Chapter 280: Display of Strength

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove

"Your teacher's senior uncle?"

"Senior granduncle of the envoy?

Staring at each other, the Great Herb King and Butler Lu nearly pulled off all of their beards.

Aren't you Physician Bai?

Weren’t you unaware of whether the envoy would come, and if he did, when he would come?

Aren't you an impersonator?

When did you... become the envoy’s senior granduncle?

The heck!

More importantly... the envoy seems to be completely dazed at the situation. He doesn’t seem to know that he has a senior granduncle!

You could have feigned as his senior, his junior, his acquaintance, or even his friends... Yet, to take such a high position...

Brother, you sure know how to speak!

If they were in Zhang Xuan's position, they wouldn't have even dared to think about it.

The duo only felt a surge of blood rushing up their throat, threatening to burst out at any moment.

Liao Xun, the other two Hall Masters, and the numerous elders stared at one another blankly.

They thought that the impersonator would be killed with a single slap from the envoy, or at the very least, be crippled. Never in their dreams did they expect the both of them to be acquainted, and... they seemed to share the same lineage at that.

It can’t be such a coincidence, can it?

"My teacher calls you senior granduncle?" Gu Mu was stunned as well. His entire body stiffened in discomfort.

The person before knew everything about him, so he thought that perhaps he was a colleague in the same branch whom he had never noticed. Never in his dreams did he expect that... they would be related in such a way!

He had followed his teacher for countless years but had never heard from him that he had a senior granduncle.

But if the other party was lying, how did he know everything about him? And on top of that, for everything he said to be correct?

Putting everything aside, just his ability to discern his current condition was something even his teacher was incapable of.

"That's just in terms of our seniority. I like to wander about, and I often dwell outside. Thus, your teacher might not even know of my existence!" Putting on the disposition of an expert, Zhang Xuan shook his hands casually.

If Zhang Xuan wanted to prevent the other party from laying hands on him, he had to possess an identity that was sufficiently convincing.

In any case, even those who attend the same lesson can be termed as 'senior' and 'junior'. Given that Zhang Xuan was impersonating as someone who was distantly related to him, it was impossible for him to gather sufficient evidence to overthrow his claim on the spot.

After all, he can’t possibly run over to his teacher now and ask him if he has a senior uncle!

Besides, I've already said that even your teacher might not know of me, so even it would do nothing even if you try to verify with him.

However, just words were insufficient to establish Zhang Xuan's prestige. The best way to do so was to cure him of his problem, and only that way would the other party hold complete faith in him.

Thus, Zhang Xuan decided to get straight to the topic. He glanced at Gu Mu with a smile and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's fate for us to meet here, so I would like to ask you. Do you want to solve your affliction?"

"Is there... a solution... for my affliction?"

Gu Mu initially held some doubts about the identity of the person before him. However, upon hearing the other party talk about solving his affliction, his face immediately flushed with agitation.

If given a chance to live, who would be willing to die?

Furthermore, he was shouldering a heavy grudge.

His wife was killed by a 4-star poison master, and all along, he had been suppressing the pain and anger within him. He had focused all of his energy on his cultivation in hopes that he could return justice to his wife.

He was just a thin line away from reaching a higher realm and a faint ray of hope had appeared for his vengeance. Yet, recently, he realized that the forceful method of raising his cultivation had already sapped his vitality dry. Just like what the other party said, he didn't have long to live.

He didn't mind dying!

But he had to tear that person to pieces before he dies.

"You used poison to raise your cultivation forcefully, resulting in the loss of your vitality. If it were anyone else, they would be helpless before your condition. However, your issue doesn't mean anything to me!" Zhang Xuan said with an indifferent expression.

The Heaven's Path zhenqi was capable of even mending a body which had been ravaged by the Poison Gu, not to mention, Gu Mu who was still full of strength.

"Senior uncle, I plead of you to save me!"

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Mu knelt onto the floor, and his eyes were filled with determination. "As long as you treat my affliction such that I am able to slaughter my enemy, I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life!"

After the death of his wife, he has been wanting to follow her footsteps. However, the reason why he had been struggling in life was that he wanted to avenge her.

He wasn't certain about the background of the person before him, but since he was able to discern the problems he was suffering from, something that even his teacher failed to notice, perhaps he could solve this problem of his!

As long as the problem disappeared, Gu Mu was confident that the foundation he built throughout the years would allow him to break through the final impasse, reaching the level he dreamed of.

This could be considered an opportunity. If it succeeded, there would be hope for his vengeance once more.

However, if the other party was fooling him, he would make sure to drag him down as well. In any case, he didn't have long to live, and there was nothing for him to fear.

"Ah..."

Upon seeing Gu Mu kneel to the floor, everyone's eyeballs fell to the ground.

The lofty envoy of the headquarter, a 3-star pinnacle poison master who possessed the strength of a Zhizun pinnacle, was kneeling to an impersonator...

Is this for real?

Everyone was shocked, especially the Great Herb King.

The Great Herb King knew the true identity of this 'impersonator'. He wasn't the senior granduncle of the envoy as he claimed and wasn't even close.

Yet, with just a few casual words, the other party knelt to him willingly...

Physician Bai, you have my utmost respect!

If it was him, he would definitely kneel down fearfully and plead for his life the moment someone might expose his identity.

In the end, someone did indeed kneel, but the one who knelt was the real deal...

Even though he had witnessed the sight with his own eyes, he couldn't help but doubt if it was a dream.

The twist occurred too quickly, catching him off guard.

However, after recovering from his astonishment, he could understand the rationale behind the other party's actions.

