Library of Heaven's Path
Chapter 582-590

Chapter 582: Daze Book Reading Technique

Beneath the stage…

“Given that the test is on reading books this time round, Zhang shi… shouldn’t cause any trouble, right?”

“I… think so…”

Pavilion Master Kang, Su shi, and the others wiped the cold sweat off their forehead.

This Zhang shi seemed to be bent on causing a huge ruckus for every single test he took. It was as if he would feel uncomfortable if he didn’t scare them to death.

They were initially worried that Zhang shi would cause something in the third round as well, but from the looks of it now, the chances should be near null.

After all, unlike the first two tests, this test consisted of simply reading. There didn’t seem to be any room for Zhang shi to cause any trouble.

“Hmm? What is Zhang shi doing?”

Just as they heaved a sigh of relief, Ling shi voice cried out. Alarmed, Pavilion Master Kang and Su shi leaped from their seats. “What’s wrong? Did he destroy the bookshelves? Or did he burn the books?”

The duo quickly turned their sights to Zhang shi, only to see the latter reading peacefully.

The shocks that Zhang Xuan had caused them had left a deep trauma in their hearts. As such, whenever they hear of anything relating to him, they would immediately think that the latter had done something catastrophic.

Seeing the tense looks on the duo, Ling shi was speechless. Pointing forward, he said, “That’s not it. Rather… Everyone seems to be in a rush to cram as many books in as possible, but why is he standing completely still after grabbing that book?”

“Hmm?”

Pavilion Master Kang and Su shi finally understood what was wrong about the scene.

They saw Zhang shi walking up to the bookshelf and tracing the books with his fingers, seemingly trying to look a book that interests him. After choosing his book, he flipped it open and entered into a daze again!

It was exactly how he’d reacted before the Otherworldly Demon. Could there be some special significance behind his dazing off?

Zhao Feiwu’s eyebrows shot up as she exclaimed, “Could this be the Daze Book Reading Technique?”

“Daze Book Reading Technique?”

Pavilion Master Kang and the others were bewildered by Zhao Feiwu’s words.

“Actually, back when Zhang shi was taking the examination for other occupations, he utilized the Beast Pummeling Taming Method, the Knockout Treatment Method, and the Formation-Crushing Kick Technique. So, I’m wondering if this is another technique of his!”

Zhao Feiwu had been with Zhang Xuan for a significant period of time, and she had witnessed many inconceivable means from the latter.

“Beast Pummeling Taming Method? Knockout Treatment Method? Formation-Crushing Kick Technique?”

The three 4-star master teachers glanced at one another in confusion.

What the heck are these?

I don’t seem to understand what you are talking about…

“Oh, it’s actually like that…”

Zhao Feiwu began explaining the various incidents she had encountered in detail.

“There’s such a thing?”

Upon hearing of the matters, the three master teachers widened their eyes in shock. It felt as though what they had just heard came from a dream.

To tame a savage beast just by beating it up; to heal anyone just by knocking them out; to break any formation with just a single kick… Why did it sound like something that had come out of a fantasy novel?

It seemed like this fellow truly couldn’t be assessed through common sense… anyone who tried to do so would probably go mad.

Since there were so many precedents… perhaps, he might truly have such a unique way of reading books.

“But even so, if all he’s staring going to stare at is a single page, surely there would be nothing for him to read and learn?”

After recovering from the primary shock, more doubts emerged in their minds.

No matter how formidable your ‘Daze Book Reading Technique’ is, even if it allows you to comprehend the content within in an instant… if all you are just going to stare at one page the whole time, how are you supposed to read anything else?

At the very least, shouldn’t you flip the pages of the book?

“Is Zhang shi… giving up on this stage?”

They weren’t the only bewildered ones. There were some among the crowd that noticed this peculiarity, and they were confused by Zhang Xuan’s actions too.

In the previous two rounds, he had caused so much trouble that even Hong shi was left on the verge of a frenzy. The crowd below must be blind if they couldn’t notice his uniqueness.

Naturally, such a ‘unique’ person would have the spotlight on him. The crowd thought that he, just like the other participants, would quickly flip through the books to memorize as many of them as he could. And yet, after picking up a single one… he stopped moving altogether.

Wasn’t his efficiency a little… way too low?

There was no way he could match up to the others with this kind of speed?

