Chapter 1324: He Is Taking a Bath

"Might as well have a quick breakthrough?"

"A breakthrough... can that be done 'on the side'?"

"Ten breaths? What can you do in such a short time? It's not even long enough to go to the restroom!"

The audience erupted in an uproar upon hearing Zhang Xuan's words.

The elders hovering in the air also exchanged bewildered glances.

When others break through, they need to find a quiet, secluded chamber and prepare all conditions. This guy, however, is in the middle of a fight, demanding a pause and ten breaths of time...

Does he think a breakthrough is a game?

"Alright, I'll give you ten breaths. Let's see if you can pull it off..."

Zhang Yunfeng was also taken aback and nearly burst out laughing.

He had seen strange people, but never anyone this bizarre.

In the middle of a battle, he's asking for ten breaths to achieve a breakthrough... Could it get any more preposterous?

Still, even if he were given the time, what good would it do?

He was merely at the Nascent Divinity realm; even if he broke through, he certainly wouldn't be an opponent.

Furthermore... ten breaths is just a moment. There's no telling if he could even break through. It might be better to grant him the favor, letting him realize that an ant remains an ant, and no matter how much it struggles, it cannot withstand a single punch from him!

"Much obliged..."

Zhang Xuan nodded gratefully, then with a flick of his wrist, he produced a bottle of Frigid Spirit Liquid. He uncorked it and swallowed the contents in a single gulp.

"That's not meant to be drunk..."

Chen Leyao, standing below the stage, turned pale and nearly fainted on the spot.

Frigid Spirit Liquid was an essence with extreme frigid properties, capable of chilling one to the bone marrow. Normally, to absorb it, one would cultivate Yin arts, dipping a finger in a tiny amount and slowly consuming it over a long period. A single bottle would typically last several years... yet he swallowed it all at once!

While the liquid was rich in spiritual energy, its extreme frigidity made it more potent than lethal poison if consumed directly. Not to mention a Nascent Divinity realm cultivator, even a Domain realm expert would surely die... What was he doing?

She had given him the bottle because he was her savior and the Young Palace Master's teacher. If he died because of this, she would be entirely to blame.

*Gurgle, gurgle!*

Just as she was terrified and at a loss, she saw that the young man on stage, far from freezing into an ice lump and dying instantly, was instead growing stronger and stronger. The power within him surged like a flash flood that had accumulated for an unknown duration, ready to burst forth at any moment.

Immediately afterward, an explosive rumble sounded as his cultivation directly broke through to the peak of the Nascent Divinity realm, reaching the Half-step Out-of-Body stage.

Upon reaching this realm, he did not cease, but continued to push further.

Two breaths later, he had already become a Pseudo-Out-of-Body expert.

"He can do that?"

Her face was pale, her throat dry, and Chen Leyao's beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief, as if they might pop out.

She had thought he would surely freeze to death, but... nothing happened. He instantly refined the spirit liquid, and his cultivation advanced... His physique was truly terrifying!

Amidst her shock, the advancement in his cultivation ceased.

It seemed the spiritual energy from the Frigid Spirit Liquid had been depleted.

"This..."

"In about three breaths... two minor stages?"

"Isn't that too fast?"

Everyone swayed slightly.

Elder Haoyu and the others in the air nearly plummeted.

They had thought his talk of ten breaths was a joke, never dreaming that in just three breaths, he had already broken through two minor stages. It seemed... if not for the insufficient spiritual energy of the Frigid Spirit Liquid, he might have been able to attempt an even higher realm.

"Mere Pseudo-Out-of-Body. That level of strength is nothing to me..."

Zhang Yunfeng furrowed his brow, surprised that the other party genuinely managed a breakthrough, and such a fierce one at that. He then sneered.

It was merely the Pseudo-Out-of-Body realm; there was still a vast difference compared to a true Domain realm expert like himself.

*Boom!*

As he was musing, a peal of thunder reverberated from above, and the previously clear sky immediately darkened.

He hastily looked up and saw a mass of dark clouds looming over the square.

"He... he can't be trying to challenge a lightning tribulation, can he?"

His lips twitched, and his body involuntarily swayed.

He had just broken through to Pseudo-Out-of-Body, and he dared to summon a lightning tribulation... Did he even know how terrifying a lightning tribulation was?

The Nascent Divinity was inherently Yin; it needed the nourishment of a lightning tribulation to gradually become Yang, enabling it to roam freely without the shackles of the physical body...

For this very reason, lightning tribulations were the most terrifying ordeal for Nascent Divinity realm cultivators. Even he, when he broke through to the Pseudo-Out-of-Body realm, had consolidated his cultivation for over half a year before daring to face one... Even then, he was severely injured, nearly crippled, and took three months to recover!

This fellow, his rapid breakthrough was one thing, but to directly summon a lightning tribulation...

Is he eager to die?

"Too reckless!"

Zhao Xingmo's body trembled, but he didn't faint.

Losing was one thing; after all, Zhang Yunfeng had a higher rank, and even admitting defeat wouldn't affect his status as an elite class student... But to break through in ten breaths and then challenge a lightning tribulation...

