As a dignified max-level Celestial Master, who am I supposed to explain this to?

The main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and the eternal lamps before the statues of the Three Pure Ones flickered with orange flames.

Zhang Qingyuan sat on a prayer mat, while Han Xuan knelt before him.

The master and apprentice remained silent for a long time.

"Han Xuan".

Zhang Qingyuan finally spoke, his voice low and serious, "I have a question for you, and you shall answer truthfully."

"Master, please ask."

"Who exactly are you?"

This question is very direct, so direct that there is no room for negotiation.

Han Xuan raised his head and looked into his master's eyes.

Those eyes, though cloudy, held a clear brightness; sternness concealed a loving heart.

These are eyes that have witnessed seventy-three years of history; they have seen and understood everything.

"I am Han Xuan," Han Xuan said. "I am Han Xuan, the eldest disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain."

That's not what I was asking.

Zhang Qingyuan's gaze was sharp as a knife. "Three days ago, you suffered a qi deviation and were unconscious for a day and a night. After waking up, your Golden Light Mantra jumped from the third to the sixth level, you learned the Heavenly Gang Thunder Technique, and now you've used the Thunder Emperor Body."

"These are things that an eighteen-year-old could never do."

He paused, his voice lowering slightly.

"Who exactly are you?"

Han Xuan fell silent.

He knew he couldn't hide it from his master.

Zhang Qingyuan was not a greenhorn like Zhao Xiaofan; he was the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, a top cultivator of his time.

Such a huge change in a person is impossible for him not to notice.

But can he tell the truth?

Is it said that he was reborn from 35 years in the future?

It is said that he was struck by lightning and died in his previous life, and then his soul transmigrated into his eighteen-year-old self.

Who would believe something like this if I told them?

This is something you only see in novels; it's impossible for it to be that absurd in real life!

Even if you believe it, what consequences will it cause?

Han Xuan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment.

Then he made a decision.

I don't tell the whole truth, but I don't lie either.

A state of being half-true and half-false is the best.

"Master."

Han Xuan raised his head, his gaze frank. "I do have some...unusual experiences. These experiences have given me a deeper understanding of the Dao than my peers. But I can't say what those experiences are right now."

He paused for a moment, then added a sentence.

"It's not because I don't trust my master, but because... some things are better left unsaid."

Zhang Qingyuan stared at him for a long time.

Then the 73-year-old Taoist master suddenly smiled.

There was a sense of relief, a sense of satisfaction, and a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

"That's enough."

He waved his hand. "Everyone has their own secrets. If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you."

He stood up, walked to Han Xuan, and gently patted Han Xuan's shoulder with his withered hand.

"I only have one question for you."

"Master, please speak."

"Just how strong are you right now?"

Han Xuan thought for a moment and answered seriously, "I have mastered the sixth level of the Golden Light Mantra, and I have also mastered the Heavenly Gang Thunder Technique and the Divine Firmament Thunder Technique of the Five Thunder Orthodox Method. The Heavenly Talisman and the formation are still being restored. It will probably take some time before I can reach the previous level and reach the ideal state."

He almost blurted out the words "level of his past life," but thankfully he stopped himself in time.

Zhang Qingyuan nodded and remained silent for a while.

Then he said something that surprised Han Xuan.

"Han Xuan, from today onwards, you will learn the secret techniques passed down from the Celestial Master from me."

Han Xuan was taken aback: "The Celestial Master's direct lineage secret technique? Isn't that something only the Celestial Master's successor can learn?"

"Yes." Zhang Qingyuan looked at him, his gaze deep. "So you need to be prepared."

Han Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

"Master, you mean...?"

"I didn't say anything."

Zhang Qingyuan interrupted him, turned and walked towards the temple gate, "Come to my Taoist room at dawn tomorrow. Don't be late."

He pushed open the palace door, and the morning light poured in, gilding his silhouette with a golden edge.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and said without turning his head:

"By the way, be less noisy when fighting zombies in the future. You blew up the Thunder Pool in the back mountain, what am I going to use for my future disciples to cultivate with?"

