Chapter 1088: Do You Believe It?

Whoosh! The sword energy, shining like a rainbow, shot straight towards the statue, carrying the power to cleave the very air. It seemed even a supreme spiritual artifact would be shattered by a single strike if it encountered it.

Seeing this, Master Wu and the others swayed, but managed not to faint.

The statue before them was that of Ancient Sage Qiuwu, and it even contained consciousness. To attack without a word was sheer madness!

With a flash, Master Wu appeared in front, spread his five fingers, and lightly tapped, sending the sword energy flying. His eyebrows shot up, and he couldn't help but ask:

"Master Zhang, what are you doing...?"

"Nothing much," Zhang Xuan replied, "I just think there's something wrong with this fellow, and I want to test him!"

Zhang Xuan frowned, not expecting Master Wu to be so quick to block his sword energy.

"Test?" The others nearly collapsed. Who was that? Ancient Sage Qiuwu! A supreme figure on par with Master Kong—did he really need *your* testing?

"Master Zhang, he is an ancient sage... attacking him is an act of great blasphemy!" President Han quickly sent a voice transmission.

There was an order of hierarchy. Even between ordinary teachers and students, students should not presumptuously attack their teachers, let alone someone who was such an ancient senior. Even if one were to go crazy, there was a time and place. If word got out that he had attacked this figure, all the master teachers on the continent would become his enemies.

"This..." Zhang Xuan shook his head, seeing how anxious everyone was, as if they wished they could tie him up.

In truth, they weren't wrong; he himself had been thoughtless. This figure, no matter what, was one of the most powerful ancient sages, someone who had once stood before Master Kong. Even if it were fake, directly attacking to test it would indeed be too reckless.

However, if he didn't use a martial skill and the other party didn't retaliate, he wouldn't be able to form a book and ascertain its true identity.

Just as he was wondering how to explain his suspicions, he saw the stone statue look over.

Earlier, Zhang Xuan had been standing near the entrance to the courtyard, out of the statue's sight. Now, seeing his appearance clearly, its eyelids twitched: "Is that you?"

"You know me?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"In the Boundless Realm, you pointed out the flaws in my Boundless Traveler technique and spoke those words—it would be hard for me to forget!" The stone statue snorted.

"You remember the Boundless Realm incident?" Zhang Xuan frowned, his eyes wide. Oh no, he had made a huge blunder. The fact that the other party could mention the Boundless Realm indicated it was the same consciousness as before—meaning, it was the real Ancient Sage Qiuwu. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to mention the Boundless Traveler. Had he guessed wrong?

"The will I left in the Boundless Realm didn't know about my situation here," the stone statue continued, "but I can know what it experienced. It could have stayed in the outside world for two more days, but you simply spoke its dao heart into instability, causing it to collapse on the spot. Are the current younger generations all this formidable?"

The will had been left in the Boundless Realm with only one purpose: to find a suitable successor, take them as a student, and pass on the Boundless Traveler movement technique. As it turned out, a suitable person was found, but not only was the technique not passed on, the person even found so many flaws and looked utterly disdainful... What was even more outrageous, that person had then tried to take *him* as a student. It was a miracle he hadn't fainted from anger on the spot.

"Dao heart collapsed?" "Master Zhang... has he met the Ancient Sage before?" Hearing their conversation, everyone blinked, looked at each other, and were utterly bewildered. What exactly had Master Zhang said that could make an ancient sage, who had once followed Master Kong, unstable in his dao heart, causing his very will to dissipate?

"I just said it casually," Zhang Xuan said, his face flushing red as he quickly clasped his fists, "I sincerely apologize to Senior here..."

At that time, he had just said it casually; even if he really intended to take the other party as a student, he wouldn't have been able to modify the cultivation technique.

"No need," the stone statue said, not showing any anger. "Everything you said was correct. Although Boundless Traveler is a profound movement technique, it is not perfect. Back then, Master Kong said exactly the same thing as you did..."

Although the person before him didn't have high cultivation, his insight was remarkably vast. To be able to point out so many flaws in his Boundless Traveler technique in one go, in all his years, he was only the second to do so, besides Master Kong.

"I don't have much time to remain conscious," the stone statue said, a strong confidence appearing in its eyes after a sigh of emotion. "If you wish to obtain my legacy, then enter! Although your understanding of movement techniques has reached an extremely high level, I am unique in my mastery of space. It won't be so easy to learn."

Back then, even Master Kong's understanding of space was far inferior to his; he could be said to be the foremost expert of his time. On this, he had absolute confidence. This person before him could discern the flaws in the Boundless Traveler movement technique, indicating extreme proficiency in movement techniques. But in terms of space, it might not be so easy for him. No one could be perfect, knowing and mastering everything. After all, there was only one Master Kong.

"Yes... this junior has something unclear," Zhang Xuan said, nodding as he looked over. "I hope Senior can provide an answer..."

"Speak!"

"A senior of mine entered this place about two years ago," Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, knowing it wasn't appropriate to directly ask if Otherworldly Demons were allowed inside. "With him was a powerful Otherworldly Demon. They are both trapped here, unable to leave... Did they fail the assessment?"

