Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric

Zhang Xuan turned around to take a look.

The other party was a young man who seemed to be in his thirties. The brilliant five stars pinned on his chest indicated that he was a 5-star master teacher!

"Senior Luo Yan!"

Upon seeing the young man, the young lady whom the other party had identified as Li Xuan leaped in fright, and she hurriedly bowed her head politely.

"Isn't Senior Luo Yan one of the top ten master teachers in Grade 4? If I recall correctly, he's also one of the top 5-star pinnacle blacksmiths in the Blacksmith School. To utter such haughty words in his presence, that fellow must be asking for a beating!"

"Indeed, that fellow is acting far too frivolously here. This is the Blacksmith School, not a bragging competition. How did such a person even pass the entrance examination in the first place?"

"I have seen most of the famous Grade 1 and Grade 2 students, but his face looks unfamiliar to me."

"He's probably just saying those words to attract attention..."

...

The Passageway of Records represented the pride and achievements of the Blacksmith School. Only the top blacksmiths in the school would dare to gather here and challenge the records. But even so, most of them would come with the intention of challenging themselves, not to surpass the existing records.

After all, the records signified the very pinnacle of the Blacksmith School over its millenniums of existence.

Yet, this fellow came here and declared that "It's not impossible, but it'll be troublesome". Naturally, these words would incur the displeasure and hostility of the geniuses here.

Even the top blacksmiths of the Academy School dared not to utter such words! It took those geniuses here all they had to not rush up and pummel that arrogant fellow.

"Reporting to senior, he... he is..."

Under the glare of a renowned Grade 4 student, Li Xuan's body trembled uncontrollably in fear, "He's a newly enrolled student, and he's here to take a look around..."

"A freshman?"

Upon hearing that the other party was just a freshman, Luo Yan shook his head in disappointment and fury, "The quality of the students are getting worse and worse with each passing generation! The Passageway of Records symbolizes the blood and sweat of countless predecessors of our Blacksmith School, how can you allow just anyone to enter here and besmirch this place?"

At this point, Luo Yan's eyebrows shot up, and his voice grew sharper, "What are you still waiting for? Scram!"

"Yes..."

Li Xuan swiftly nodded as she tugged Zhang Xuan out with her. However, to her shock, the latter refused to budge. Instead, he turned to Luo Yan with an annoyed expression and questioned, "Are you the head of the Blacksmith School?"

"I'm not..." Taken aback, Luo Yan replied in confusion.

The other students watching the commotion were stumped by Zhang Xuan's abrupt question as well.

"One of the Ten Great Master Teachers?" Zhang Xuan continued asking.

"That's not it either..."

"So, an elder of the Blacksmith School?"

"Of course not... What are you driving at?" Annoyed by Zhang Xuan's persistent questioning, Luo Yan finally snapped.

"If you are neither the head of the Blacksmith School nor one of the Ten Great master Teachers nor an elder of the Blacksmith School, why the heck are you ranting here for?" Zhang Xuan shook his head with a sigh.

Why the heck are you interfering with us if you have no place here?

What a meddlesome fellow you are!

"Ah..."

Li Xuan was still wondering what Zhang Xuan was going to say when she heard those words. Her body began shaking violently, and she nearly fainted from sheer fear.

Do you know who you standing before? How can you speak to him like that?

He's a Grade 4 student, a 5-star high-tier teacher, a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan expert! For a freshman like you to talk back to him like that, aren't you afraid of being pummeled to death?

Everyone else in the Passageway of Records also glanced at one another, their eyes bulging from astonishment.

Arrogant! They had never seen someone as arrogant as this!

Furious, Luo Yan's face turned so red that it looked as if he would erupt at any moment, "What did you say?"

"Nothing much. Just that you should do whatever you have to do, and don't hinder me from earning Academic Credits!"

Couldn't be bothered with the other party, Zhang Xuan turned his attention back to the records around him.

Having read so many books on smithing, his comprehension of the subject had already reached an extremely profound level. It was possible that the head of the Blacksmith School might not even be a match for him in terms of their understanding of smithing.