Han Xuan couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, Master."

Zhang Qingyuan snorted and strode away.

He walked out of the main hall, across the square, past the scripture pavilion, and finally stopped at the door of his own Taoist chamber.

After closing the door and leaning against it, the over seventy-year-old Taoist master let out a long sigh.

"Thunder Emperor Body..."

He murmured to himself, his voice filled with shock, "The Thunder Emperor's Physique at eighteen..."

He closed his eyes, and the scene he had just witnessed on the back mountain flashed through his mind.

A golden thunder dragon coiled around Han Xuan's arm. With a single punch, the world changed color, and the silver-armored corpse vanished into thin air.

Even Zhang Qingyuan himself might not be able to withstand the force of that punch head-on.

Han Xuan was eighteen years old.

"This kid..."

Zhang Qingyuan shook his head, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. "Just what's their background?"

He had no answer.

But he knew one thing.

The future of Longhushan is secure.

No, it's not just stable.

Something big is about to happen at Longhu Mountain.

Inside the main hall, Han Xuan was still kneeling on the prayer mat.

He looked up at the statue of the Three Pure Ones, the candlelight reflecting on his young face, creating a play of light and shadow.

"The Celestial Master's direct lineage secret technique..."

He repeated it in a low voice, a slight smile playing on his lips.

In his previous life, he hadn't even scratched the surface of the secret techniques passed down from the Celestial Master.

Those secret techniques were locked in an iron box deep inside the library, and only the Celestial Master had the key.

He could only stare blankly from outside the iron box, imagining what kind of earth-shattering secret was hidden inside.

Now, Zhang Qingyuan is going to teach him personally.

Han Xuan stood up and moved his knees, which were a little numb.

His right arm was still throbbing, the aftereffects of the Thunder Emperor's Body were more severe than he had anticipated.

But it is not important.

The important thing is...

"My character is at max level, and I'm finally about to unlock the ultimate skill."

He couldn't help but laugh out loud, the sound echoing in the empty main hall, startling the eternal flame on the offering table.

As Han Xuan walked out of the main hall, he saw Zhao Xiaofan squatting on the steps waiting for him.

The junior brother's face was still a little pale, clearly not yet recovered from the shock he had just experienced.

"Senior brother."

Zhao Xiaofan stood up, hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously, "You...you're really my senior brother?"

Han Xuan glanced at him: "I'm not your senior brother, I'm your long-lost father."

"Get lost!" Zhao Xiaofan blurted out instinctively, then laughed at himself.

As he was laughing, his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

"Senior brother, you've become so amazing!"

His voice choked with emotion, "You used to be so talented, but I always felt like you were so far away from me. Now that you've become even stronger, I feel... like I'm closer to you now."

Han Xuan paused for a moment, then reached out and ruffled Zhao Xiaofan's hair.

"Silly boy."

He didn't say much, just patted Zhao Xiaofan on the shoulder and walked down the mountain.

As the sun sets, the evening glow is like fire.

The seventy-two peaks of Longhu Mountain stand silently in the twilight, like seventy-two silent guardians.

Han Xuan walked on the bluestone steps, his shadow stretched long by the setting sun.

He knew that today's Thunder Emperor Fist was just the beginning.

The Netherworld Cult is still stirring in the shadows.

There might be an even more powerful being behind the silver-armored corpse.

And those enemies who caused him so much suffering in his previous life.

Zombie King, Evil Boss, Thousand-Year-Old Demon...

They're all still waiting for him somewhere.

But it's okay.

He has plenty of time and patience.

More importantly, he has a max-level account.

"Come, come, come."

Han Xuan waved his fist at the air, a smug grin spreading across his face. "Those who want a challenge, line up, one at a time."

"My period of explanation is still long."

The evening breeze swept across the mountains, and the pines rustled in the wind.

In the distance, a bell on some mountain peak rang out again, its sound echoing through the valley.

It was as if it was responding to his words.

…………