He had just heard that name earlier. Was that not the name of the plump butler's Young Master, Yang shi's direct disciple?
The rest of the crowd were visibly startled as well. They turned to look at the plump butler standing not too far away, and to their surprise, not only was the latter not astounded by what he was seeing, he even seemed to be… heaving a sigh of relief?
To Sun Qiang, relief was indeed the emotion that he was feeling. He knew that there was no one other than the Young Master who would dare toy with such a thing!
In fact, he only would have been shocked if the culprit behind this had not been the Young Master!
Some days in his life, he could not help but feel really helpless at the plight he was in. All he wanted was to quietly fulfill his responsibilities as a butler, living a humble and peaceful life. But as if fate had played a trick on him, he just had to be paired with such a troublemaking Young Master!
Given how much the matter had blown up this time around, even he would have trouble resolving this dispute!
With such thoughts in mind, Sun Qiang slowly closed his eyes as resignation crept onto his face.
Low profile—these were the two words that the Young Master chanted every single day, but honestly speaking, everything that the latter did was simply contrary to those two words. In a way, it felt as if he was trying to humblebrag about his abilities!
It had really been hard on him over the past few months having to support such a person! Hai! But again, if it was an easy task, the Old Master would have entrusted the Young Master to Hu Yiwei instead of him.
Upon learning the culprit behind the matter, Elder Ge was unable to hold back his rage any longer and roared furiously at Sun Qiang. "Just what the heck is your Young Master trying to do by making dozens of people achieve a breakthrough simultaneously?"
"This…" Sun Qiang scratched his head awkwardly.
To be honest, even after the many months that he had spent with the Young Master, he was still unable to fathom the latter's thoughts.
"This isn't the time to be pursuing responsibility for this matter," Zhan shi instructed severely. "We need to hurry up and find the elders who are making a breakthrough this instant and convince them to suppress their cultivation and relocate before facing their cultivation orde…"
It would be impossible to make a cultivation ordeal disappear once it had been summoned, but it was still possible to delay the falling of the lightning tribulation by suppressing one's cultivation temporarily. As long as they could buy sufficient time to get all of them to relocate, there was a chance they could undo the fusion of the lightning tribulations.
Boom!
But before Zhan shi could finish his words, a powerful shockwave suddenly rippled into the surroundings, and at the same time, a powerful burst of energy shot forth toward the storm clouds.
Huala!
The powerful burst of energy seemed to have successfully provoked the storm clouds. In the blink of an eye, the congregation of the storm clouds grew even denser and vaster.
"This…"
Seeing such a sight, everyone anxiously turned their gazes toward where the powerful burst of energy had originated, and their complexions immediately darkened.
It was from a Saint 8-dan pinnacle Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast! With a crazed look on its face, it was furiously sending more and more bursts of energy toward the storm clouds, almost as if it would not rest until the entire world was reduced to ash!
"The hell! Where in the world did that fellow pop out from? What the heck are the rest of you idling around for? Hurry up and stop it!" Elder Ge bellowed with a tone intermixed with fury and panic.
At the same time, he swiftly dashed forward to stop the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast from worsening the situation, but before he could come close to the latter, an elder who had been standing on top of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast suddenly leaped up and sent a devastating surge of sword qi toward the storm clouds.
Kacha! Kacha!
That attack brought about an immediate response from the lightning tribulation. In an instant, the five thousand mu of storm clouds expanded to over six thousand mu.
Upon getting a closer look of the elder's face, Elder Ge shrieked in horror. "Bai Yu, are you insane!"
The elder who had just launched the devastating surge of sword qi was none other than Divine Healer Bai Yu!
As a physician, Bai Yu was a man who had great compassion for all living beings in the world, such that he would hesitate to even crush an ant. Why would someone like that proactively seek to strengthen the lightning tribulation?
If my Hall of Integrity has wronged you in any way, we can always talk things out! There's no need for you to go this far!
At this moment, Divine Healer Bai Yu, in the midst of his furious assault toward the storm clouds, suddenly caught sight of Elder Ge and the others, and his eyes immediately lit up. "Ge Xiong, you are here. Great! Hurry up, come and help me attack the lightning tribulation. Zhan shi, you're here as well? Wonderful! Quick, we need help attacking the lightning tribulation. We need to act fast; it will be too late once the lightning bolt falls!"
"Attack the lightning tribulation?" Elder Ge and Zhan shi widened their eyes upon hearing those words. They exchanged glances with one another, and they could see confusion in the depths of each other's eyes.
Had that fellow gone mad from treating too many patients?
The more the lightning tribulation was attacked, the stronger the lightning bolt falling would be. At this rate, everyone would be electrocuted to death!
Hu hu hu!
Just as the crowd was completely bewildered by what Divine Healer Bai Yu was up to, the furious whistling of the wind suddenly sounded. Several figures were flying over from afar, and they were the elder in charge of the Hall of Propriety, Elder Hu Qing, Fei shi, and the entire Elite Division class.
Catching sight of a person amid the incoming group, Hu Yiwei immediately rushed forward to a young man's side and clasped his fist. "Young Master."
"Elder Hu? I thought that you'd left the Sanctum of Sages." Feng Ziyi was slightly surprised to see the other party here.
"Ah, I still had some other matters to attend to. Have you heard that the Old Master has taken in a new direct disciple named Zhang Xuan?" Hu Yiwei asked.
"You are talking about Senior Zhang?" Feng Ziyi nodded. "I have heard of the matter. Senior Zhang is a man of great capability. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, he's probably the one who is behind this lightning tribulation."
