Chapter 1996: Knocking Bai Ruanqing Unconscious

"I've been to this library many times. Tell me what kind of books you're looking for, and I'll help you find them!" Bai Ruanqing said, frowning. She couldn't act here, and if he kept searching, she couldn't just keep following him forever!

"I'm just browsing casually; I haven't decided on a specific book. Don't worry about me. I'll just look around and leave after three hours..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand. Since he had finally come here, he naturally wanted to collect all the books, which would significantly improve his cultivation techniques and combat skills.

"How about... you come over here for a moment!" Seeing that this guy's eyes had already scanned the bookshelves in front of him and moved to the next row as he spoke, Bai Ruanqing felt impatient. Who knew how long it would take for him to look through everything this way? She had always been impatient; waiting here for an hour or two would make her head explode.

"Where to?" Seeing her strange expression, Zhang Xuan looked over, puzzled. "What is it?"

"Just over to the quiet room there!" Bai Ruanqing pointed to a quiet room inside the library used for reading and cultivation.

"A quiet room?" Zhang Xuan hesitated. "A man and a woman alone... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Bai Ruanqing's eyebrow twitched, and she had an urge to strangle this idiot on the spot. "I just want to ask you some questions about cultivation..."

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan finally relaxed. He was very mindful of his integrity and absolutely could not lose it here.

"You..." Seeing his look of relief, Bai Ruanqing almost lost control and attacked him on the spot. No matter what, she was a top-tier beauty, one in a hundred. Countless people in the entire core area longed to get close to her and spend time alone with her... Yet, when she invited him to a quiet room, this guy actually made such a face... What did he mean by that? Did he think she would devour him?

Afraid he might notice something, she suppressed her almost bursting chest, took two quick breaths to calm her anger, and walked ahead. Although she had little interaction with this guy, she had seen enough; every word he spoke could infuriate someone to death. He deserved to be single!

She entered the quiet room, and after Zhang Xuan followed, she closed the door with a creak.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Xuan covered his chest and collar, his face full of vigilance.

"..." Bai Ruanqing's vision went dark for a moment. She gritted her teeth, activated the sound-proofing array in the room, and then looked at him. "I want to ask, what's your name, and what's your exact cultivation level?"

"Didn't I tell you on the way? My name is Zhang Xuan! My current cultivation level is Broken Void realm pinnacle!" Zhang Xuan explained. When they came to the core mountains, the other party had asked, and he thought there was nothing to hide, so he told his real name. As for his cultivation, those with higher cultivation could see through it at a glance, so there was no need to deliberately hide it.

"Broken Void realm pinnacle, is it..." Clenching her pearly teeth, Bai Ruanqing's cultivation immediately dropped like a tide. The next moment, she was at the same level as him, Broken Void realm pinnacle. "I've suppressed my cultivation to match yours. Let's have a match! The loser, starting today, must obey the winner's every command without going back on their word!"

"A match?" Zhang Xuan was utterly bewildered. He thought she was coveting his beauty, but it turned out she wanted to fight. But... what was wrong with this female berserker now?

"That's right!" Bai Ruanqing nodded.

"Obey every command... Does that mean if you tell me to commit suicide, I have to obey?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. Even though he was guaranteed to win at the same level, he didn't want to make such a bet. Keeping a low profile was his duty, the kingly way!

"Don't worry, I won't ask you to commit suicide. I want you, no matter what your status is in the future... to call me Senior Sister! Like other junior brothers, you will respect me and obey my orders!" Moving slightly, Bai Ruanqing's bones creaked.

Utterly confused, Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I already call you Senior Sister now... I really need to read my books..." After speaking, he turned to walk out of the room. He was currently an "inner disciple," so he naturally had to address a core disciple as Senior Sister!

"Where do you think you're going!" With a sharp cry, Bai Ruanqing wasted no more words. A long sword appeared in her palm, and with a gentle flick, she thrust it straight at Zhang Xuan's back. Whether he admitted it or not, she would beat him into submission first!

Her sword qi surged, and with her cultivation suppressed to the Broken Void realm pinnacle, she could unleash more sword techniques than when at Ancient Sage First Level, and her power was more agile. As soon as the sword move was unleashed, it was countless times stronger than when she was in the Tongzhan Hall, instantly sealing off all of Zhang Xuan's retreat paths. She didn't want to kill him, but rather to beat him into submission so he wouldn't dare order her around as "Martial Uncle" in the future.

Zhang Xuan was speechless that she attacked directly. No wonder she was called the "female berserker"; she truly had no sense of reason.

With a gentle sway, Zhang Xuan dodged out of the multitude of sword gleams and shook his head. "Senior Sister, I'm really no match for you. There's no need to continue this match!"

"Hmm?" Seeing that he had easily dodged her fierce sword move without the slightest fear, and even had the leisure to speak, Bai Ruanqing's face darkened. "Take out your sword and show me your true strength, or else... don't blame me for being impolite!"

*Swish swish swish!* As soon as she finished speaking, she delivered three consecutive sword strikes, each faster than the last. The entire quiet room was instantly filled with sword qi. When the library was built, the quiet rooms were intentionally made extremely sturdy, with arrays inside that even core disciples couldn't damage, to prevent practitioners from damaging the books by releasing too much power after gaining insights. Therefore, although Bai Ruanqing's sword qi was powerful, it did not pierce the walls.

Zhang Xuan flickered, dodging all three swords, and said with a sincere expression, "See, I really am no match..."

