Chapter 1403: Too Low-Key

"You..." Zhang Xu struggled to lift his head from the ground, almost going mad. He had used all his strength, yet was slapped back by his opponent before he could even jump onto the platform.

He was a favored son of heaven, the most powerful and invincible existence among his age group in the Zhang clan. He had expected that even if he couldn't win, he would at least have a hard-fought battle. He never dreamed he'd be knocked down before even setting foot on the stage. The most crucial thing was that he had been subjected to such blatant contempt. The intense feeling of humiliation made him furious!

However, despite his anger, he also perceived his opponent's true strength: he had already advanced to the Void-Entering realm, one step ahead of him! Even a slight difference at this level was like an unbridgeable chasm.

"He's already reached the Void-Entering realm, why challenge Master Zhang?" He clenched his fists, not impulsively rushing forward to fight, but filled with questions. If the opponent's strength were comparable to his, and he thought Zhang Xuan was a genius, challenging him to assert dominance would be understandable. But having already reached the Void-Entering realm, and being stronger than many senior students, why pick on a freshman?

As he pondered, he heard a muffled groan, and then saw another figure fly through the air, landing right beside him. It was Zhang Zhuo, the one he had been so sure would win. Zhang Zhuo's face was now swollen like a pig's head, an utterly miserable sight. His former fierce aura had completely vanished, and he lay askew on the ground, twisted into a bizarre angle.

His eyebrows twitched as he quickly looked towards the stage. He saw Chen Leyao descending, her face slightly pale. She approached Zhang Xuan, bowed with clasped fists, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Impossible, this is impossible... How did you win?" He had been knocked away by Feng Ziyi's punch, admitting defeat in skill, but... Zhang Zhuo clearly had the absolute advantage. How could it have ended like this? Witnessing this was even more unbelievable than his own defeat.

"Impossible?" Chen Leyao looked over, wagging her index finger in front of her chest. "Master Zhang guided me. Now that my cultivation has improved, if I couldn't defeat my opponent, wouldn't that mean I'm worse than before? Master Zhang's guidance isn't something just anyone can learn. You can't!" Master Zhang was the Young Palace Master's teacher. Even casual guidance from such a person was beyond what a minor figure like his opponent could ever hope to achieve.

"But..." Zhang Xu clenched his fists, his face turning ashen. Losing to Feng Ziyi, who was in the Void-Entering realm, was one thing. But to lose to a youngster in the Spirit Projection realm... he was utterly unwilling to accept it.

"No, the fact that I guided Zhang Zhuo will surely become known. If I gave similar guidance yet lost to someone with such low cultivation, what would become of my reputation?" His eyes narrowed. "If absolutely necessary, I'll challenge him to a match. I'll crush him with my overwhelming power first..."

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Feng Ziyi's voice once again rang out from the stage.

"Master Zhang, let me see if your full power is truly as you described!"

"As you wish!" Seeing that his opponent was determined to test him, Zhang Xuan had nothing to hide. He leaped onto the platform and pointed a finger.

A hundred or more long swords floated before him, each pointing straight forward, imbued with a chilling, murderous intent.

"Good!" Knowing the immense power of the swords, Feng Ziyi dared not underestimate them. His own long sword immediately traced a semicircle, and countless sword energies gathered around his body, forming a protective membrane of light.

"Is that the Falling Catkin Sword Art from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters?" Zhang Xu's expression turned grim.

"Falling Catkin Sword Art?" someone asked, confused.

"It's a Saint Domain top-grade martial art," Zhang Xu slowly explained. "It was created by a Master Teacher from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters who observed flying catkins. Its defensive capabilities are only slightly inferior to the Flowing Water Sword Art, an ultimate technique of the fourth Palace Master of the Saint Son Hall! When activated, it fills the sky with swirling catkins, resembling falling blossoms, and is considered on par with the Yin-Yang Palace's ultimate skill, the Falling Snow Sword Art..."

He finally understood the strength of the person before him. This sword art, even if the user didn't employ Void-Entering realm combat power but fought with the same strength as him, would not be easy to overcome. Unless... he resorted to using his bloodline power! However, it was best not to use such power unless in a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, it would deplete vital energy, and even with his significant status and control over resources in the Zhang clan, recovering from such a depletion would be incredibly difficult.

"His understanding of sword arts is so strong, yet his first move is defensive... Could it be that Zhang Xuan's power can contend with his?" Shocked, he began to understand, looking at the young man with renewed curiosity. Feng Ziyi was so powerful that he immediately employed such a formidable sword art... Could it be that Master Zhang was even more formidable?

"No matter how formidable, he's only in the Spirit Projection realm. How much stronger could he possibly be?" He shook his head. Just as he was about to watch Feng Ziyi make his move, he saw the supposed "super expert" point his left hand forward. True qi surged from his body, also forming a protective light barrier in front of him.

"It's the Big Dipper True Essence Shield..." Zhang Xu's eyebrows twitched again, and his mouth involuntarily twitched. If the opponent's use of the Falling Catkin Sword Art had already perplexed him, this light shield seemed even more incredible. The Big Dipper True Essence Shield was an ultimate move created by a Nine-Star Master Teacher from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, who observed the Big Dipper constellation. Once deployed, its defense was invincible, unbreakable by anyone at the same level. He used the Falling Catkin Sword Art, and now this... What on earth was he defending against?

