Chapter 1128: Big Trouble

Director Xing froze in place, a little unclear about what he heard.“Beating what?”

“The Guild…” Director Liao glanced down, reconfirming the content on the jade tablet in his palm before speaking.

“The Guild? What guild?” Director Xing’s eyes widened. “Has President Ruan offended another guild?”

“No, it’s seeing others beat up their own guild… It seems, it seems the Spirit Awakener Guild has been completely awakened and brought to life!”

Director Liao said.

“Awakened by someone?”

Director Xing’s eyes widened even further. Although he wasn't a Spirit Awakener, he knew that a guild building was an inanimate object, and given its immense size, awakening it was far more difficult than awakening a weapon. For something like this to be successfully awakened… just which Spirit Awakener was capable of such a feat?

“It’s said to be a Spirit Awakener from another region, named Sun Qiang!” Director Liao continued.

“Sun Qiang?” Director Xing shook his head. He didn’t know much about Spirit Awakeners, and this name was completely unfamiliar to him.

“Oh, by the way, if this Sun Qiang can successfully awaken an inanimate object like a guild building, wouldn’t he be even more effective at stabilizing my soul?” Director Xing’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Indeed!”

Director Liao quickly nodded. He was well aware of the capabilities of President Ruan and the others; they were certainly incapable of awakening a guild building of this size. Since Sun Qiang could do it, it meant he surpassed them in the Spirit Awakener profession. If they could invite him to help, the Director might truly pass the assessment, obtain the legacy, and resolve the current crisis.

“Let’s go take a look!”

Filled with excitement, the two no longer paused, quickening their pace. Before long, they indeed saw the towering Spirit Awakener Guild building standing not far away. A young man was suspended in the air, pointing at the building with an angry expression and loudly scolding it. The building, meanwhile, lowered its long neck, appearing full of grievance, occasionally nudging the young man’s clothes with its massive head.

“This…”

Although they had heard the news of the Spirit Awakener Guild being awakened, seeing it with their own eyes was still profoundly shocking. Such a massive building was constantly twisting its body, causing layers of its surface plaster and sand to flake off, raising dust and creating a terrifying sight. Most crucially… this enormous entity was actually posturing and attempting to ingratiate itself with a young man, all while looking incredibly wronged… Both Director Xing and Director Liao felt their worldviews collapsing.

“President Ruan, Vice President Chen, Vice President Xu!” Upon approaching, Director Liao introduced, “This is Director Xing of our Combat Master Hall!”

“We’ve long heard of your esteemed name…”

The three powerful figures from the Spirit Awakener Guild quickly bowed.

“Though we belong to the same city, I haven’t had the chance to visit until now. I’m truly ashamed…”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Director Xing looked forward. “I don’t seem to recall ever seeing this Spirit Awakener Sun Qiang before…”

“He has just arrived in Qingyuan City, and his awakening techniques are something we can only marvel at. Director, if you truly wish to purify your soul and rapidly advance your cultivation, having him awaken you will undoubtedly yield better results!” President Ruan said. The Director of the Master Teacher Pavilion standing before her was too powerful; awakening someone of his caliber would indeed place a great deal of pressure on her.

“I’m afraid I’ll need President Ruan to introduce me…”

Director Xing quickly nodded.

“I’ve only just met him myself. If he’s unwilling, then there’s nothing we can do…”

President Ruan responded.

“By the way, President Ruan, I haven’t had a chance to ask: why was this Spirit Awakener Sun Qiang beating the guild?” Director Liao, from the side, inquired. This was something he simply couldn't comprehend. Since it had been successfully awakened, why discipline it?

“The Spirit Awakener Guild, having just been awakened, still lacks judgment. It just trampled two people to death, which is what infuriated him!” President Ruan said with a wry smile.

“Trampled people to death?” Director Liao and Director Xing were both stunned simultaneously.

“Yes, Zang Xu and Dao Kou of the Twin Heroes of Jibei were both trampled to death on the spot…” President Ruan recounted the recent events in detail.