What exactly was he trying to do?

"Don't worry... Teacher Zhang should be fine!"

Zhang Jiuxiao offered a word of reassurance.

Teacher Zhao didn't know, but he had witnessed it firsthand.

Just when he painstakingly achieved a small breakthrough, the other party would claim sufficient accumulation and then break through even further...

He had grown accustomed to being disheartened daily.

While the current scene still seemed incomprehensible, it was somehow acceptable when it happened to *this* guy.

After all, the other party was a Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teacher, just like Master Kong!

"Fine? How could he be fine? The first lightning tribulation for a Nascent Divinity is the most terrifying; many cultivators perish during it... Look at the dense, ominous clouds in the sky. I fear he's far too arrogant and won't be able to withstand it at all!"

Zhao Xingmo fretted, "Besides, even if he endures it, he'll be severely wounded. How could he possibly continue fighting?"

Undergoing a lightning tribulation inevitably damages the Nascent Divinity... Severely wounded, how could he possibly fight a Domain realm expert?

There was no need for a fight; it was clear he would surely die!

"This..."

Zhang Jiuxiao was stunned.

Although he had confidence, this situation seemed insurmountable.

"Look! Teacher Zhang's Nascent Divinity has emerged!"

Just as he was at a loss for a reply, an uproar erupted around them. He quickly looked up and indeed saw Teacher Zhang standing motionless, as a Nascent Divinity leaped from between his eyebrows and shot straight towards the dark clouds in the sky.

"His Nascent Divinity? This... this is even more dangerous!"

His lips twitched.

He had personally witnessed Hall Master Xing's breakthrough years ago; confronting lightning directly with one's Nascent Divinity was far more difficult. It would be safer to involve the physical body.

Knowing it was harder, why would he take such a risk?

As he found it unbelievable, he then saw Zhang Xuan's life-sized Nascent Divinity already submerged in an ocean of thunder, with countless lightning bolts whistling down upon it.

*Crack! Crack!*

The Nascent Divinity stood amidst the lightning, its hands continuously moving across its body, seemingly unable to control itself due to the electric currents.

"The Out-of-Body realm is a major hurdle for Saint realm experts; many Nascent Divinities simply cannot endure it. He's going in completely unprepared; if he can just keep his Nascent Divinity from perishing, that would be a success!"

"Indeed, he's flailing wildly from the electricity, completely losing his composure!"

"The Nascent Divinity is Yin; undergoing a lightning tribulation for the first time could even wipe out one's consciousness... This guy is too impatient for quick success... Wait, no, why does it look like he's not flailing wildly because of the electricity?"

The crowd below the stage had initially been sighing, but then someone suddenly shouted, and everyone froze in astonishment.

"He's certainly not flailing wildly from the electricity; instead..."

Half a breath later, a Master Teacher noticed it and shrieked as if seeing a ghost, "He's... taking a bath!"

"Taking a bath?"

Everyone stared blankly, then rushed to look, and sure enough, they noticed something amiss.

The Nascent Divinity within the lightning was moving its hands, not convulsing, but rhythmically rubbing itself, just like someone taking a bath. It seemed to be trying to spread the lightning bolts striking it from all directions more evenly, refining them into the deepest reaches of its soul.

"He's not only unafraid of the lightning tribulation—the most feared ordeal for a Nascent Divinity—but he's actually using its power to take a bath..."

"Am I seeing this correctly?"

They had seen madness, but never anything like this.

In one go, he had ascended from the peak of the Nascent Divinity realm to Pseudo-Out-of-Body, and within a few breaths, he had summoned another lightning tribulation...

Lightning filled the sky, and enduring it might be acceptable, but... lying within it, taking a bath, clearly enjoying himself and having such a good time...

Everyone clutched their heads, utterly speechless.

"Th-this..."

His eyelids twitched incessantly, and Elder Haoyu swallowed, utterly speechless.

As an elder of the Saint Son Hall for hundreds of years, he had witnessed countless astonishingly brilliant super geniuses: the current head of the Zhang clan, the Luo clan's young princess... Each was one in a million, shining like a star.

But... he had never seen anyone dare to treat an Out-of-Body tribulation like this!

This was simply beyond words.

"He..." Zhang Yunfeng stood rooted to the spot, utterly dumbfounded.

He had assumed the other party was seeking death by summoning the lightning, but he never imagined that nothing would happen, and he would even be "bathing" quite happily.

"Ten breaths are up..."

After a brief moment of paralysis, he suddenly snapped back to reality and let out a loud shout.

As if hearing the shout, the Nascent Divinity in the air stopped "scrubbing." It opened its mouth wide, and the myriad lightning bolts from the sky densely streamed into its throat, then with a slight tremor, it merged back into the physical body.

The next moment, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Yunfeng, who was not far away, with an apologetic expression.

"My apologies, I got a bit carried away enjoying the lightning tribulation and delayed for one breath. I suppose I took advantage. How about this... I'll let you have three moves!"