Did he use up all of his talent in the past two rounds?

…

Oblivious to the reactions of the crowd, at this very moment, Zhang Xuan was staring at the nearly compiled Clarifying Turbidity realm Heaven’s Path Divine Art with gleaming eyes.

He thought that he would only be able to compile it after reaching Huanyu Empire. Never in his dreams did he expect to be able to perfect it through this preliminary selection test.

With the cultivation technique perfected and sufficient number of spirit stones in his storage ring, it wasn’t a problem for him to reach Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle right now.

It was a pity that he was in the midst of the preliminary selection test. If he were to cultivate the Heaven’s Path Divine Art right here, who knows how many eyeballs would pop out from their sockets…

Thus, all Zhang Xuan could do was reread the manual and understand the essence of the cultivation technique entirely. After he was done, he turned his attention to the other books.

‘To think that there would be books on souls here as well…’

Sweeping through the rest of the five thousand books, he found quite a few books about soul as well. Most of them were Hong shi’s notes on his comprehension of the topic.

As a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan Cosmos Bridge realm expert, Hong shi’s possessed a unique interpretation of the topic of souls.

‘Compile!’

Zhang Xuan compiled the notes on soul with the techniques Mo Hunsheng gave him.

Soon, a book was formed.

Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Heaven’s Path Soul Art!

‘To think that I would get two complete Heaven’s Path cultivation technique through this preliminary selection,’ Zhang Xuan thought in agitation.

He had come with the thought of just getting the Master Teacher Tournament over and done with. He didn’t expect to be given enough valuable books to perfect a cultivation realm of Heaven’s Path Divine Art and Heaven’s Path Soul Art.

This meant that his fighting prowess could be raised significantly once he found some free time to cultivate.

The rest of the books weren’t of much use to Zhang Xuan. He swept across them with his mind, but he couldn’t replace anything that interest him. Thus, he drew his consciousness out of the Library of Heaven’s Path.

“Only ten minutes have passed?”

When his consciousness returned, he realized that only ten minutes had passed.

In total, they were given two hours. In less than a tenth of the time, Zhang Xuan had already finished browsing through all of the books. If he were to say that he was done with the test, Hong shi could very possibly faint from shock.

But still, he couldn’t possibly stand idly here and wait for others to be done!

“Forget it, since I still have some time, why don’t I try memorizing the content in those books as well!”

Since Zhang Xuan had nothing better to do now, he decided to try memorizing and deciphering the content of the books as well.

But of course, he would be doing so through the Library of Heaven’s Path. After all, it was much more efficient that way.

Upon making this decision, Zhang Xuan immediately dived straight into action. Immersing his consciousness back to the Library of Heaven’s Path, he picked up a book and began reading through it.

Hualalala!

Back then, when he was only at Tongxuan realm, he was already able to read at a speed dozens of times faster in the Library of Heaven’s Path. With his strengthened soul, this ability of his had been further enhanced.

In the time when the master teachers outside read through a handful of books, he was already done memorizing the content of all five thousand books.

As such, Zhang Xuan turned to the other books in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

In the past few months, Zhang Xuan had gathered more than ten million books in the Library of Heaven’s Path, and he hadn’t had the time to browse through them yet. Since he was free now, he decided to take a look at them.

Time passed swiftly as his mind was completely immersed in those books. Suddenly, Hong shi declared, “Alright, time’s up. Everyone, put down the books in your hands!”

Hearing that time was up, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Withdrawing from the Library of Heaven’s Path, he put down the book and took a glance at the other competitors.

At this moment, everyone looked a little fatigued, and their faces were considerably pale.

Two hours of operating one’s mind at full throttle to memorize the content of those books had taken a huge toll on them.

“How many books have you memorized?”

“820 books. What about you?”

“I did slightly better than you, I managed to memorize 917 books!”

…

Putting down the books in their hands, everyone walked to Hong shi. There were some hushed conversations between some of the participants.

Given that their Soul Depths were all beyond 10.0, they possessed photographic memory. Still, it was no easy feat to browse through and memorize all those books.

Honestly, eight to nine hundred books in two hours was the limit for most 4-star master teachers.

Ruohuan gongzi walked over and asked, “Zhang shi, how many books did you memorize?”

“Me?” Fearing that he would scare the other party to death if he were to utter the truth, Zhang Xuan scratched his head and replied, “It should the same as yours!”

