Chapter 1997: You Are Too Weak

If he hadn't been so strong, he would have simply endured the humiliation. But the opponent was clearly no match for him, and yet still intended to humiliate him—that was absolutely unacceptable! However, knocking her out now could lead to even greater trouble if not handled carefully.

He considered two paths. "First, I could kill her and destroy the evidence… but she entered the library, and then came into this quiet room with me. If she truly vanished, it would be easy for someone to investigate and find out."

"Second, I could force her to swear an oath, forbidding her from revealing the secret! It seems the second option is the only way forward…"

After a slight pause, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger, and a wisp of Heavenly Dao True Qi entered her body. With another gentle flick, the unconscious girl slowly regained consciousness.

"You're a core disciple; I don't want to kill you, but you must swear not to..." As she opened her eyes, Zhang Xuan was about to control the Heavenly Dao True Qi within her to make her obedient, when he saw a flicker of excitement in the girl's eyes. She scrambled up and prostrated herself on the ground. "Senior Martial Brother Zhang... oh, no, Senior Martial Uncle Zhang, could you possibly teach me swordplay? As long as you teach me, I'll do anything!"

"Senior Martial Uncle?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback, the words he was about to say catching in his throat. *Was she a dog? Her attitude changed too quickly! Just moments ago, she was trying to kill him, and now this... What was going on? And where did this 'Senior Martial Uncle' come from anyway?*

However, his objective was for her not to reveal his secret. As long as she could keep silent, the form of address didn't matter. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Do you really want me to teach you swordplay?"

Bai Ruanqing nodded repeatedly. The moment she was knocked out, she confirmed that the person before her must be "I'm Very Low-Key." Only he could have so easily broken her Drowned Snow Sword Art and even disregarded her sudden surge in cultivation!

This man's swordplay was countless times stronger than Elder Feng's. To learn from him meant her swordsmanship would improve by leaps and bounds daily. She wouldn't have to worry about the "monsters" among the core disciples anymore, and might even surpass them! How could she miss such an opportunity?

"It's not impossible for me to teach you sword moves, but I have a condition!" With his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan saw that she was speaking sincerely, without any pretense. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I am a low-key person and don't want my true identity to be revealed. If you can keep this secret, I can guarantee that your swordsmanship will greatly improve in a short time, making it easy for you to become the top core disciple!"

"Senior Martial Uncle, don't worry..." Seeing that her thoughts had been seen through, Bai Ruanqing's pretty face flushed. She quickly straightened her back, raised her palm, and with a solemn expression in her eyes, declared, "I, Bai Ruanqing, hereby swear to the gods that I will never reveal even a shred of information about Senior Martial Uncle. Should I break this oath, may I be pierced by a thousand arrows and die!"

Seeing her volunteer such a formal oath, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. During his time in the Azure, he had come to understand that oaths made to the gods were not to be broken by anyone. Once betrayed, there was a high possibility of being spied upon by the gods and consequently suffering punishment. Of course, that was merely the general understanding; the specifics remained unknown.

"Earlier, that horizontal sword thrust you explained to Liu Lujie was incorrect. Let me explain it to you now..." Zhang Xuan then articulated the corrections he had been itching to say earlier.

Upon hearing the explanation, Bai Ruanqing's delicate body trembled with excitement. She couldn't have dreamed that sword techniques could be used in such a way—so simple, yet unleashing power beyond imagination.

"Alright, you can take your time to comprehend it here. I'm going back to read..." Seeing her fall into deep thought, constantly experimenting with the moves, Zhang Xuan turned and walked out.

Returning to the bookshelves, he continued reading. An hour later, all the books were imprinted in his mind. "Correct!" he murmured, and the cultivation techniques for the Void Immortal realm immediately converged, forming a complete book. He flipped through it and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he had guessed, the books here easily formed a complete Heavenly Dao cultivation art for the Void Immortal realm. This meant that as long as he had enough Immortal Essence Pills, he could directly break through and become a Void Immortal expert! Even half of the True Immortal realm cultivation art had also been formed.

"I'll break through when I get back..." Glancing at the time, nearly three hours had passed since he entered the library. Zhang Xuan stretched, returned to the quiet room, and pushed the door open.

The moment he entered, he saw sword qi whistling as Bai Ruanqing was experimenting with the sword move he had just taught her. Her horizontal sword thrust appeared slow, yet it formed a special barrier, sealing off the air in front of her, making it impossible for anyone to approach. At the same time, the sword's own qi suddenly erupted, cutting forward horizontally. Its power was like that of a flood dragon.

"Not bad..." Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly. After only a little over an hour of practice, the girl was already performing the move quite well. Although there was still a significant gap between her execution and his, she had already grasped sixty to seventy percent of its power.

"Senior Martial Uncle..." Seeing him enter, Bai Ruanqing stopped her practice and quickly cupped her fist. The more she practiced his sword techniques, the more she realized how powerful they were. At this moment, she was utterly impressed by this young man, who was even younger than her. Her previous thought of marrying him had completely vanished. She felt she was simply not worthy of such an outstanding person.

"Alright, I've finished reading the books and need to go back to cultivate..." Zhang Xuan instructed, "I hope you won't tell even your grandfather or Elder Feng about my affairs..."