Just as the shock was settling, Feng Ziyi's hand moved again, crushing a jade token. A faint purple halo enveloped him.

"This is a protective talisman refined by a Void-Entering realm expert. Although not as powerful as the Great Universe Talisman, it can still defend against attacks from Saint Domain Seventh Layer experts..." Zhang Xu's mouth twitched again. Weren't they supposed to be having a match? Feng Ziyi used a sword art, then a defensive technique, and now even brought out a protective talisman. What on earth was so terrifying that made him so scared?

*Crack, crack!* Still bewildered, Feng Ziyi's physique swelled once more, transforming him into a muscular form, just as it had before.

"This is... the Golden Toad Physique from the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters!" Zhang Xu exclaimed, pulling at his hair. "It's said to have been created by a Master Teacher who observed the cultivation methods of a golden toad. Once activated, a thick layer of scales forms over the entire body, providing tiger-like defense, immense strength, and making it impenetrable to even the strongest attacks... What kind of move does he need to defend against that requires deploying so many defensive measures in succession?" Cultivators must learn defense before offense; only by preserving one's life can an opponent be defeated. Therefore, even he knew a great deal about defensive techniques and had studied many. But to deploy so many at once... was Feng Ziyi insane, or was he about to do something extraordinary?

"Are you ready?" Zhang Xuan asked, smiling gently, unconcerned with the stunned crowd below.

"Good, let's begin!" Feng Ziyi took a deep breath and nodded. Although he suspected his opponent might be exaggerating, he still dared not be careless and deployed all his techniques.

"Alright then... I'm starting!" He pointed his finger forward. True qi immediately surged into the long swords hovering in the air. In the blink of an eye, the swords burst forth, transforming into a vast river and ocean that engulfed Feng Ziyi.

"This..." Zhang Xu's face paled, and he involuntarily stumbled back seven or eight steps, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He calculated that even if he used all his strength, he couldn't withstand this move! Wasn't he only at the Spirit Projection realm? How could he possess such powerful offensive capabilities?

His throat felt dry. He turned to see Elder Fei beside him, eyes wide, as if someone had seized his throat, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Elder Fei... you can't withstand this sword art either?" Knowing what the Elder was thinking, Zhang Xu couldn't help but ask.

Elder Fei slowly closed his eyes, shook his head, and forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart. "I can't withstand it either... If he used that directly in a fight, I might be instantly killed. I could only temporarily avoid its edge!"

"That powerful?" Zhang Xu swayed, feeling like crying. Fortunately, he hadn't challenged the opponent earlier. Otherwise, he would likely have ended up even more miserable than Zhang Zhuo.

"No wonder he could make Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng bow in submission," Elder Fei said with a bitter smile. "I misjudged him too; he's the most formidable freshman this year!"

"Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng admitted defeat?" Zhang Xu was stunned and quickly looked over. He had been cultivating intensely for days, oblivious to outside affairs.

"Yes, Zhang Chun came to me yesterday, looking for information on Zhang Xuan, saying that fellow beat him up... He still hasn't fully recovered!" Elder Fei nodded. As Zhang Xuan was a freshman and he was their homeroom teacher, Zhang Chun naturally had to go through him to investigate, which was how he learned about the beating. Though no details were given about *how* the beating occurred, Zhang Chun's miserable state was undeniable.

"As for Zhang Feng... the news just broke. This Zhang Xuan went and caused a huge commotion at the Spirit Awakener Guild, becoming a Guild Saint Son in one fell swoop... and he even awakened Zhang Feng's physical body, letting it savagely beat Zhang Feng himself..." Elder Fei's palm trembled as he threw over a communication jade token. As a student from his class had caused such a massive stir, he, as their homeroom teacher, had already received the news.

"Awakened physical body? Saint Son of the Spirit Awakener Guild?" Zhang Xu's face twitched, and he nearly stumbled. He had thought that among the new students, only Feng Ziyi was truly noteworthy. He never dreamed that this one was even more terrifying. Others might not know, but he was very familiar with the Zhang Chun and Zhang Feng brothers—they were renowned geniuses of the Zhang clan, his idols. To hear they were defeated by a freshman... he wouldn't have believed it if Elder Fei hadn't said it!

"With his strength and capabilities, how did he only rank fiftieth in the assessment?" A thought stirred in his mind, and an idea surfaced. He himself could rank second. This guy, putting everything else aside, simply with this sword technique, would undoubtedly be number one.

"He's probably quite low-key, not wanting to show off too much... Otherwise, it's impossible that he just happened to control his ranking at exactly fiftieth, no more, no less..." Elder Fei nodded, recalling what had happened on the day of the assessment. He jumped to fiftieth place in the last three minutes, having previously shown no signs of his true strength. It was clear he hadn't exerted himself fully, unlike the others.

"Hmm..." Zhang Xu had also heard about that incident. Now that it was mentioned, he understood, and with admiration in his eyes, he couldn't help but exclaim.

"He's truly too low-key!"