Side Story: Zhang Xuan’s Birth

It was raining heavily, and a boundless black dyed the sky pitch-black.

Two figures quickly flew over from the sky. Before the raindrops landed on their bodies, they were sent flying by the force. Not a single drop touched their bodies.

“Teacher Yang, this is our first child. If anything happens, I’m afraid that Mengya won’t be able to take it…”

The young man flying in front looked to be around 23 or 24 years old. His face was filled with anxiety and fatigue.

He was the current Clan Head of the Zhang Clan, Zhang Zhenxing. The Zhang Clan was the top clan among the saint clans.

“You are doing this for the sake of the human race. As long as I can do it, I will definitely do my best!”

The elder known as Teacher Yang nodded.

The two people stopped outside a spacious residence. Before they even landed on the ground, First Elder Zhang Wuheng walked over and clasped his fist.

Zhang Zhenxing asked, “How’s the situation with Sword Saint Meng?”

The First Elder hesitated for a moment before sighing, “Clan Head… you can listen to it yourself!”

Filled with doubts, Zhang Zhenxing was just about to clarify the matter when he suddenly felt the ground quake. Following which, a deafening rumble echoed in the air. From afar, it seemed like the buildings nearby had collapsed. As soon as the dust rose into the air, it was struck by the raindrops and turned into turbid water.

Zhang Zhenxing’s face twitched in embarrassment. “Did she… demolish houses again?”

The First Elder nodded. “Old Ancestor Hong Tian is on the verge of collapsing. I-I only spoke to Sword Saint Meng for a moment, and in the end, she flew into a rage. The meeting hall, the blood pool, and the residences of many elders and I were all destroyed…”

Zhang Zhenxing asked, “How about the main residence?”

The First Elder said, “Oh, that wasn’t destroyed. When I said that the houses were demolished, I meant that we no longer have a place to stay.”

“…”

Zhang Zhenxing heaved a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, it seems like she hasn’t lost her mind. I’ll go over and take a look!”

With a tap of his foot, he swiftly flew toward the source of the explosion.

In the air, there was an extremely beautiful woman. Her eyebrows were raised, and she held a sword in her hand as she raged. Her face and figure were well-maintained, but her stomach was bulging. It was obvious that she had been pregnant for a long time and was about to give birth.

There were elders everywhere. Facing the lady’s sword qi, none of them dared to stop her. In fact, they didn’t even dare to speak a word. At this moment, seeing the Clan Head arrive, it was as if they had seen their savior. Their eyes reddened.

The houses were demolished every two to three days. There were horticulturists overseeing the houses, and their repairs were very fast and professional. However, their mentality could not take this damage!

“Meng’er… I’ve invited Teacher Yang over. He has a solution!”

Zhang Zhenxing hurriedly spoke.

The whizzing sword qi in her hand stopped, and the woman turned to look at the elder not too far away. “Wang Mengya greets Teacher Yang!”

The highest-ranking 9-Star master teacher in the Master Teacher Pavilion was a Great Sage 4-dan Sempiternal-Realm pinnacle expert. No one in the entire continent dared to underestimate him.

Teacher Yang waved his hand and said, “Clan Head Zhang has told me about your situation. Let’s go down and discuss it in detail!”

“Yes!”

Wang Mengya did not dare to say anything else.

In the main residence, the guests were seated.

Teacher Yang went straight to the point. “Sword Saint Meng, I can understand your feelings, but… you should also understand our current situation. If something were to happen to Ancient Sage Hong Tian, not only the Zhang Clan, but the entire human race would also face the greatest calamity in the past ten thousand years!”

There was no longer the anger from before. Wang Mengya’s eyes reddened. “I know, but why him… He’s not born yet, and he’s still a life without self-awareness. Why should the mission of saving humanity be placed on a child like him!”

“Alas!”

