"How did it go?"
Ji Zhan had just appeared outside the Myriad Text Academy when he sensed that quite a bit of curse power had tainted his sea of will. His expression was deeply gloomy, but the people from the Heaven Patrol Pavilion paid that no mind. They all stared at Ji Zhan, eager to know whether Su Xiuyi was close to death yet.
"Gentlemen, Su Xiuyi truly is a heaven-sent genius. Even after being crippled and sent into a deathtrap like this, he managed to comprehend a powerful Will Character, 'curse.' The curse power inside has little effect on him. Though Su Xiuyi has been crippled, I'm afraid he won't die anytime soon," Ji Zhan answered truthfully.
"Hmm?"
"Damn it, how is that possible?" The people from the Heaven Patrol Pavilion were dumbfounded when they heard Ji Zhan's words. They knew he would not deceive them. Since Ji Zhan had come on orders, the results of his investigation would soon be on the Great Zhou emperor's desk, and as members of the Heaven Patrol Pavilion, they would learn of them too.
"Farewell!"
Seeing the dark looks on their faces, Ji Zhan hurriedly took his leave. He was anxious to report back to the Great Zhou emperor and rid his sea of will of the curse power.
"I hope you understood what I said. If you force your way out, you'll surely die. I don't know what's going on, but His Majesty seems very wary of you. What a pity Wang Lin is dead. Otherwise, I'd really like to know your secret. Who exactly are you? Are you really just an orphan?" Ji Zhan glanced at the Myriad Text Academy, muttered to himself, and vanished.
Only after Ji Zhan had purged the curse power from his body did he summon the disciples who had witnessed that battle at the academy.
Now that Ji Zhan had confirmed the mysterious disciple was not Su Xiuyi, his eyes were full of anticipation.
"Tell me, when that disciple made his move, did you get a clear look at his face? Did you sense his presence?" Ji Zhan asked urgently.
Now that nothing would go wrong with Su Xiuyi, Wang Lin was dead, and the Great Zhou emperor had lifted his ban on the Southern Heaven Academy, Ji Zhan dearly hoped another peerless genius would appear at the academy.
However, the disciples could not help shaking their heads when they heard him. "Headmaster, that day, the mysterious disciple wore a golden mask, and his presence was overwhelmingly domineering. After he vanished, we couldn't catch the slightest trace of it. He hid himself too well. I'm afraid he's somewhat wary of our academy. Given how things ended for Senior Brother Su Xiuyi, talented people would naturally be very concerned. But one thing is certain: although he used a saber, which seemed as unrelated to our cultivation methods as wind and horses and cattle, there were traces of the Southern Heaven Academy's cultivation methods in what he did. He's definitely a disciple of our academy. And at the time, we heard the three elders say..."
They did not finish that last sentence because it seemed unbelievable. All of them were uneasy. They had failed to find that disciple despite such a good opportunity, and they did not know whether Ji Zhan would fly into a rage.
"Speak! What exactly did you hear?" Ji Zhan asked, staring at the disciple.
Ji Zhan was immensely curious about the mysterious disciple and wanted to find him and nurture him.
The disciple met Ji Zhan's gaze and said quietly, "At the time, the three elders also said he had comprehended Slaughter Saber Intent, something that can only be comprehended at the Invincible Realm."
The moment he said it, however, it was like a thunderclap from the heavens.
Ji Zhan froze.
It was as though lightning had struck him, leaving his head buzzing.
"Slaughter Saber Intent that can only be comprehended at the Invincible Realm."
Every word filled Ji Zhan with excitement. Someone had actually comprehended such terrifying saber intent, which meant his talent was monstrous beyond compare, unseen since time immemorial.
Why could only those at the Invincible Realm comprehend intent of this level? Because it was simply too powerful and difficult to control, requiring an utterly terrifying strength of will.
To have mastered it at such an age meant his talent was peerless, and his strength of will was even more terrifying. As long as someone like that did not die, he would surely become an existence at the Invincible Realm.
Although the three elders were not particularly powerful, their words were absolutely trustworthy, for they had witnessed the power of an Invincible Realm existence.
How could Ji Zhan not be excited, knowing that someone certain to become Invincible was hidden within his Southern Heaven Academy?
In that instant, Ji Zhan was so overjoyed he nearly fainted.
"Hahahaha!"
"This is wonderful! I think the phenomenon when Su Xiuyi was born may have been a coincidence. It must have belonged to this person instead. Heaven blesses my Southern Heaven Academy!" Ji Zhan could no longer contain himself and let out a long cry toward the sky.
Outside the Myriad Text Academy, the Sun and Moon Realm Stage existence waited in secret for three months. Still, he saw no sign of Su Xiuyi escaping, and his face was filled with disappointment.
Time flew, and another five years passed in the blink of an eye. By now, Su Xiuyi had spent a full ten years in the Myriad Text Academy.
"On the path of Divine Runes, I've finally stepped into the Sun and Moon Realm Stage."
At long last, Su Xiuyi's curse Divine Rune had entered the Sun and Moon Realm Stage, and a trace of excitement appeared on his face.
Someone who reached the Sun and Moon Realm Stage was considered a figure of importance even in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and a very powerful one at that. After all, Invincible Realm experts hardly ever appeared in the world nowadays, leaving the Sun and Moon Realm Stage as its peak combat strength.
This Sun and Moon Realm Stage Will Character could directly condense an avatar to fight.
It was an utterly terrifying ability.
The next moment, a terrifying devouring force emerged from the bronze coffin in the courtyard. The eerie chill in the surroundings was instantly drawn away by the force within the coffin.
"Are you finally going to wake up?"
Excitement touched the corners of Su Xiuyi's mouth. He appeared beside the bronze coffin and pushed open its lid.
The middle-aged figure inside slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and bowed to Su Xiuyi. "Master!"
"Good. You've finally awakened. The years I spent nourishing you and the considerable amount of blood essence I used weren't wasted."
"Go back to sleep. I'll summon you when I need you."
A satisfied smile appeared on Su Xiuyi's face as he gave his first order.
As soon as Su Xiuyi finished speaking, the corpse servant returned to the bronze coffin and fell into a deep sleep.
Su Xiuyi sensed that the corpse servant's strength was at the seventh level of the Sun and Moon Realm Stage, enough to help him with many things. Moreover, the corpse servant cultivated a powerful divine ability Su Xiuyi had obtained by signing in, the Innate White Bone Divine Ability. His combat strength reached the heavens; even someone at the peak of the Sun and Moon Realm Stage would probably struggle to do anything to him. This was one of Su Xiuyi's trump cards, and he was secretly delighted.