Chapter 1400: Facing Feng Ziyi

Feng Ziyi, whom I had met once, was undoubtedly the top performer in this Gate Challenge. He even surpassed Zhang Xu of the Zhang Clan; there was no comparison.

Before, I only knew he was a direct disciple of a Grand Elder from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, but I didn't know his exact identity. It was only after Yuan Xiao and the others introduced him that I realized he was genuinely Yang Xuan's student—far more legitimate than my own fraudulent claim!

He had come all this way and waited for me for several days...

Could he know about my 'fake' identity and be planning to personally apprehend me?

"Did he... say what he wanted to see me about?" Unable to hold back, I asked urgently.

If it were just him, it wouldn't be so bad, but if Master Yang himself came, I would truly have no choice but to flee.

The most mysterious and powerful Grand Elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, his strength likely surpassed Saint 9-dan, and it was certainly not something I could conceal or contend with.

"He didn't say... but he seems very patient. He's been waiting for days, even though he clearly knew you weren't here, he didn't leave," Sun Qiang explained.

"He's planning to corner me," my lips twitched.

Previously, any disciplinary action involved only members of the Zhang Clan, with whom I had no prior connection. Yet, he was willing to wait here for days. He wouldn't have done this unless my identity as a "direct disciple of Yang Xuan" had been leaked.

"Oh, right, Zhang Jiuxiao came with him and has also been waiting here for several days!" Sun Qiang suddenly recalled, adding.

"Jiuxiao? What's he doing here? How does he know Feng Ziyi?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Zhang Jiuxiao had only barely qualified as a student of the Saint Son Hall and was still a long way from the elite class. How could he possibly know the top-ranked elite?

"Young Master, do you wish to see them? If not, I can say you're in seclusion..." Sun Qiang asked, noticing the changing expressions on Zhang Xuan's face.

"Let's meet them!" If it was a blessing, it wasn't a curse; if it was a curse, it couldn't be avoided. Since things had come to this, there was no point in deliberately hiding. It was better to go and see what the other party truly intended.

Besides, as soon as he had returned, he had turned both the Diviner and Spirit Awakener Guilds into ruins. The other party had likely already received the news. Deliberately avoiding them was not his style.

Having made his decision, he no longer hesitated and walked straight towards the main hall of the courtyard. Upon entering, he indeed saw two individuals seated in the guest area, waiting quietly.

One of them, seeing him enter, quickly rose, his eyes gleaming. "Master Zhang, you've finally returned! You've kept us waiting. This Senior Brother Feng, I'm sure you already know him. I never expected him to also be Master Yang's student, sharing the same origin as you. I brought him here for you two to meet..." It was Zhang Jiuxiao.

"Master Yang's student?" Zhang Xuan's lips twitched. He instantly understood and glared fiercely at the person before him, wishing he could just slap him dead.

He had been wondering who had leaked the news of his being Yang Xuan's student and never in his wildest dreams imagined it would be this imbecile...

Zhang Jiuxiao had met him in Qingyuan City, and Master Wu, Hall Master Liao, and others were largely aware of his "master's lineage." A simple inquiry would reveal it. It wasn't strange to know about "Yang Xuan."

But... knowing was one thing, why boast about it to Feng Ziyi? What if this news truly spread and reached the real Master Yang... wouldn't that be the end of everything?

Rubbing his temples, Zhang Xuan was utterly speechless but found himself unable to articulate anything. He could only manage an awkward smile: "You... are also a disciple of Master Yang?"

Standing up, Feng Ziyi did not answer. Instead, he extended his palm and stepped into the center of the hall, asking, "Do you dare to have a match with me?"

"A match!" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Indeed!" Without further explanation, Feng Ziyi's aura surged violently, a powerful energy roiling and churning as if it would crush the very air.

"This is... initial stage Void-tier?" Zhang Xuan was utterly incredulous.

The last time I saw this guy, he was only at the late stage of Domain-tier. In merely twenty days, he had not only broken through but also reached the initial stage of Void-tier, rapidly advancing two minor levels... that was truly terrifying!

Saint 7-dan Void-tier, despite being the introductory level of the Void Realm, was enough to confound countless geniuses and deter them.

The person before him had successfully broken through in just twenty days, and critically, he was only twenty-four or twenty-five years old. This level of talent was in no way inferior to Zhang Xuan's own; it was simply too frightening.

Seeing his hesitation, Feng Ziyi sneered, "I've made progress recently, and it seems your breakthroughs haven't been slow either! The last time we met, you were only at the initial stage of Ethereal-tier, but now you've already reached the peak! If you could defeat Zhang Zhuo and others at the initial Ethereal-tier, you must be even stronger now! What's wrong? You can effortlessly deal with members of the Zhang Clan, but you're afraid of me?"

Just as Zhang Xuan was shocked by Feng Ziyi's cultivation surge, Feng Ziyi was equally stunned by Zhang Xuan's rapid progress.

During the Gate Challenge, he had only been at the peak of Primordial Spirit-tier. In a mere twenty days, he had already advanced an entire major level, reaching the peak of Ethereal-tier—a speed even faster than Feng Ziyi's own!

Coupled with having personally witnessed Zhang Xuan's ability to fight across cultivation levels, Feng Ziyi could no longer hold back.

"Why wouldn't I dare..." Knowing there was no avoiding it, Zhang Xuan said nothing more. He walked to the center of the room and simply stated, "Please."