"Indeed, someone entered two years ago, and there was an Otherworldly Demon," the stone statue replied, "However, they didn't choose this entrance..."

"Didn't choose?" Zhang Xuan was startled. That didn't make sense; outside this entrance, there were bloodstains left by the old dean. They should have entered here, so how could they not be?

"That's right, they bypassed the nine gates and went ahead," the stone statue replied. "They are now trapped in the Conferred Sage Pavilion..."

"Conferred Sage Pavilion?" Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxi looked at each other, simultaneously seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

The Conferred Sage Platform wasn't far from here, and now there was a Conferred Sage Pavilion... Could there be a connection?

"Indeed!" The stone statue nodded. "That was left by Master Kong for his descendants. Of course, to go there, you must first pass my assessment. Otherwise, if you go directly, you'll end up like them, trapped there forever!"

"This..." Zhang Xuan was stunned. If they went to the Conferred Sage Pavilion, why would they deliberately leave bloodstains in front of this entrance? The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

"Alright, my assessment isn't that easy," the stone statue said, then stopped speaking and looked at Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxi. "They've all made up their minds, what about you two?"

Everyone else had expressed their decision; only the two of them hadn't made a choice.

"I... want to take the assessment!" Zhang Xuan said after a pause.

Since this was the genuine Ancient Sage Qiuwu, obtaining his legacy would naturally be highly desirable.

Just like the Boundless Traveler technique before, although it had many flaws, if he could find a movement technique of sufficient level to merge with it and transform it into a Heavenly Dao cultivation technique, its power would become terrifying. His strength would also greatly improve with it, reaching an astonishing level. Even if he only cultivated the first stage, he could probably easily escape from King Tianye. He wouldn't be as utterly helpless as before.

"I won't be going in..." Luo Ruoxi shook her head.

"Not going?" Zhang Xuan was startled, not expecting her to make this choice.

"Yes, I have my own legacy," Luo Ruoxi said with a faint smile. "Although Ancient Sage Qiuwu's legacy is good, it doesn't suit me. Instead of wasting time, I'd rather stay here!"

"This..." Zhang Xuan nodded. She was right. Some special physiques or bloodlines could only cultivate specific techniques. Just like Zhao Ya and Yuan Tao, cultivating other techniques might not lead to progress and could even have adverse effects.

"You go ahead," Luo Ruoxi said. "Ancient Sage Qiuwu's legacy is extremely precious. If you can learn it, it will certainly be of great benefit to your strength!"

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "I'll go in and see... Don't worry, I'll definitely pass the assessment!"

Luo Ruoxi nodded.

"Let's go!" Having made his decision, Zhang Xuan no longer hesitated. He called out to Master Wu and the others and strode towards the entrance behind the stone statue.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from sight. The next moment, a courtyard appeared before them, revealing a row of stone tablets.

There were more than twenty of them, forming a circle that encompassed everyone. They were densely covered with various writings.

Master Wu, Feng Xun, and the others knew it involved an assessment. They didn't dare hesitate and quickly looked at the tablets. After just one glance, their faces immediately became strange. It wasn't that they couldn't learn it, but rather... they couldn't understand it.

The inscriptions on the stone tablets included their own language, as well as ancient beast language and even the language of the Otherworldly Demons... Dozens of languages were mixed together, making them completely incomprehensible.

"'Lin, Qing, Hua, Sheng, Po, Ming, Xiao...' This... how is this understood?" Master Wu, fortunate enough to recognize a few of the languages, translated them, but his face was utterly bewildered.

Even if he understood the meaning of the words, the sentences didn't connect, leaving everyone completely confused. Turning to look at the others, he found that Feng Xun, Wu Tianqiong, and the rest were also utterly bewildered, like monks trying to grasp something far beyond their reach. He looked at Master Zhang, who was not far away, and saw that he also seemed somewhat puzzled.

They had thought it was a cultivation technique that could assess comprehension, but as it turned out... they couldn't even read it, so how could they pass? They had already guessed that Ancient Sage Qiuwu's assessment wouldn't be easy to pass, but they hadn't expected it to be so peculiar.

"Master Zhang, have you figured anything out?" After studying for a while longer, unable to hold back, he approached Zhang Xuan.

If anyone among them could comprehend it, it would probably only be the person before them.

"No..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

To be honest, he was also completely bewildered by it.

"Didn't the Ancient Sage just say you had a deep understanding of his cultivation technique?" Master Wu couldn't help but ask, remembering the conversation between the Ancient Sage and the young man. "If you can understand his cultivation technique, you should be able to figure something out here..."

"I only have some understanding of his movement technique," Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "As for this... I really don't know what's going on!"

"To understand his movement technique is already incredible..." Feng Xun also came forward. "Oh right, Master Zhang, what exactly did you say to Ancient Sage Qiuwu that made him remember you?"

The others also looked over in unison.

To be honest, everyone was very curious. To be able to make the will of an ancient sage, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, lose composure—they all wanted to know what exactly was said.

Seeing everyone's eager gazes, Zhang Xuan scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. "If I were to say... I wanted to take Ancient Sage Qiuwu as my student... would you believe me?"