Teacher Yang sighed deeply. With a complicated look in his eyes, he said, “It’s all our fault! It’s the fault of the Master Teacher Pavilion… As long as we can save Ancient Sage Hong Tian, I’ll do my best to ensure that this child survives. Furthermore, I’ll take him in as my direct disciple, and I’m willing to do everything in my power to help him achieve his goals… Even if it doesn’t work, I’ll ensure that he lives a carefree life.”

Hearing Teacher Yang’s words, Wang Mengya knew that there was a righteous cause behind this matter. Even though she was unwilling to do so, she still nodded in the end. “That’s the only way. May I know what Teacher Yang’s plan is? As long as he can be born safely and grow up, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have a cultivation or bloodline. At most, if someone bullies him, I’ll teach them a lesson…”

With a flick of his wrist, a jade bottle appeared in Teacher Yang’s hand. “This is an innate spirit artifact. Before a child is born, inject it into his body, and it can replace his bloodline to maintain his life. However… it’s a spirit artifact as well as a poison. If we can’t find a cure before the age of 20, even Teacher Kong won’t be able to save him…”

“Before the age of 20?”

Wang Mengya’s pretty face turned pale.

“Actually… Even if the bloodline disappears, it can still be restored!”

Suddenly, the First Elder, who had been silent all this while, spoke.

Wang Mengya looked over anxiously. “Can it be restored? How?”

The First Elder said, “In the ancient land! Legend has it that Teacher Kong brought 72 disciples to the ancient land before disappearing without a trace!”

“That place doesn’t have enough spiritual energy suppression. Thus, if a descendant whose bloodline isn’t pure enough is sent there, there’s a high chance that a new bloodline will be born and their physique will be activated.”

“In the history of the sage clans thousands of years ago, there were more than ten geniuses who succeeded. The 12th Clan Head of the Yuan Clan, Yuan Kai, was teleported out as soon as he was born, and he was found at the age of 16. In just three years, he became the number one genius of the younger generation, crushing the younger generation! The 19th Clan Head of the Luo Clan, Luo Qingfeng, was the same. The Zhang Clan once had a grand elder who had a similar experience…”

Wang Mengya looked at her husband in confusion and saw him nodding. “There is such a legend…”

After getting confirmation, Wang Mengya heaved a sigh of relief. “If the bloodline can be restored… Can it cure my son of this poison that you mentioned?”

Teacher Yang hesitated for a moment before saying, “This… I’m not too sure. I can only say that… there’s hope.”

After a long silence, Wang Mengya rubbed her stomach with red eyes. “Son, no matter how difficult it is, Mommy will bear it with you…”

“Sword Saint Meng is righteous!”

Teacher Yang heaved a sigh of relief. He uncorked the bottle and tapped on it lightly. A stream of air immediately flew toward the woman’s stomach and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

In the next moment, Wang Mengya’s expression changed. Her pupils constricted, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhang Zhenxing hurriedly rushed forward.

Wang Mengya clutched her stomach. “He seems to hate this kind of poison. Hurry up and find a midwife. I think… I think I’m about to give birth!”

Zhang Zhenxing was stunned for a moment before asking in disbelief, “I’m going to be a father? Alright, I’ll go look for a midwife now…”

With the birth of the Clan Leader, the entire Clan was in an uproar. In just ten minutes, Wang Mengya was arranged to enter a room. Several midwives took turns guarding her.

Outside the room.

Zhang Zhenxing paced around in circles. Although he knew that this child would go through a painful process, he was still abnormally excited at the thought of meeting him soon.

Seeing Zhang Zhenxing’s helpless expression, the First Elder walked up to him and asked, “Clan Head, what is the name of the Young Master?”

Zhang Zhenxing nodded. “Yes, let’s call him… Zhang Anbang! I’m Zhenxing, so it’s more suitable for him to be Anbang!”

The First Elder was speechless. “What about his nickname? In Young Master’s situation, I suggest a simple name to suppress his luck. It will be easier to raise him…”

“I haven’t thought about that yet…”

Zhang Zhenxing nodded. “However, you’re right. We can’t give him a powerful nickname. It’s better for us to choose an ordinary name. Let me think about what we should call him…”

Before he could finish his words, an elder rushed over and said, “Deputy Clan Head, First Elder, bad news…”

The two of them looked over at the same time.

