twenty with strength surpassing the peak Tongxuan realm?

Probably only the number one genius, Mo Hongyi, could match him!

Clatter!

The others weren't stupid; even without being told, they knew this guy was no pushover. Their faces turned grim as they raised their longswords and surrounded Zhang Xuan.

Four men—two at peak Tongxuan realm and two at late stage—joined forces, their aura like a dragon, seemingly solidifying the air.

"Attack!"

Knowing the opponent was strong, the leader didn't hesitate and gave the order.

Swish!

The four thrust their weapons simultaneously.

All four were guards of the Ji family, having lived together for at least five or six years, and had long formed a tacit understanding. As they struck together, their longswords, driven by true energy, sealed off Zhang Xuan's upper, middle, and lower body, as well as any escape routes.

With such exquisite coordination and martial techniques, even an ordinary half-step grandmaster would find it troublesome.

However, Zhang Xuan was no ordinary half-step grandmaster; he was a genius capable of fighting above his level.

The four thrust their swords, expecting at least one to hit him, but the moment the swords left their hands, they felt their palms empty.

Looking up, they saw their fierce attacks had vanished, and their swords were all in the opponent's hands.

"Ah!"

Startled, the four cried out in unison.

Damn!

This was terrifying!

Catching their swords barehanded required more than just high cultivation.

He also had to be completely clear about their martial techniques, strength, the landing points of their swords, and their next moves.

Otherwise, even a slight miscalculation could cost him his fingers!

Even a peak grandmaster... would find it hard to do this!

They had thought teaching a brat under twenty a lesson would be easy, but never dreamed... he was a tiger!

"Retreat!"

His pupils constricted, the leader knew staying meant certain death. He shouted and turned to flee.

The other three didn't hesitate either, wishing they had more legs.

As for the guy Zhang Xuan had slapped flying, still convulsing on the ground, they didn't even bother with him.

"You just got here and you're already in such a hurry to leave?"

Zhang Xuan was speechless that they wanted to run without even fighting. He waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Before the four could react, they saw a black blur, and a huge figure dropped from the sky.

Thud!

The four were struck like by a small mountain, sent flying backward like cannonballs, their vision going black as they coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

"It's... a half-step至尊 level savage beast..."

Struggling to regain consciousness, they blinked and saw the massive creature before them. The four nearly went mad on the spot.

It was...

a half-step至尊 level savage beast!

Half-step至尊—only the ancestor of the Tianwu Kingdom had such strength, making it the highest combat power in the kingdom—and yet it was a beast pet...

What kind of monster had they provoked?

The Howling Sky Beast had been wandering in the woods and, upon hearing Zhang Xuan's command, rushed over.

They were just small fries; if it hadn't held back, they would have been crushed into meat paste.

After knocking them flying, before they even hit the ground, the Howling Sky Beast's massive body flickered again, appearing before them, and its wings swept out.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four consecutive sounds. The four's faces flushed red, blood sprayed wildly, and they fell to their knees in unison, their bones feeling like they were falling apart.

The Howling Sky Beast was a half-step至尊 powerhouse and a powerful savage beast with terrifying strength. Though it only lightly swept its wings, the four's bones were nearly half broken, their true energy scattered. Even if healed, they'd be crippled.

"I told you to go easy. Don't you know I still have questions to ask? How am I supposed to question them now?"

Seeing the Howling Sky Beast's attack had nearly crippled the four, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Hearing this, including the leader, their mouths twitched, and they nearly cried.

Brother, you have the nerve to blame it? You were the one who hit Zhang Qing, and he's worse off than us—still spitting blood, his face bones twisted beyond recognition.

If not treated quickly, losing his cultivation is the least of it; he might not even survive the night...

You were that ruthless yourself, and you still have the nerve to blame someone else?

Wuwu...

Who told us this was a simple task?

Young master, come here, we promise we won't kill you...