As long as the real "Yang Xuan" didn't appear, he had nothing to fear.

Whether he faced it or ran, the outcome would be the same. If the other party wanted to fight, then a battle it would be.

Whoosh! Seeing him accept the challenge, Feng Ziyi took a step forward, instantly appearing before him, and lightly clenched his palm.

Swish! Feng Ziyi's Void-tier domain instantly enveloped the room. Zhang Xuan's divine sense fell into it as if plunging into another dimension, completely losing perception of his surroundings. At the same instant, Feng Ziyi's palm pressed down with a ferocious force, seemingly locking down the area, making it feel like a vacuum where even breathing became difficult.

"What a powerful technique..." Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed.

Although he had never fought someone at the initial stage of Void-tier, he had sparred with Bi Hongyin. The Feng Ziyi before him, despite being only at the initial stage, possessed combat power nearly on par with her, who was at the late stage!

Bi Hongyin was a genius among geniuses. While slightly inferior to Luo Xuanqing and others, she had already surpassed many other prodigies. For Feng Ziyi to possess such power with a significantly lower cultivation level was truly terrifying!

"Break!" Feeling a suffocating pressure in his chest, Zhang Xuan knew that dodging would only lead to a more passive situation. Instead of evading or counterattacking, he let out a roar.

His voice carried the hypnotic power of demonic sound, along with a soul attack. In an instant, the domain confining him seemed to explode, and cracks appeared throughout it.

Having studied Bi Hongyin's texts on demonic sound, his understanding and mastery of it had already reached the peak of 8-star. Although his cultivation limited him from unleashing its full power, once employed, it was still incredibly terrifying; without an extraordinary state of mind, one simply couldn't withstand it.

His shout shattered the opponent's domain. Zhang Xuan then pointed a finger, and a streak of sword qi shot forth.

His strength was lower than his opponent's, so holding back would be meaningless. He directly unleashed his sharpest offensive sword intent.

Zzzzz! Sword qi surged from his fingertips, forming a veritable sea in the air. While not a single sword cleaving the ocean, the combined might of so many sword intents was formidable, like a hurricane, crashing forward to meet the attack!

"Impressive..." Seeing Zhang Xuan's move, Feng Ziyi's eyes instantly lit up. "Under normal circumstances, one who hasn't reached Void-tier wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure of a Saint 7-dan expert's domain. Yet, with a single roar, you used demonic sound to shatter my control over the domain, then used sword qi to form your own domain to counter mine..."

Domain experts are formidable because, within their domain, they wield absolute control over their power.

Zhang Xuan was merely at the peak of Ethereal-tier, without a true domain, so directly confronting it would undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage. But he had found an unconventional path, using a sword qi domain to fight. Even Feng Ziyi hadn't anticipated it!

It was, arguably, the pinnacle of ingenuity.

The sword qi collided with his palm, causing Feng Ziyi to involuntarily retreat two steps. Zhang Xuan, however, was forced back even further, seven or eight steps in a row.

A single exchange revealed the disparity in their strengths.

"You're two major cultivation levels below me, yet you managed to block my attack. Your understanding of combat is profound, but... let's see if you can withstand this next move!" His eyes gleaming, Feng Ziyi stomped his foot again.

His figure became illusory, covering more than ten meters in the blink of an eye, appearing right before Zhang Xuan.

"Such speed..." Zhang Xuan's pupils constricted.

The speed at which his opponent surged forward was no slower than his own Path of Heaven movement technique, and perhaps even surpassed it!

Luo Xuanqing was faster than him due to his higher cultivation and superior comprehension of space. But for this individual to be so fast... He was indeed Master Yang's student, a genius from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters; truly terrifying.

Knowing that such speed meant he couldn't dodge in time, and that a hit would surely result in severe injury, Zhang Xuan didn't attempt a direct block. Instead, he swiftly retracted his body, activated his Path of Heaven movement technique, and rapidly retreated.

Zzzzz! Zhang Xuan retreated quickly, but Feng Ziyi's attack was even swifter. Feng Ziyi's outstretched finger seemed poised to pierce his throat at any moment.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! After employing several movement techniques in succession, each was shadowed relentlessly. Zhang Xuan began to feel anxious.

"If this continues, I'm bound to lose..."

Being relentlessly pursued, with Feng Ziyi's finger constantly aimed at his throat, Zhang Xuan knew that while he could dodge a few more times, continuing this way meant giving the opponent complete control of the rhythm, and surrendering would only be a matter of time.

"I'll risk it!" Taking a deep breath, his eyes suddenly became grave. His retreating and dodging figure abruptly halted, and the muscles in his neck instantly tensed.

The opponent's finger touched his throat. However, instead of piercing through as expected, it struck like a weapon against metal, emitting a sharp clang.

It was his Path of Heaven Golden Body!

Having studied Yuan Xiao's body refining technique, his physical body had become as hard as a half-step high-grade Saint artifact. As long as the opponent didn't use a weapon, piercing through him was simply impossible!

"Lie down!" The opponent's finger was blocked, and a clear look of surprise appeared on his face. Zhang Xuan knew this was an opportunity not to be missed. He raised an eyebrow, clenched his fist, and unleashed a direct punch.

This punch mobilized not only his true qi but also his physical body and soul power. Before it even reached Feng Ziyi, the opponent's Void-tier domain shattered inch by inch, like foam.

"You... how is this possible?" Feng Ziyi's usually unruffled expression instantly changed.