Chapter 1668: Ziyuan, Descendant of the Ancient Sage

How powerful must this foreign spirit expert have been to force Master Kong to such an extent that he had no choice but to resort to using an undercover method? He must have surpassed the power of an ordinary Ancient Sage!

"That person's specific name is unknown and hasn't been passed down," Jiang Fangyou slowly replied, "We only know that his strength was unmatched in the world. He treated human lives as trifles; he was fierce, unpredictable, and volatile, even killing his own clansmen when in a bad mood." Jiang Fangyou hadn't expected the question. After a brief hesitation, he continued, "Therefore... both the foreign spirits and humans referred to him as... 'The Ruthless One!'"

"The Ruthless One?" Zhang Xuan's body swayed. It was true! He had vaguely guessed it when he heard about Master Kong being trapped in Chencai, but he hadn't expected his guess to be accurate. The "little ruthless one" sealed within his Heavens' Path Divination Manual had actually been an extraordinary figure who gave even Master Kong a headache! To eliminate him, the Spirit Awakener Masters endured immense humiliation and have carried a stained reputation to this day, with no one to clear their name. No wonder that fellow had such an arrogant demeanor; he was indeed incredibly powerful when he was alive!

"Yes," Jiang Fangyou confirmed, "according to the information from the Guild Leader, Master Kong planned ahead. After discovering the enemy's itinerary, he launched an ambush. That battle was so fierce that the sun and moon lost their light, and the heavens and earth crumbled... Ultimately, The Ruthless One was annihilated by Master Kong, completely obliterated, leaving no trace of his body!"

Zhang Xuan fell silent. He knew very well that The Ruthless One's body had been shattered into countless pieces, as he had already collected several parts. However, he hadn't realized such a tragic and brutal struggle was necessary to kill him. It wasn't just the Spirit Awakener Master profession; Master Kong himself must have paid an immense price.

"The Master Teacher Pavilion might not even be aware of these matters, right? How do you know all this?" Zhang Xuan asked after a moment. These events were top-secret, even potentially unknown to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters. How did Jiang Fangyou know them so clearly? Zhang Xuan had thoroughly examined the Jiang clan's library; if there had been any records, he would have known. Without written accounts, how could such events have been passed down for tens of thousands of years?

"The Soul Imprint!" Jiang Fangyou explained. "Master Kong left these matters within the Soul Imprint. When someone becomes the Jiang clan head and allows the Clan Head Token to touch the Soul Imprint, a soul message is transmitted, fully revealing the origins of our clan members. It's precisely because of this that we, even tens of thousands of years later, can still know the immense contributions our ancestors made..."

"So that's how it is..." Zhang Xuan sighed. It made sense. Meritorious deeds should not be buried by history. If future generations didn't know about the sacrifices the Spirit Awakener Masters made for humanity and for the greater good, how could their grievances ever be redressed? However, if these deeds were recorded on paper, any leak of information could place the Spirit Awakener Masters living among the foreign spirits in extreme danger, potentially leading to their complete annihilation. Caught between speaking out and remaining silent, Master Kong must have been left with no other choice. He could only entrust these messages to the Soul Imprint, to be passed down to future generations, hoping that one day, after the foreign spirits were subdued, the Spirit Awakener Master lineage could finally be completely vindicated.

"The Jiang clan inherited from the Spirit Awakener Masters; they are descendants of that Guild Leader, with his blood flowing through their veins!" Jiang Fangyou explained. "Therefore, any descendant who can control the Soul Imprint is qualified to become the new Guild Leader, and the clan members will obey them unconditionally!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. The elders present also fell silent. They had only known that the Jiang clan descended from the Spirit Awakener Masters but hadn't fully grasped the specific details. Now, hearing their clan head's thorough explanation, they finally understood.

"Our ancestors were actually Spirit Awakener Masters..." Jiang Feifei remained silent as well, her eyes reddening. All her life, she had been proud to be a Master Teacher, disliking Spirit Awakener Masters and detesting a profession that seemed to treat human lives as trifles. Only now did she understand the enormous contributions this profession, which she had always looked down upon, had made for humanity. Without them, the foreign spirits might still be rampaging across the continent, leaving humanity helpless.

"Master Zhang was able to comprehend the True Soul Understanding and retrieve the Soul Imprint," Jiang Fangyou said, looking at him again. "From both the perspective of the Spirit Awakener Masters and the Jiang clan, he is undoubtedly qualified to become the clan head; no one would dare object!"

"Yes," another elder chimed in, "Master Zhang can comprehend time, space, and even the True Soul Understanding, and has achieved things that command the attention of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Perhaps the responsibility of clearing the Spirit Awakener Masters' names and allowing them to walk in the light again can only be fulfilled by you!" "As descendants of the Spirit Awakener Masters, we have waited for this... for far too long!" "We earnestly hope Master Zhang will not decline..." The elders simultaneously rose, cupping their fists respectfully. While the Jiang clan followed a bloodline inheritance, the Spirit Awakener Master Guild did not. Controlling the Soul Imprint meant becoming the Guild Leader, and for tens of thousands of years, only Zhang Xuan had been able to do so. Their ancestors had suffered humiliation for too long, and as their descendants, they truly did not wish for it to continue. Heroes should not shed blood only to continue shedding tears. This was despite the fact that the people of the Master Teacher Continent were unaware of the true relationship between the Jiang clan and the Spirit Awakener Masters.

"This..." After a brief pause, Zhang Xuan nodded. "Becoming the Jiang clan head is not an issue. However, Clan Head Jiang Fangyou, there's something I don't quite understand, and I hope you can enlighten me."

"Please speak!" Jiang Fangyou said, his expression serious.

"When I arrived at the Jiang clan today, I inadvertently saw you interacting with a fair-skinned young man... I've met him before and even exchanged blows with him twice. If I'm not mistaken, he should be a foreign spirit!" Zhang Xuan voiced the doubt weighing on his mind. If everything Jiang Fangyou had said was true, and the Spirit Awakener Masters had contributed so much to humanity, then their descendants naturally wouldn't betray them and disgrace their ancestors' hard work. But... how could this fair-skinned young man be explained?

"A fair-skinned young man? Is Master Zhang referring to Yan Xue?" Jiang Fangyou asked, startled, looking at him.

"Yan Xue?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled.

"Indeed, he is not a foreign spirit. He is a descendant of Ancient Sage Ziyuan from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers," Jiang Fangyou explained. "His cultivation has long reached the peak of the Grand Sage Immemorial Realm, and he is renowned in the Great Confucian Hall, said to be a top expert on the Heaven Ranking List..."

He was completely stunned. The first time he had seen this fair-skinned young man was at Bai River Mountain, when they were seizing the Inherited Heavenly Talisman; one of the four individuals had revealed their true form as a foreign spirit. The second time was at the Heavenly Diviner Guild in Fenggu City, where not only several foreign spirits appeared, but also a foreign spirit Ancient Sage. If he was a descendant of Ancient Sage Ziyuan, how could he be so deeply involved with so many foreign spirits and even help them?

"Well... he came to me some time ago, asking me to contact the Spirit Awakener Master ancestors among the foreign spirits," Jiang Fangyou replied. "I only relayed messages; the Hundred Schools of Philosophers are very secretive and didn't explain what exactly they were doing. So, I'm not entirely clear!"