“The Twin Heroes of Jibei were notorious, having killed countless people. To think they would die here of all places…”

Upon hearing the full account, both Combat Masters were momentarily stunned, then shared a bitter laugh. The Twin Heroes of Jibei had quite a reputation. If not for their formidable strength and their hiding place in the swamps, they would surely have been slain long ago and wouldn't have survived until now. The Qingyuan Empire's imperial family had once sent forces to encircle them, but they still managed to escape, and the matter was eventually dropped. To think they would dare to come to Qingyuan City, only to end up… being trampled to death by a building… It truly seemed like fitting retribution.

As they were expressing their thoughts, they heard the young man's reprimanding voice from ahead.

“Alright, stop acting wronged here. Go sign the contract with President Ruan!”

Zhang Xuan was full of anger. A young tree doesn’t grow straight without pruning, and people won’t behave without discipline! After all, it had just been awakened; its intelligence was too low. If not properly disciplined, wouldn't it just go around killing people everywhere? He had always disliked causing trouble and acted prudently, so how did he end up with such a creature! He hated that it couldn't live up to its potential!

Seeing his anger, the guild building no longer dared to resist. It stretched out its long neck, full of grievance, and came before President Ruan.

Soon, the contract was signed.

“Many thanks, Master Sun!”

Having subdued the guild, President Ruan breathed a sigh of relief and clasped her fists at the young man before her.

“Don’t mention it…” Zhang Xuan quickly waved his hand. “This fellow is incorrigibly mischievous and kills people indiscriminately. You’ll probably have your hands full with it from now on!”

“The Twin Heroes of Jibei didn't have the best reputation, and their deaths can be considered well-deserved. Rest assured, our Spirit Awakener Guild will handle the aftermath. Master Sun, you don’t need to worry!” President Ruan smiled. Killing two Nascent God realm experts so openly would indeed cause panic, but for the Spirit Awakener Guild, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Even though Spirit Awakeners were protected by the Master Teacher Pavilion's rules, preventing direct trouble, their weak combat strength could secretly attract many covetous individuals. However, with the guild having just trampled two Nascent God realm experts to death, once the news spread, it would be enough to deter countless people with ill intentions. For them, such an incident was entirely beneficial with no drawbacks.

“Regardless, they effectively died by my hand. Here are two thousand high-grade spirit stones. If there’s an opportunity, please give them to their descendants or successors!”

Zhang Xuan shook his head. Although he didn’t wish to kill these so-called Twin Heroes of Jibei, they died because of him. Even though they deserved their fate, their deaths were indirectly caused by him, and he felt uneasy about it. Causing trouble was not his intention. He just wanted to be a quiet, handsome man, but instead, he kept attracting trouble. Just thinking about it was disheartening.

“This… very well. We will handle this matter properly…” Seeing his attitude, President Ruan hesitated for a moment but still accepted the spirit stones and nodded, growing even more impressed with the young man before her. To act with such responsibility—this was a true Master Teacher. Not to mention, it was said that even Master Kong caused quite a bit of trouble in his time, yet he managed to make countless people submit, becoming a Master for all generations.

“Then I’ll leave it to you…”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan remembered something and continued, “By the way, as you know, I prefer to keep a low profile and don’t want many people to know about this matter. So, please, President Ruan, help mitigate its impact…”

“Low profile?”

President Ruan’s face twitched. He comes here and turns the entire guild into this state, even killing two Nascent God realm experts on the spot… and he calls that a low profile? Perhaps no one could be more high-profile than him! However, since the other party made this request, she still nodded: “Please rest assured, Master Sun, we will warn those around us and issue a gag order to ensure this matter is not spread widely…” Keeping the news contained would also benefit them, as it would lead people to mistakenly believe there was a super powerful Spirit Awakener within the guild, making them safer.

“Oh, Master Sun, let me introduce you!”

After a brief discussion, President Ruan pointed nearby: “These two are Director Xing Tianming of the Combat Master Hall, and Director Liao Bujin of the Hall of Heart.”