As much as Feng Ziyi hated to admit it, deep down, he knew that Zhang Xuan was indeed stronger than him.
"Senior?" Hu Yiwei's lips twitched.
That meant that what the fatty had said was true! His Young Master had really fallen to the position of a junior!
"But isn't that fellow being way too negligent? He knew that those elders were going to achieve a breakthrough, so how could he still make all of them gather in the same location? How in the world does he plan to deal with such a huge lightning tribulation?" Hu Yiwei harrumphed angrily.
The more he thought about the matter, the more unreasonable he felt that Zhang Xuan fellow was.
Had it been just a moment ago, he might still have been able to forcefully dissipate the lightning tribulation with his cultivation. However, with the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast and Divine Healer Bai Yu messing around with the storm clouds, that small hint of a possibility had been completely extinguished.
Even if he succeeded by some stroke of luck, he would be severely injured to the point where he could potentially be crippled for life.
He was not a master teacher, and he did not possess any compassion for the masses or that sort of value. Naturally, there was no way he was going to sacrifice himself for others.
"Negligent? Senior Zhang isn't being negligent here. He's intentionally strengthening the lightning tribulation!" Feng Ziyi replied with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
Back at the Hall of Propriety, he had nearly fainted from fear after seeing how huge Elder Liao's lightning tribulation had become, too. However, after witnessing how it was so easily resolved, the fear of lightning tribulations had completely disappeared from his mind.
"He's intentionally strengthening the lightning tribulation?" Hu Yiwei widened his eyes in incomprehension upon hearing those words. He could not understand what his Young Master was getting at.
"It might sound ridiculous to you, but Senior Zhang is capable of devouring lightning tribulations. Only when the lightning tribulation is large enough for him will he be able to have his fill," Feng Ziyi explained calmly.
"Devouring… lightning tribulations?" Zhan shi and the others overheard Feng Ziyi's words, and they nearly lost their balance and plummeted from the sky.
A lightning tribulation was a form of punishment from heavens! Standing against it was no different from standing against the heavens! Could such a thing really be eaten?
You must be pulling our legs!
Seeing the looks of disbelief amongst the crowd. Elder Hu Qing spoke up. "Feng Ziyi isn't joking. Zhang shi really wields such a capability!"
"I also saw it with my own eyes, too," Fei shi added. "Even though the lightning tribulation back at the Hall of Propriety wasn't as large as the one before us, it was still immensely powerful. Nevertheless, Zhang shi was able to devour it with ease… and more importantly, he even scared the lightning tribulation off!"
"Scared the lightning tribulation off? Is it even possible for a lightning tribulation to be scared?"
The consecutive shocks that had been dealt to their minds left the crowd in a state of utter stupefaction.
The more they listened to the account of events from the group of eye-witnesses, the more they felt like they were listening to those exaggerated heroic tales that were spoken of in taverns. Rationally speaking, such a thing could not possibly be true, could it? But it did not make sense for so many esteemed figures to lie about such a matter.
After a brief moment of silence, Zhan shi stepped forward and said, "Where is Zhang shi at the moment? Bring us to him."
After all that had been said, they still had not met that legendary freshman. Just what kind of person could that man who was already on everyone's lips barely a month after enrollment possibly be?
"He's currently with those elders who are facing their cultivation ordeal," Feng Ziyi said as he pointed in a direction.
Everyone quickly turned their gazes over and saw a young man sitting cross-legged in front of several elders. His lips were opening and closing non-stop, seemingly lecturing the elders before him.
On the other hand, the managerial elders of the Physician Guild seemed to be almost intoxicated on the young man's lecturing. They were releasing their strength non-stop, as if fearing that their lightning tribulation would not be strong enough.
"He's Zhang shi?" Zhan shi asked with a hint of admiration in his voice.
Honestly, considering how the entire sky was crackling fearfully with lightning, and given the fearsome flashes of light every now and then, it was truly incredible how the young man was still able to continue conducting a lecture so composedly.
Even Hu Yiwei could not help but nod in awe.
Over the years, the only person that he knew who had the mental fortitude to remain calm even in the face of a cataclysm was his master!
It was no wonder that Zhang Xuan fellow had been able to win the Young Master's admiration. Just this deed alone was one that no ordinary man would be capable of pulling off. At the very least, he knew that he would not have been able to do the same.
"Look, look! Zhang shi is going to devour the lightning tribulation!"
Just as everyone was in a state of complete shock, the young man suddenly halted his lecture and stood up. With a light leap, he swiftly rose to an altitude just beneath the disquieting storm clouds.
From the position the young man was in, there was no doubt that he would catch the attention of the lightning tribulation and come under its attack.
"He will be zapped to death like that!" Zhan shi could not help but exclaim in trepidation.
"Heh, there's no need to worry about that! I saw this sight earlier, and I can tell you for certain that Zhang shi will dash into the midst of the storm clouds next. Before long, the storm clouds will swiftly contract and…" Seeing that Zhang Xuan had gone into motion, Zhang Yu turned to the crowd and began explaining confidently.
But the next moment, a bizarre expression surfaced on everyone's faces. Perplexed by the odd response, Zhang Yu quickly turned his head toward the sky, and the sight that he saw made him freeze on the spot. "T-this…"
Before the young man in the sky could make a move, a powerful bolt of lightning had already zapped down on him.
Kacha!
The lightning bolt roasted the young man well, and a fragrant smell wafted through the area. All that might have been lacking at that moment was a pinch of cumin
"Is this… what you all mean by devouring the lightning tribulation?"
Zhan shi and the others looked at those who had been full of compliments for Zhang Xuan earlier, speechless.