After landing on the ground, the elder’s eyes were filled with shock. “The ancestral tablet suddenly shook violently…”

Before he could finish his words, the extremely dark and rainy weather suddenly cleared up. The bright sun shone high in the sky. Then, a huge rainbow stretched across the entire sky. It was like a bridge that led to heaven.

Immediately after, countless phoenixes and peacocks flew around the rainbow and let out pleasant cries.

The clouds dispersed and the rain cleared. It was now sunny.

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

Was this a phenomenon of the heavens and earth?

“It’s… It’s the birth of a saint!”

All of a sudden, Teacher Yang came to a realization, and his face reddened in agitation. “I’ve read the history books, and it was the same back when Teacher Kong was born. Could it be…”

“Is this the birth of a saint? An innate saint?”

Zhang Zhenxing could not believe it.

He knew that his son’s bloodline was extraordinary, but he didn’t expect it to be so extraordinary!

Even before he was born, he had already caused the ancestral tablet to jump and cause a phenomenon of the heavens and earth… If nothing bad happened to him, how high would his achievements be?

“Wah~~ Wah~~”

As a loud voice sounded through the skies, the memorial tablets in the Ancestral Hall could no longer take it and collapsed.

“Look, Teacher Kong’s sculpture…”

Another shout sounded.

Zhang Zhenxing and Teacher Yang turned their gazes over once more, only to see Teacher Kong’s towering sculpture floating quietly in the air, as if it was celebrating the birth of a fellow Daoist.

“Teacher Kong’s sculpture is floating… Teacher Kong’s sculpture is floating…”

Zhang Zhenxing muttered to himself. He was so excited that he was on the verge of going crazy.

His son was actually able to gain the approval of Teacher Kong’s sculpture!

“I’ve thought of his nickname. It’s… Zhang Diaofei!”

With a glint in his eyes, Zhang Zhenxing made his decision.

…

The birth of the child caused a natural phenomenon that shocked all the sage clans. The Clan Head of the Luo Clan even came personally and planned an arranged marriage for his daughter, who was still in the womb.

Everyone was very happy, but Zhang Zhenxing and Wang Mengya were unhappy. They saw their son’s bloodline being extracted with their own eyes. As a result, he was so weak that he was on the verge of death. It would not be easy for him to recover. Furthermore, they had to personally send him away.

The teleportation array of the ancient land could only transport babies. Furthermore… the destination had yet to be determined!

In other words… Once the child was teleported, it would be impossible to tell if he was alive or dead. However, if the child wasn’t teleported, he wouldn’t be able to live past the age of 20, and there was a high chance that he would live an ordinary life.

“Don’t cry…”

They watched as a light shone and the baby, who had just been born, disappeared. Zhang Zhenxing patted his wife’s back and said, “The moment he was born, he was able to make Teacher Kong’s sculpture fly into the sky. He will definitely return safely! Don’t worry, from today onwards, I will accompany you all the way across the continent to find him…”

Wang Mengya nodded.

She knew that no matter how reluctant she was, it was useless.

This was for their child.

…

In a remote kingdom far away from the Zhang Clan.

On the way home, a drunk old man’s vision blurred, and he saw a baby in front of him. One of the ribbons on the baby’s swaddling clothes was tied to a tree, while another ribbon was tied around the baby’s neck, causing the baby to hang in the air. It seemed as if the baby would suffocate at any moment.

He hurriedly saved the baby and saw the word “Zhang” embroidered on his clothes.

“His surname is Zhang… Since I saw him hanging from a tree, I’ll call him Zhang Hanging Neck… Forget it, it doesn’t sound good. I’ll call him Zhang Xuan!”

Nodding in satisfaction, the old man sold the baby to an orphanage in exchange for the money for wine.