The only thing that was lacking was his cultivation.

If only he has reached Saint realm, he would be able to sweep through all of the records easily.

But with his current cultivation... it would be a little troublesome.

"Alright, I'll take this!"

After contemplating for a moment, Zhang Xuan swiftly chose the record he wanted to challenge. He felt that there was a good chance that he could surpass the existing record, so he turned to Li Xuan and asked, "If you don't mind, help me apply for this. I want to challenge this record!"

"Challenge?" Li Xuan froze.

You still want to challenge the records after seeing the existing ones? Do you really think that you can surpass any of these?

The crowd who was watching the commotion also glanced at one another and shook their heads.

After offending a higher grade student, you still want to challenge a record? Did someone knock the sense out of you?

With such a cocky attitude, how did you even pass the master teacher examination and get into this academy on top of that?

"Un, I want to challenge this Chamber of Earth Flame. I'll be depending on you to make the application for me." Zhang Xuan replied calmly.

The Chamber of Earth Flames was a scorching chamber heated by tapping into earth flames. The longer that one can remain in there, the stronger one's physical body is likely to be.

As blacksmiths, it is inevitable that one will be exposed to intense heat. If one doesn't possess a sufficiently strong body, one will easily lose concentration in the midst of smithing, resulting in misjudgement and mistakes.

As such, a strong physical body that is resistant to heat is imperative for blacksmiths.

The reason why Zhang Xuan chose this over the other challenges was because he had cultivated the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body and tempered his body using earth flame. The underground chamber might be hot, but he was confident of holding on for more than 17 minutes.

As such, it should be easier for him to clear this challenge as supposed to the others.

"Chamber of Earth Flame?"

"Is that fellow a fool? To choose that of everything else... Is he tired of living?"

"I have no idea. Perhaps being a freshman, he doesn't know how fearsome it is!"

"And here I thought he might at least stand a chance. To think that he would be an idiot instead..."

Upon hearing the record which Zhang Xuan wanted to challenge, everyone turned their eyes to him with gazes seeming to suggest that they were staring at a fool.

Even Luo Yan who was so furious that he could kill Zhang Xuan with a single slap widened his eyes in astonishment.

The Chamber of Earth Flame was also known as the Chamber of Obliteration or the Death Record. Over the years, most of those who attempted to challenge this record ended up either dead or crippled.

Putting everything aside, the current record holder, 6-star Blacksmith Liu Han, had managed to survive inside for seventeen minutes, but he ended up searing every single inch of his flesh, damaging his foundation. Eventually, he died before he even reached 150.

For a Saint, dying at 150 was definitely considered as a premature death.

Luo Yan had also attempted this record himself, but he fled just three minutes after entering.

As for the others, even though they had never experienced it personally, they had also heard of how terrifying it was from the others.

If there was a record on the record which most would want to avoid challenging, this would definitely be ranked at the top of the list!

And yet, that fellow chose that single record which everyone was dying to avoid... Not to mention, he even proudly declared that he could clear the existing record. Has living become that tiresome for you that you have to rush to your death?

"In the Chamber of Earth Flame, flames would sprout from every crook and nanny, making it impossible for you to avoid them at all. Your skin will be seared by blazing heat... Do you want to reconsider your option?" Shocked, Li Xuan hurriedly tried to persuade the young man beside her.

As infuriated she was by that young man, she was still the one who brought him here, and she couldn't possibly watch as he leaps to his death.

"Don't worry, you can go ahead and make arrangements! If I find myself at the limit of my tolerance, I'll immediately leave the chamber." Knowing that the other party was worried about him, Zhang Xuan replied.

"This..." Seeing Zhang Xuan's insistence, Li Xuan realized that she would be unable to change his mind, so she could only give in, "Alright then. Actually, there's no need to apply for anything beforehand. All you have to do is to place your palm against the door, and after stepping in, declare which is the record you wish to challenge, and the mechanism will send you to your destination!"

Zhang Xuan nodded, "Thank you!"

