Chapter 470: The Library Pavilion
Ao Xinyan shook her head and sighed, a look of struggle on her face. It was clear she still couldn't accept defeat.
She had always been the most outstanding prodigy, praised by everyone. Tasting the bitterness of failure for the first time was so painful that it even made her doubt her own strength.
Zhang Ruochen said no more.
Ao Xinyan's mindset was her own problem; she had to overcome it herself. Zhang Ruochen had said all he needed to say. Now, it was up to her to conquer her inner demon.
If she could emerge from the shadow of failure, her state of mind and martial arts would surely reach a higher level.
If she couldn't shake off the shadow, her future cultivation speed would inevitably slow down, and she might even fail to break through to the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to leave, a voice rang out, "Wait a moment."
Zhang Ruochen turned around and saw the man who had been standing beside Xu Hai walking toward him.
"I am Pei Ji. I also wish to test Zhang Junior Brother's peerless sword techniques."
"Pei Ji... That name sounds familiar. Could it be... you are the Bloody Butcher, Pei Ji, ranked forty-first on the Heavenly Ranking?" Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised.
"That's right, it's me," the man said.
Zhang Ruochen studied Pei Ji carefully. No matter how he looked, he couldn't connect this man with the title "Bloody Butcher." He seemed more like a frail scholar.
As a master ranked forty-first on the Heavenly Ranking, Pei Ji's name was renowned throughout the Eastern Domain.
Like Xu Hai, Pei Ji was a student from the previous term, having cultivated at the Saint Academy for ten years.
At the mention of "Pei Ji," even Ao Xinyan, who had been standing dejectedly to the side, showed a look of surprise. She hadn't expected that a veteran master like Pei Ji would voluntarily challenge the new student Zhang Ruochen.
Although Zhang Ruochen was strong, compared to a top-tier expert like Pei Ji, he still fell far short.
At least, Ao Xinyan absolutely didn't believe Zhang Ruochen could be a match for Pei Ji.
Xi Yunxi's eyes gleamed with a hint of amusement. "Xu Hai even brought out Pei Ji. Zhang Ruochen is in for trouble now."
"In the Eastern Domain, below the Fish-Dragon Realm, there are only two or three people who can fight Pei Ji. Zhang Ruochen is far from that level," Zuo Qiuling said, crossing his arms, ready to watch the show.
"Hua!"
Pei Ji stood still, but behind him, a blood-red demonic phantom coalesced, three zhang tall, with three heads and six arms. The three heads roared simultaneously, creating a fierce whirlwind.
This wasn't Pei Ji's martial soul but a ghost-level martial technique he was executing—the Blood Demon Dharma Form.
While Zhang Ruochen and Ao Xinyan were fighting, Pei Ji had already noticed Zhang Ruochen's greatest weakness: he hadn't cultivated a ghost-level martial technique.
No matter how exquisitely a spirit-level upper-grade martial technique was executed, it couldn't compare to a ghost-level one. Once Zhang Ruochen faced a true expert, he would suffer greatly.
Clearly, Pei Ji was that true expert.
"Blood Demon Dharma Form, Annihilate All Life."
Standing at a distance, Pei Ji twisted his tiger-like waist, raised both arms, and his entire body emitted cracking sounds of bones popping. He threw a punch through the air.
Guided by his power, the Blood Demon Dharma Form also struck out with a massive blood-red fist, like a patch of blood cloud, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen.
Before the fist force even arrived, a gale had already swept up, seemingly ready to blow Zhang Ruochen away.
"Shua!"
Suddenly, Nie Honglou flew over from a distance and landed in front of Zhang Ruochen. He extended his right arm and uttered a single word, "Break!"
The Blood Demon Dharma Form that Pei Ji had condensed was shattered instantly by a powerful force, dissolving into wisps of blood mist that remerged into Pei Ji's body.
Pei Ji staggered back fourteen steps before barely steadying himself. He glared at Nie Honglou and said coldly, "Who is meddling in this matter?"
Xu Hai also stepped forward three paces, standing beside Pei Ji, and said, "Your cultivation is impressive, sir. But no matter how strong you are, you shouldn't interfere in this matter. It won't do you any good."
Nie Honglou curled his lips into a smirk. "An old-term saint disciple bullying a new-term saint disciple—using seniority to oppress the junior and numbers to overwhelm the few. What, am I not allowed to intervene?"
Xu Hai laughed. "Both Pei Ji and Zhang Ruochen are at the Heavenly Extreme Realm. How is that bullying the junior?"
"Pei Ji entered the Saint Academy ten years ago and is now nearly fifty years old. Zhang Ruochen only entered today and is barely over twenty. A fifty-year-old saint disciple fighting a twenty-year-old—you call that fair?" Nie Honglou said mockingly.
"Mind your own business."
Xu Hai's eyes turned cold. He drew the twin swords from his back, channeling his true qi into the blades.
One sword blazed with fiery light, while the other radiated bone-chilling cold. The two forces merged, forming a massive circular sword technique aimed at Nie Honglou.
Xu Hai's cultivation had already broken through the limits of a martial artist, reaching the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, "Innate Fetal Breath."