Taking him from a few days ago, if someone had said that he was capable of curing him of the affliction caused by the Poison Gu, putting aside senior granduncle, he would even willingly call him grandfather.

It is only on the verge of death would one understand how valuable life is. In the face of death, dignity and pride mean nothing at all.

"I can help you, but I'll have to state my rules clearly beforehand!"

Turning around, Zhang Xuan beckoned with his hands, "Great Herb King, tell Gu Mu about my rules!"

He had achieved only Half-Zongshi, and if he were to treat the other party while he was awake, the other party would definitely notice a peculiarity and thus, destroy his image as an expert which he had painstakingly built up.

In the end, it was best for the other party to be unconscious during the treatment.

This way, he would be able to hide his true cultivation realm and conceal the uniqueness of the Heaven's Path zhenqi

However, if he were to say these words himself, many people would doubt his intentions. Thus, it was better for Great Herb King to do the talking instead.

The Great Herb King was also a smart person, and he understood Zhang Xuan's intentions immediately. Stepping forward, he explained, "When Senior Bai treats someone, he requires the patient to be completely unconscious!"

"Completely unconscious?"

Gu Mu frowned.

Being knocked unconscious meant that he was entrusting his life into the hands of the others, and he wouldn't have any say over what the other party did.

While the other party knew everything about his background, he still bore doubts toward the other party's identity, and he didn't yet trust him.

"Don't worry, this is just Senior Bai's rules. Back then, when he treated me from my Poison Gu affliction, he knocked me out as well!" Seeing the hesitation in the other party's eyes, the Great Herb King persuaded.

"Treated you from your Poison Gu affliction? You mean... he settled the Poison Gu you were suffering from?"

Gu Mu was taken aback, and disbelief filled his face.

Liao Xun and the others may not understand fully the potency of the Poison Gu as 2-star poison masters, but as a 3-star pinnacle who had encountered innumerable formidable poison masters, Gu Mu knew just how fearsome the Poison Gu was.

Rumors had it that once one was afflicted with the Poison Gu, even a 5-star poison master would be unable to save him.

For this senior granduncle to be capable of solving an affliction which even a 5-star poison master is unable to, can it be that... his tier has already surpassed that?

"That's right. A few days ago, I nearly died from the Poison Gu, and it is Senior Bai who helped me then!" The Great Herb King said.

"I can bear testimony to that. A Poison Gu was indeed implanted into him by the old Hall Master!" Liao Xun and the others affirmed the Great Herb King's words.

"Able to remove the Poison Gu?"

Clenching his fists tightly, Gu Mu turned to examine the Great Herb King, and he realized something amiss in him.

As a 3-star pinnacle poison master, he was able to see the telltale signs that a Poison Gu once inhabited his body and wrecked havoc within.

Upon confirming his judgment, his face flushed furiously. If this 'senior granduncle' was able to treat the Poison Gu, it was highly possible that he would be able to treat him as well!

However, he was still worried about being knocked unconscious.

"I know what you're worried about. Allowing yourself to be knocked unconscious means entrusting your life to another, and if the other party holds malicious intentions toward you, you won't even know how you died. No one would be able to make such a decision easily!"

Zhang Xuan could sense his hesitation. "I would have left immediately if it were anyone else who doubted me, but since you're my junior, I can tell you this right away... If I want to kill you, I need not go through so much trouble!"

At this point, Zhang Xuan's foot pushed against the ground.

Sou!

Before anyone could react, he was already sixty meters away. Then, in the next instant, the figure in the distance blurred, and Zhang Xuan had returned to where he was before, as though he had never moved at all.

"What incredible speed!"

"Even Zhizun pinnacle experts aren't capable of such a feat!"

"Can it be that... he has already surpassed Zhizun realm?"

...

Everyone present was astonished by the display, and their eyes narrowed in fear.

They were all cultivators of Zongshi realm and below, and they had never witnessed such speed.

How can one who is capable of traveling at such incredible speed possess a weak cultivation? It was fortunate that they didn't make a move on him. Otherwise, if they were to have angered him, he could have really destroyed this entire Poison Hall branch.

The Great Herb King’s face turned pale too.

All along, he thought that he was evenly matched with this Physician Bai. Never in his dreams did he expect such a huge gap between the two of them.

With such speed, before he could even react, his head would have been lopped off his neck.

Gu Mu tightened his clenched fists too.

His maximum speed wasn't even close to that that the other party just displayed.

And judging from the party’s expression, he had exerted nowhere near his full strength.

That was to say...

The cultivation of this 'senior granduncle' of his had definitely surpassed Zhizun, reaching a whole new level.

"The effect seems to be good!"

Seeing the astonishment on everyone's faces, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

Having reached Half-Zongshi, the speed and distance he could cover with a single usage of Heaven's Path Movement Art had increased.

This move might have appeared formidable with its outstanding speed, but given Zhang Xuan's current physical resilience, executing it twice was already his limit. Furthermore, Zhang Xuan himself was unable to react to that overwhelming speed, making it impossible for him to use it to hurt or kill another.

In fact, while this move was an ideal escape technique, it was utterly useless for offense.

Of course, Zhang Xuan had just found another use for it... showing off.

Suppressing the tremendous ache across his entire body, he drove his zhenqi to heal those muscle tears discreetly. On the surface, he was standing quietly on the spot with his both hands behind his back, as though an expert unsullied with worldly affairs. He glanced at Gu Mu calmly, and his voice was completely tranquil and devoid of emotions.

"I wonder if, with my strength, will killing you..."

"...be as easy as slaughtering a chicken?"

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