Seeing that he had easily dodged such fast swordplay and maintained that expression, Bai Ruanqing was exasperated. "Hurry up and draw your sword, or else I'm really going to get serious..." Sword qi whistled, and the long sword's attack speed increased. Her ability to cultivate the Submerged Snow Sword Art indicated that her control over speed had reached an extremely profound level. Now, as she unleashed it with full force, phantoms appeared throughout the quiet room, making it seem as if anyone caught within them, no matter how strong, would be unable to escape.

Her sword was fast, but his figure was faster. No matter how she attacked, it always seemed as if there was a slight distance between them. Neither her sword nor her sword qi could harm him in the slightest.

"I don't believe it..." Her face grew increasingly green, and her movements became faster. She expected Zhang Xuan to lose his composure, but instead, he yawned, patted his mouth with his hand, and continued, "I really can't beat you. How do you expect me to draw my sword? Aren't you forcing me to commit suicide?"

"Arghh!" Bai Ruanqing was going crazy. If he were disheveled and sweating, and said he couldn't win, she would believe him! But he was yawning, patting his mouth with one hand, scratching himself with the other, and even had a troubled look on his face as if contemplating whether to pretend... Was he making fun of her? Her eyes reddened, and her sword movements became faster and faster. The other party claimed he was no match, yet his figure was like a ship amidst crashing waves; no matter how towering the waves, he effortlessly rode them, never submerged.

"Draw your sword!" After more than twenty consecutive moves without even touching his clothes, Bai Ruanqing could no longer hold back and completely erupted. "Otherwise, don't blame me if you die!" With a flick of her long sword, her most powerful Submerged Snow Sword Art was unleashed once more. She didn't have much patience to begin with; otherwise, she wouldn't have defeated several core disciples in a row. After unleashing so many attacks without inflicting any damage, her already limited patience was completely exhausted.

Sword qi filled the air, forming snowflakes, and the room's atmosphere instantly turned cold, giving a chilling, bone-piercing sensation.

"Sigh..." Strolling amidst her sword moves, Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples and couldn't help but sigh. "I really want to keep a low profile... but why do you insist on forcing me?" He just wanted to quietly read, quietly advance, and quietly be a handsome man... Was that so hard? He was just trying to read, and she came over to fight... How did he provoke her? Did it have to be like this? Did she have to do this?

"What did you say..." Seeing him muttering to himself, completely unfazed by her strongest ultimate move and easily dodging it, Bai Ruanqing's heart contracted sharply, and a thought emerged: "Could it be you are..." At the same level, even Liu Lujie couldn't withstand her Submerged Snow Sword Art! Yet, an unknown inner disciple was not only unharmed but also moved with effortless grace... This made her involuntarily think of "I'm Very Low-Key," the one who had defeated her twice in a row! Could this mysterious person actually be the one in front of her?

As she was still in shock, just about to voice her suspicion, she heard the young man in front of her sigh again: "Since I can't keep it hidden, I guess I'll have to apologize..." Before he finished speaking, his palm pressed down from the air. His arm wasn't long, but in an instant, it broke through the sword qi blockade and appeared before her. The powerful pressure made Bai Ruanqing's breathing quicken, almost gasping for air.

"No..." Unable to believe that someone at the Broken Void realm could unleash such power, Bai Ruanqing's pupils contracted, and she no longer suppressed the cultivation within her body. *Crack! Crack!* In the blink of an eye, her cultivation recovered from the Broken Void realm to the Virtual Immortal realm, rapidly ascending! Virtual Immortal realm early, middle, late, and pinnacle! True Immortal realm early stage! Just as he had guessed, she had indeed broken through the Virtual Immortal realm and reached the True Immortal realm! A True Immortal, with an endless supply of true qi, could even become an inner elder in the Lingyun Sword Pavilion and was considered a powerful figure.

With her cultivation fully restored, she didn't bother to continue her attack and rapidly retreated. But for some reason, the other party's palm seemed to know her every move; no matter how she dodged, it relentlessly pressed down, giving her no escape.

"How is this possible? Are you really just... Broken Void realm pinnacle?" Her face twitched uncontrollably; Bai Ruanqing was on the verge of madness. She could clearly sense that the other party's strength was still only at the Broken Void realm pinnacle and hadn't increased, yet... even after recovering to the early True Immortal realm, she couldn't evade this palm strike! It was as if the other party knew all her moves and movement techniques like the back of his hand! How could this be? There were countless geniuses in the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, and indeed many could challenge those at a higher level, but... surpassing one or two minor levels was already extremely rare. After all, everyone here was a master, cultivating similar techniques and sword arts! Broken Void realm fighting a True Immortal, and making her feel powerless... Just how strong was he?

"I don't believe it..." Her internal power erupted once more, making her feel as if she was about to explode. The true qi of the True Immortal realm surged, and even the quiet room's array seemed barely able to withstand it.

"Don't resist anymore, be good..." The young man's faint voice sounded in her ear, and his palm disappeared with a *whoosh!* Bai Ruanqing felt her vision go black.

*Thud!* She fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What now?" Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples, then stood with his hands down. The other party kept pressuring him. If he didn't use any moves, he would definitely be forced to do things he didn't want to! But if he made a move, his identity would be exposed... If it were an ordinary disciple, he could just kill them... but this person was the granddaughter of one of the three grand elders. If anything went wrong, he wouldn't be able to escape at all! Could it be that after less than a day in the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, he was already going to become a wanted person throughout the entire pavilion?

"Excellent people always have endless troubles, sigh..." Zhang Xuan's eyes were filled with helplessness.