“Director of the Combat Master Hall?”

Zhang Xuan was startled. One of the most important reasons for him to come to the Qingyuan Empire was to lead the members of the Suspended Xuan Society to interact with the Combat Master Hall. He had expected to meet them only in three days, but unexpectedly, he ran into them here.

“Yes, Director Xing, Director Liao, this is Master Sun Qiang, the Spirit Awakener. Furthermore, he is also a Master Teacher,” President Ruan said.

“A Master Teacher?” Director Xing looked over. “May I ask, Master Sun, to which Master Teacher Pavilion do you belong?”

“I…” Just as he was about to say he was from the Hongyuan Empire, Zhang Xuan stopped himself before speaking. If he said that, the other party would certainly discover his true identity, and his earlier lie about being Sun Qiang would be exposed on the spot, making the situation even more awkward.

“I studied with my master and haven’t joined a Master Teacher Pavilion branch yet… I’ve only undergone rank assessments at a Master Teacher Pavilion in a first-tier empire…”

He quickly changed his words. What he said wasn't entirely false. He had indeed never formally joined a Master Teacher Pavilion branch, instead learning and growing on his own throughout his journey.

“I see…”

Director Xing's expression became solemn. There were many rogue Master Teachers across the continent who hadn't joined a Master Teacher Pavilion, so it wasn't surprising. However, to possess such strength at such a young age, having only studied with a master and without joining a Master Teacher Pavilion, and to have such profound mastery over the Spirit Awakener profession, this master of his must certainly be extraordinary!

“I heard that Master Sun has an incredibly profound mastery of the Spirit Awakener profession, so I specifically came here, hoping you could help me stabilize my soul…”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Director Xing looked at him with an expectant expression.

“Me?” Zhang Xuan was stunned. Through his studies, he knew that Spirit Awakeners possessed this ability. However, he hadn't expected the first person to seek his help to be… the Director of the Combat Master Hall.

“Yes, if Master Sun can agree, I will be immensely grateful…”

Director Xing quickly said.

“It’s nothing, really, it’s quite simple. However… one of my weapons has fallen into a deep slumber and needs to be awakened. If Director Xing can wait, perhaps I can awaken it first, and then help you?”

Zhang Xuan said. Since the other party had come all this way so sincerely to ask for his help in stabilizing a soul, it was no big deal… just a simple favor. Of course, the prerequisite was to first revive the Golden Origin Cauldron.

“This…”

Director Xing and Director Liao exchanged glances, both frowning. They had heard before that awakening the spirit of a slumbering weapon was not easy, even for a Spirit Awakener. Most crucially, it was extremely taxing, and once performed, it could render one unable to awaken spirits for many days. Their own matter, however, could not be delayed.

“Master Sun, could we speak for a moment in private?”

After a moment of hesitation, Director Xing said.

“You two chat. I’ve just finished signing the contract with the guild, and I still need to get to know it better…”

Hearing this, President Ruan knew they likely had something important to discuss. She smiled knowingly, clasped her fists, and departed. Vice President Chen and Vice President Xu also followed closely behind her, moving away.

“What could be so mysterious?”

Seeing that the dignified Director of the Combat Master Hall wanted to speak with him alone, Zhang Xuan shook his head, then with a wave of his hand, formed a soundproof barrier around them and looked at Director Xing.

“I apologize for this, but our Combat Master Hall has recently encountered some trouble. I need to quickly purify my soul to pass the Hall of Heart’s inner demon trial and rapidly increase my strength to deal with the danger… otherwise, we will face immense trouble! Therefore… I hope Master Sun can help me awaken first. Whatever your request, the Combat Master Hall will certainly not refuse!”

Director Xing said, gritting his teeth.

“Immense trouble…”

Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned, then horrified. What kind of situation, what kind of enemy, could make even the Director of the Combat Master Hall so anxious? Whoever could cause such immense trouble must be incredibly formidable!

In an instant, Zhang Xuan was utterly impressed by this person.