The sword technique he used was also a ghost-level lower-grade one, but its power was far greater than Ao Xinyan's Fallen Heaven Sword Technique.
This wasn't to say that the Fallen Heaven Sword Technique was inferior to Xu Hai's technique, but rather that Ao Xinyan's cultivation was far behind Xu Hai's.
Even with the same perfected ghost-level lower-grade sword technique, different people would unleash different levels of power.
Nie Honglou shook his head lightly, extended a jade-white palm, channeled his true qi, and pushed forward.
"Boom!"
Xu Hai's entire body trembled. He spat blood and was sent flying backward.
With a thud, Xu Hai crashed down more than ten zhang away, his whole body aching as if it were splitting apart.
Under the impact of the powerful force, more than a dozen long bloody cracks appeared on his skin. If Nie Honglou's power had been just a bit stronger, his body might have shattered.
Pei Ji, Xi Yunxi, Zuo Qiuling, and the others all changed color, staring at Nie Honglou in shock.
They didn't know Nie Honglou's strength, but they knew Xu Hai's.
When Xu Hai was at the Heavenly Extreme Realm, he had already entered the top hundred of the Heavenly Ranking. After breaking through to the Fish-Dragon Realm, his cultivation had become even more unfathomable.
Yet, before Nie Honglou, Xu Hai was utterly powerless.
Just how strong was Nie Honglou?
Nie Honglou withdrew his palm, looking down at Xu Hai, who was writhing and convulsing on the ground. He said calmly, "You're not worthy to fight me. Unless that Sacred Body of the Xu Holy Clan emerges from seclusion, you'd better keep a low profile from now on. Next time, it won't just be a single palm strike."
"You... who exactly are you?" Xu Hai propped himself up with his hands, struggling to stand.
"Nie Honglou," he replied.
With that, Zhang Ruochen and Nie Honglou turned and left, disappearing into the distance.
"Nie Honglou... Nie Honglou... Could it be him?"
Pei Ji's face turned pale. He looked toward Xu Hai.
Xu Hai clutched his chest and nodded. "With such strength, it must be him. He's a term ahead of us. Twenty years ago, he was the youngest saint disciple in the first group of the Sword Dao Department, ranking in the top ten. I heard he had some conflict with the group leader of the Sword Dao Department's first group back then and left the Saint Academy. I didn't expect him to return."
Xi Yunxi said, "Senior Brother Xu, what do we do now? With Nie Honglou backing Zhang Ruochen, no one in the Saint Academy can deal with him."
Xu Hai snorted coldly. "So what if it's Nie Honglou? That Sacred Body of our Xu Holy Clan is about to emerge from seclusion. When that happens, even ten Nie Honglous won't be able to protect Zhang Ruochen. We can't kill Zhang Ruochen in the Saint Academy, but we can humiliate him thoroughly. Let's see how he can still compete for the position of Young Lord."
"That's great! I heard that Sacred Body of the Xu Holy Clan is in seclusion, breaking through to the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Once successful, he'll definitely become an invincible existence among the saint disciples," Pei Ji said.
Xu Hai's face darkened. "Xi Yunxi, Zuo Qiuling, continue to monitor Zhang Ruochen's every move. Based on my guess, Zhang Ruochen will definitely go to the Ruins Realm Battlefield to break through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. If we can take the opportunity to eliminate him, we won't have to trouble that Sacred Body of our Xu Holy Clan over such a trivial matter."
Xi Yunxi and Zuo Qiuling nodded, acknowledged the order, and immediately left.
Leaving the Sacred Mountain, Zhang Ruochen went to the Saint Academy's Library Pavilion.
Nie Honglou didn't accompany him; he went to visit some old friends in the Saint Academy.
The two parted ways for now.
The Saint Academy's Library Pavilion had thirteen floors, built underground, forming an inverted pagoda shape.
The library had a long history, encompassing everything, with countless volumes of books. There were bone books carved on bones, iron scrolls etched on iron sheets, jade books, bamboo slips, and so on.
Martial arts techniques, secret skills, formation diagrams, beast-taming chapters, humanities, and geography—all could be found here.
Zhang Ruochen came to the library not to browse martial arts techniques or secret skills but to look up books about the Ruins Realm.
These books were categorized under "Humanities and Geography" and were placed on the first floor of the library.
Before Zhang Ruochen arrived, many new saint disciples, driven by a strong thirst for knowledge, had already come to the library.
However, they were mostly browsing books on martial arts techniques and secret skills, heading straight to the second or third floors. Few stayed on the first floor.
After all, the books on the first floor mostly recorded basic knowledge.
"Ten Forbidden Lands of the Kunlun Realm," "Compilation of Overseas Islands," "Eight Medieval Aristocratic Clans of the Eastern Domain Sacred Land"...
After searching for about half an hour, Zhang Ruochen finally found a book titled "Brief Introduction to the Three Thousand Ruins Realms."
This book was very thick, but the characters written in it were extremely small. Without channeling true qi into his eyes, looking directly at it, one could only see tiny black dots on the pages.
Clearly, the senior who wrote this book was also a master.