Chapter 1888: Entering the Barrier

Shedding his identity as a Celestial Master Teacher and releasing all the aura of his five Heaven's Recognitions, the entire continent erupted in a frenzy.

Previously, whenever Zhang Xuan received Heaven's Recognition, it only occurred on a small scale within the Master Teacher Pavilion and was subsequently suppressed by other master teachers, so few people knew about it. This time, however, the aura of Heaven's Recognition spread far and wide, allowing everyone to witness the figure defying it.

Anyone who still didn't understand would truly be foolish.

A Celestial Master Teacher had once again appeared on the continent, and most crucially... this person actually didn't want the title and intended to resign from it.

“As expected of Teacher…” Admiration shone brightly in Zhang Jiuxiao’s eyes.

Upon learning his teacher’s identity, he had unhesitatingly chosen to become his disciple. Yet, his teacher seemed utterly indifferent to such a prestigious identity, discarding it without a second thought.

Truly, his moral character was noble and admirable!

While the world trembled in shock and excitement, Zhang Xuan remained oblivious to it all. He stood before the barrier, continuously releasing the power within him.

Unless he completely dispersed the power of the Celestial Master Teacher, it would be impossible for him to become the teacher of the heavens and earth, and thus breakthrough to Ancient Sage!

A heavy creaking sound filled the air. The pressure descending from the heavens and earth seemed intent on crushing his soul into dust. Zhang Xuan’s face remained devoid of emotion, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

While renouncing his Celestial Master Teacher identity, he admittedly harbored some doubts. However, after coming into contact with the barrier and receiving the educational heritage of Confucius, he realized that Confucius... must have walked this very path too!

Confucius was also a Celestial Master Teacher and had similarly relinquished this identity in the end.

Otherwise, at best, he would only become an Ancient Sage of this world. It would be nearly impossible to leave the continent and ascend to a higher dimension.

For by gaining the recognition of this world, one would be confined within it. To escape, one must first break their own shackles.

Rather than saying he conceived this method, it was more accurate to say he was following in Confucius's footsteps.

Following his path, he pressed forward.

Crack! As the master teacher qi within him completely dispersed, the heavens and earth seemed unable to tolerate his blasphemy. Dark clouds gathered once more, with countless bolts of lightning and flames burning above, eclipsing the sun and moon.

“It’s here…” Zhang Xuan stood firm within the underground chamber, not moving.

If he were to go out now, the power of the lightning would surely engulf the entire Tianxuan Kingdom, reducing it to a hellish landscape, never to recover.

By remaining in this underground chamber, any attack targeting him would be enveloped by the grand formation outside. As long as he could withstand it, this insignificant ancient land would remain unharmed.

Whoosh! Cataclysmic lightning slowly converged in the air, once again forming a gigantic long blade. Flames and lightning ceaselessly swirled around it, and the space before it seemed fragile, threatening to disintegrate into ashes at any moment.

Among Ancient Sage tribulations, the most terrifying—the Lightning Soldier Tribulation—had unexpectedly reappeared.

The formed Lightning Soldier shot straight towards the underground chamber, stopping above Zhang Xuan’s head in the blink of an eye and slowly descending to cut him.

Rip! The underground chamber’s formation and space were ripped apart in an instant, like tattered paper, utterly fragile.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time…” Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and threw a punch to meet it.

The last time he faced the Lightning Soldier Tribulation, his strength was insufficient to contend with it. Now, he had grown much stronger. Although he couldn't use the Dragonbone Divine Spear, his cultivation in physical body, soul, and zhenqi was already no weaker than resurrection from a single drop of blood.

His fist collided with the Lightning Soldier, and he couldn't help but stagger back a few steps. Zhang Xuan’s fist was covered in blood.

It seemed that even with such a significant increase in his cultivation, he still couldn't fully withstand it.

Previously, he had overcome the Lightning Soldier Tribulation by leveraging the power of 'Little Tribulation' and the simultaneous breakthroughs of hundreds of people. Currently, he had none of those resources to borrow, but that didn't mean Zhang Xuan would simply surrender.

With a slight shift, he appeared before the barrier and met the attack again.

As his aura surged, the underground chamber shook incessantly, threatening to collapse at any moment. The massive weapon, imbued with the might of lightning and heavenly flames, seemed poised to incinerate the entire ground into thin air.

In another clash, Zhang Xuan’s back slammed against the barrier, causing a ripple-like undulation.

The Lightning Soldier’s power had not diminished and also struck the barrier above him.

With a soft hum, the barrier was corroded, forming a small hole. Black flames burned for a moment before being blocked by the barrier.

“It actually worked…” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Choosing this location to once again draw down the lightning tribulation served one purpose: to gain insights. But most importantly, he aimed to use the power of the Lightning Soldier Tribulation to break through the barrier, allowing the two forces to cancel each other out.

The barrier could even block the power of a ruthless expert. Breaking it with sheer force alone was almost impossible. Although it was left by Confucius, it seemed he had no intention of activating it just because Zhang Xuan was a Celestial Master Teacher.

In that case, he would use the Lightning Soldier Tribulation to shatter it!

He transformed his fist into a palm and struck out at the Lightning Soldier again.

Crack! Crack! The Lightning Soldier attacked him repeatedly, but Zhang Xuan channeled all the force to the barrier behind him. The previously untouched barrier finally succumbed, developing cracks.

However, by channeling the power, Zhang Xuan’s physical body also suffered immense damage. At any moment, it could completely shatter, just like before.

“Chen Linghuang!” With a thought, he transformed into Chen Linghuang’s appearance once more. He uncorked the bottle, releasing the special power he had previously absorbed.

This power was obtained by Chen Linghuang's sacrifices from the Gods. It had an excellent effect on recovering from injuries.

After absorbing half the bottle, his injuries fully recovered. He then resumed his attack against the Lightning Soldier.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Lightning Soldier repeatedly struck the barrier again. The cracks that had appeared earlier grew larger and larger, threatening to tear apart at any moment.

By this point, the Lightning Soldier Tribulation had also expended most of its power, appearing significantly weaker.

“They can indeed consume each other…” Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed the risk was worthwhile. Although he still couldn't become the teacher of the heavens and earth right now, he had successfully shed his Celestial Master Teacher identity, and his strength had once again surged.

Moreover, he had successfully broken open the barrier. Though he didn't know what lay behind it, its extreme secrecy suggested a connection to the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Even if there wasn't a direct link, it surely had some connection to Confucius. As long as he followed in his footsteps, he would certainly be able to leave this dimension, enter a higher world, and finally find Luo Ruoxi.

Crack! Crack! The Lightning Soldier Tribulation struck twice more. The cracks in the barrier widened enough for a person to pass through. At this point, the ominous clouds filling the sky gradually began to dissipate.

After a dozen more breaths, it could no longer hold and violently shattered.

The Lightning Soldier Tribulation, which had been continuously attacking, completely exhausted its energy and lost its former power. With a gentle touch from Zhang Xuan, it dissipated into a myriad of scattered air currents.

“Go in!” Seeing that the lightning tribulation was finally over, Zhang Xuan, without pausing to inspect the power within him, instructed, then flickered his body and plunged straight into the rift.

Zheng Yang and Wei Ruyan nodded simultaneously. After sending a message to Zhao Ya and the others, they quickly followed.