Chapter 1432: Position of the Ruthless Man's Sternum

The Hall Master Token required three conditions for complete activation. First, the master teacher level must reach eight stars. Second, the Eye of Insight must be cultivated to the fourth stage, 'Diamond's Wrath, Subduing Tigers and Demons.' Third, one's cultivation must reach Saint 8-dan.

While there was still some way to go for the other two conditions, reaching the eight-star master teacher level had evidently activated certain permissions and powers. Knowing it wasn't the time to examine them closely, Zhang Xuan placed both tokens into his storage ring before slowly descending from the air.

"Congratulations, Master Teacher Zhang, on passing the Master Teacher Tower assessment and breaking the Myriad-Year record of the Saint Son Hall..." Master Teacher Zhan still couldn't believe it even after Zhang Xuan approached him. Clearing nine floors in about twenty minutes and challenging nine geniuses by himself—even the little princess before him didn't possess such ability.

"Can I enter the inner court now?" Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

"Of course, if you wish to go, I'll take you there now!" Master Teacher Zhan nodded, "It's not much different from the outside here; the only thing is that the spiritual energy is more abundant!"

"Thank you, Master Teacher Zhan!" Zhang Xuan cupped his fists.

Seeing his determination, not even resting, Master Teacher Zhan was filled with admiration. Without another word, he swayed and led the way forward, with Zhang Xuan following closely.

"Master Teacher Zhang..." Luo Xuanqing quickly followed, intending to explain the previous matter in detail, but ultimately stopped himself. "You go check out the inner court first; I'll find you tonight!" Having him act on his behalf to kill someone his sister liked was something that shouldn't be publicized. With so many master teachers and experts skilled in soul arts present, it was better to be cautious. After all, it was a family matter.

"Alright!" Seeing that his cultivation was fully consolidated, Zhang Xuan smiled and nodded, then followed closely behind Master Teacher Zhan, flying towards the inner court.

The inner court of the Saint Son Hall was not located within the five great halls but inside a lake, far from the other buildings. Taking out a token, Master Teacher Zhan lightly swiped it across the lake surface. A seal was instantly lifted, and a massive gateway slowly emerged from the water, radiating spatial power.

"Such powerful spatial control..." Zhang Xuan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon seeing the gateway and its surroundings. He had already comprehended the third stage of the Heaven's Path Spatial Manipulation Art and had a deep understanding of space. Yet, he couldn't even perceive this gateway with his Eye of Insight, let alone sense it, which indicated that the person who set it up had mastered space to at least the peak of the fourth stage, or even... the fifth! A space created by such a powerful individual possessed extreme stability. Not to mention probing it, even if one found it, it would be difficult to open without a special hand token, regardless of his strength.

"This is the passage to the inner court and the emblem representing your identity!" Once the gateway appeared, Master Teacher Zhan handed over a token.

Zhang Xuan took it, gently caressing its surface. He then saw that it was carved with various patterns, identical to those used for sealing the Fae. They were all spatial formation patterns. After dripping blood to claim ownership, he put the token into his ring.

"Let's go in!" Master Teacher Zhan was the first to step into the gateway, with Zhang Xuan following closely behind. As soon as they entered the gate, they seemed to be instantly teleported by a spatial formation, appearing within a cluster of buildings the next moment. The spiritual energy here was nearly twice as dense as in the Saint Son Hall. It was so substantial that with a light grasp, one could gather it into droplets, forming spiritual liquid. What was incredibly precious at Hongyuan Academy was commonplace here.

"It truly is a cultivation sacred ground..." He sighed with emotion. The denser the spiritual energy, the faster one could cultivate. The spiritual energy here was so substantial that even without actively cultivating, it would spontaneously enter one's opened pores, convert into true qi, and slowly increase one's cultivation. If he had started here, he could easily have reached his current strength in a year, even without spiritual stones, perhaps even surpassing it! No wonder there were so many geniuses from the Saint Clans, each with impressive cultivation at a young age. With abundant resources and innate talent, it was difficult *not* to achieve something.

"The most important aspect of the inner court isn't the spiritual energy, but its cultural heritage and atmosphere. Cultivating here makes one's thoughts clearer and spirit sharper! Both cultivation and learning become swifter!" Master Teacher Zhan explained, seeing his astonishment.

Zhang Xuan nodded. This place was personally arranged by Ancient Sage Bu Shang, imbued with the philosophies of Master Kong, and reinforced by the power of countless talented students over tens of thousands of years. Its rich cultural atmosphere instinctively made anyone who entered desire to learn and cultivate, striving for greater heights.

"Let's go pay respects to the statue of Saint Kui!" After letting him take it in for a moment, Master Teacher Zhan said.

"Saint Kui?"

"Although this place was left behind by Ancient Sage Bu Shang, its continued existence and the nurturing of countless geniuses are thanks to Saint Kui!" Master Teacher Zhan explained, "For a folded space, stability is crucial. Especially in a place with abundant spiritual energy, various orders must be maintained for it to persist. Without Saint Kui guarding it, it would have surely collapsed countless times already!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. A folded space was like an inflated balloon; if not properly maintained, it wouldn't just fail to expand, but would also eventually deflate over time. For example, the space he used to house living beings had always been maintained by the Myriad Ants Queen, otherwise, it couldn't have remained stable until now. The previous mountain gate was also like this. When Saint Kui's statue shattered, it didn't last long before completely collapsing. This current one, with even more abundant spiritual energy, naturally experienced more intense fluctuations. For it to have been maintained for tens of thousands of years without error, there must be a powerful will guarding it.

They arrived before a massive statue. Dressed in a long robe, with a refined demeanor, it was identical to the Saint Kui he had seen at the mountain gate, exuding an astonishing aura. Although it didn't manifest as a condensed will like at the mountain gate, the entire stone statue seemed to possess sentience. A single glance at it brought a sense of enlightenment, making one's mind clearer.

"As expected of the first Hall Master of the Saint Son Hall..." Just a statue instilled awe in him, meaning Saint Kui's strength during his lifetime must have far surpassed the current acting Hall Master by an immeasurable amount.

He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Regardless of how strong he truly was, merely nurturing countless powerhouses, allowing humanity to prosper for tens of thousands of years, and protecting them from Fae incursions, was enough to command admiration and respect. Moreover, Zhang Xuan had also received his legacy and learned the Nine Serenities Divine Eye. Unfortunately, despite reading so many books these past few days, he hadn't found any texts on eye techniques. Otherwise, he would have long since upgraded this cultivation technique to the Heaven's Path level and cultivated it properly.

"Master, I sense... my sternum!" Just as he was filled with emotion, the voice of the Ruthless One from the Heaven's Path Grimoire entered his mind.

"Where is it?" His eagerness to enter the inner court, though partly for Luo Ruoxi, was also largely to help the Ruthless One recover. Upon hearing that the sternum had been found, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

"It's inside this statue..." The Ruthless One's voice was trembling.