Leaving these words behind, he walked up to the door leading to the Chamber of Earth Flame.

"Freshman, what is your name?" Seeing that the fellow was insistent on entering the chamber, Luo Yan harrumphed. "If you can survive three minutes in there, I can overlook your prior disrespectful behavior!"

Even though Zhang Xuan had acted extremely arrogantly, he did feel a slight bit of respect for him for being willing to challenge the Chamber of Earth Flames even after knowing how terrifying it was.

"My name is Zhang Xuan!" Zhang Xuan replied with a slight smile as he placed his palm on the door.

Jiya! The door to the chamber opened, and he walked in.

Upon entering the chamber, the doors behind him immediately closed, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

"I will challenge the Chamber of Earth Flame!" Zhang Xuan declared.

Jiya!

As soon as he spoke those words, the ground beneath him rumbled as a mechanism came to life.

There were various overlaps between in the skills of a blacksmith and a celestial engineer. As such, the two schools were particularly close to one another. This pasasgeway—or perhaps it might be more appropriate to call it a lift—seemed to be installed with an extremely profound mechanism, allowing it to process human speech and transport the challenger to his destination.

A moment later, the rumbling came to a halt.

Darkness veiled the entire area, leaving it impossible for Zhang Xuan to determine where he was. Nevertheless, based on the echoes in the area, it seemed like he had arrived in a massive chamber.

Just as he was about to activate his Eye of Insight to perceive his surroundings, a bundle of flames abruptly lit up before him. It swiftly grew into a blazing flame that spread across the entire chamber. A furious surge of heat wave gushed at him, threatening to burn his skin to crisp.

"Hot!" Zhang Xuan exclaimed with a grim expression.

He thought that the Chamber of Earth Flame would at most be as warm as the flames in the Cleansing Lake. If there was any lava, he could even dive in and attempt to absorb the spiritual energy within it while tempering his body. But it seemed like he had underestimated the difficulty of this task!

His surroundings were raging with a roaring blaze. It was already taking his entirety to maintain a layer of zhenqi to ward off the flames, so how could he possibly cultivate under such circumstances?

At this moment, he felt as if he had been stuffed into an oven. If he were to stop the circulation of his zhenqi, he might find himself well done.

It was no wonder why the others had shot him looks of sympathy when he chose to challenge this record, it was indeed worthy of the fearsome reputation it held!

"If this were to continue, I might not be able to even sustain for two minutes!" Zhang Xuan frowned as he drove his zhenqi to fend off the searing heat.

He thought that this would be a walk in the park for him, especially since he had mastered the First Incandescence of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, but it wasn't as easy as he thought it out to be.

Even with his Heaven's Path zhenqi, he couldn't sustain himself too long in here.

"Something is weird here. Normal earth flames shouldn't be this hot!"

Such a thought plagued Zhang Xuan's mind.

Normal earth flames, even those buried deep within the lava, should be tolerable for him, given his Transcendent Mortal 6-dan pinnacle cultivation and Heaven's Path zhenqi. He should be able to swim in there freely without being burnt.

There was something particularly unnatural about the earth flame before him.

At this temperature, his physical body wasn't the only thing that was being seared. Even his soul was being damaged by the unbelievable heat.

"If it comes down to it, I'll just have my clone take my place while I hide inside the Anthive Nest..." Zhang Xuan thought as he rubbed his glabella.

While the heat was a little beyond him, he didn't have any worry about breaking the record.

As terrifying as the earth flame may be, it wouldn't be able to faze his clone in the least.

However, that would, in some sense, be considered as cheating.

"I should first try to see what's going on in here first."

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan suppressed his urge to swap with his clone, and thin strings began surfacing in his eyes, "Eye of Insight!"

Weng!

Soon, Zhang Xuan realized what was amiss.

"This isn't a natural chamber. The heat seems to be drawn in by a man-made formation, and the formation core is... four Searing Blaze Stone... No, this isn't Searing Blaze Stone but..." After gazing at the depths of the flames for a moment, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and his body began to tremble in agitation.

"Earth Flame Heart!"