"Yes!" Bai Ruanqing nodded repeatedly. Of course, it was best for her to keep this secret to herself; otherwise, if everyone came to seek tutelage, how could she truly make a name for herself and distinguish herself?

"That's good then..." Seeing her agree, Zhang Xuan nodded. Anyway, he still had a wisp of his true qi inside her, so he wasn't afraid of her causing any secret trouble.

"Senior Martial Uncle, don't rush off! If I'm not mistaken, Elder Feng should be waiting on your way back, intending to test your strength and swordplay!" Seeing him about to leave, Bai Ruanqing bit her lip and quickly said.

"Test me?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled. *Had his identity been exposed? Even if it had, surely it would be up to the inner sect elders to find him, not Elder Feng!*

"Yes... Your medicine healed my grandfather's injuries. He intends to take you as a disciple, but he's worried you might be too weak, so... he asked Elder Feng to come and test you!" Bai Ruanqing explained hastily.

Only then did Zhang Xuan understand. No wonder the woman immediately attacked him upon arrival and tried to force him to call her 'Senior Martial Sister'; she was afraid of him inexplicably becoming a 'Senior Martial Uncle' if her grandfather took him as a disciple. This also explained why she asked him to teach her swordplay but addressed him as 'Senior Martial Uncle' instead of 'Master.'

"Elder Feng... what's his cultivation level?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask. Even if he recovered his full strength, with his ability to challenge those above his level, he could easily defeat her if he gained the upper hand. However, he didn't know the exact strength of Elder Feng, and attempting such a feat against him would likely be impossible.

"He's just like my grandfather... also a Celestial Monarch expert!" Bai Ruanqing replied.

"Celestial Monarch?" Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. "He will definitely make a move?"

A Celestial Monarch was a True Immortal Monarch, a level of strength possessed only by core elders. Although his cultivation had greatly improved, encountering an expert of that caliber meant he would have to flee as far as possible; defeating them was utterly impossible.

"Yes!" Bai Ruanqing nodded. "Grandfather personally gave the order, so Elder Feng cannot refuse!"

Zhang Xuan fell into thought. If he suppressed his cultivation to be tested and won at the same level, it would definitely expose his 'I'm Very Low-Key' identity, and his current cultivation wouldn't be enough to silence the other party. But if he didn't win, Elder Bai Ye would very likely take him as a disciple... However, he was unwilling to become anyone else's student. If he truly wanted to do that, he would have taken countless masters back on the Master Teacher Continent.

"Alright then, I need you to cooperate with me in putting on a show!" he said after a pause.

"Okay!" Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Ruanqing nodded in agreement.

Once their discussion concluded, Zhang Xuan left the library alone and rushed along, sprinting from the core disciple mountains towards the inner sect mountains. Without the aid of a flying sacred beast, the journey would take roughly an hour on foot.

As he traveled, Zhang Xuan made sure to keep his speed controlled, maintaining the pace of an ordinary Dimension Sundering realm peak expert.

After walking for a little less than half an hour, he arrived at a deserted area. Suddenly, he felt an intense surge of power pressing in from all sides. He quickly stopped, and then saw a young figure appear before him, seemingly out of nowhere.

It was none other than Bai Feng, who had been waiting there! He had already used a disguise pill, completely altering his appearance. However, under the illumination of Zhang Xuan's Eye of Insight, his true likeness was clearly visible.

Whoosh! Without a word, Bai Feng raised his arm, and a long sword thrust forward. His cultivation had already been suppressed to be identical to Zhang Xuan's, both at the peak of the Dimension Sundering realm.

"Ah... Who are you? Why are you attacking me? This is the Lingyun Sword Sect..." Seemingly not expecting the direct attack, Zhang Xuan's face paled with fright. He stumbled backward repeatedly, his legs giving way, and he fell to the ground.

Bai Feng's long sword was already resting against Zhang Xuan's neck. Frowning, Bai Feng's expression was grim. His master had finally decided to take a disciple, but he hadn't expected this person's strength to be so poor! At the same cultivation level, he was easily defeated with less than ten percent of his power... Such a person, even if they truly became his master's disciple, would certainly bring shame.

"Pick up your sword! If you can't block my sword move, there's only death for you today!" Bai Feng took a step back and said coldly.

Just then, a white-clad, veiled female figure appeared before them. Hearing her voice transmission, Bai Feng knew it was the Young Lady. He frowned, but still took a step back.

Whoosh! Bai Ruanqing stepped forward, threw a sword that landed in front of Zhang Xuan, and immediately thrust her own sword at him. In a panic, Zhang Xuan picked up the long sword and clumsily produced a sword flourish. His sword move was so poorly executed that it was obvious he hadn't diligently practiced.

Whether it was due to his lack of strength or insufficient true qi, the long sword in his hand was immediately knocked out of his grasp by the girl's blade, embedding itself in the ground nearby with a "humming" sound.

With his long sword gone, he had no means of resistance. Zhang Xuan's body stiffened, and the sword was once again held against his neck.

"You..." Shaking her head, Bai Ruanqing retracted her long sword, turned, and walked toward Bai Feng. A hint of disappointment was visible in her eyes, and her voice conveyed profound disappointment: "...Too weak!"