“Same as mine? I read 1240 books, did you reach around 1200 books too?” Ruohuan gongzi asked doubtfully.

Given how formidable Zhang shi’s performance was all along, how could the other party have the same result as him? Ruohuan gongzi found the other party’s words hard to believe.

“Err… I think it should be around that amount. Right, how will Hong shi assess the number of books we have read?” Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

Since this was a test on Wisdom, clearly, they couldn’t be assessed just by the number of books they managed to read. More importantly, the participants must be able to memorize and comprehend the content… But how was this going to be tested? After all, they couldn’t possibly recite the content of the books they have read line after line given the sheer number of books they have read!

“I don’t know either. Hong shi should be revealing it soon!”

Ruohuan gongzi was perplexed too.

To be fair, reciting or writing down the content would be the best way. But… this is just the preliminary selection. They couldn’t possibly drag it out over several days just for this single test, it would be too inefficient!

Besides, how many books do they have to memorize to pass the test?

Furthermore, the word count in each book was different. If they were to count purely by books, that might introduce so biasedness in the results.

And in truth, all of the other participants also shared the same confusion.

“Hehe, is everyone worried about how the test will be carried out?”

Seemingly noticing everyone’s doubts, Hong shi chuckled. “Don’t worry. Since I’ve proposed this test, naturally, I have my own way of assessing you!”

Stroking his beard, Hong shi’s eyebrows shot up. “Based on my experiments, an average 4-star primary stage master teacher can memorize around five hundred books in two hours. But of course, as geniuses of your respective power, the expectations of you are much higher!”

“Thus, after much deliberation, I’ve decided to set the bars at… 800 books. Those who fail to memorize 800 books will be eliminated from the tournament!”

“800 books?”

Amongst the crowd, around a dozen young men’s faces paled.

Clearly, the number of books they had read didn’t reach that number.

“But of course, each book is unique, and thus, we have to consider the varying length and the difficulty of the content of each book as well. Thus, while the standard I’ve set is 800, if you specifically choose to only memorize the thinner and easier books, your score might end up below 600!”

Hong shi continued, “To ensure fairness in this aspect, I’ve applied for a treasure from the headquarters… the Book of Emptied River!”

Chapter 583: Book of Emptied River

“Book of Emptied River? What is that?”

“I’ve never heard of it!”

“Given that it’s an artifact that Hong shi applied to the headquarters for, it must be extraordinary!”

“Indeed!”

…

Hearing of the Book of Emptied River, confusion surfaced on the faces of the master teachers on the stage.

No one here had heard of it, and even Pavilion Master Kang, Su shi, and the others were perplexed over this matter.

Seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces, Hong shi explained with a smile, “As master teachers, everyone should have heard of the saying that knowledge isn’t just words or information, it has its own weight as well!”

“I’ve heard of that saying!”

“Knowledge will reinforce one’s mental fortitude and refine one’s disposition!”

“The more knowledge accrued, the denser one’s soul will become. It’s said that back then, Kong shi was able to sink the earth and tilt the oceans with just a single stomp, and that’s because the knowledge he harnessed within him encompassed the entire world!”

“Indeed! After Kong shi departed, even though his 72 direct disciple possessed cultivation comparable to him, they weren’t capable of exerting the same might as he did!”

…

Discussions broke out amidst the crowd.

Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but nod his head as well.

He didn’t know too much about the affairs of Kong shi, but from the books, he learnt that knowledge carried weight as well.

Even though knowledge was intangible, it could make a person more cultured and collected.

“Since knowledge has weight, naturally, it can be measured. And the artifact to do so is the Book of Emptied River!”

Hong shi continued, “Empty the river sediment to reveal true gold, part the veiling fog to uncover clear moon. The Book of Emptied River is able to peer through all of one’s facades to weigh one’s knowledge.

“This artifact was created by an 8-star master teacher ten thousand years ago, and it harnesses a function to search one’s soul. As long as you place your hand on it, it’ll determine the weight of the knowledge you have accrued within a certain period of time!

“Of course, it can only weigh into the knowledge one has accrued; it can’t analyze one’s thoughts, so there’s no need for you to worry! The one I’ve borrowed from the headquarters is an inferior good, but it is more than enough to check the number of books you have read.”

“Weigh one’s knowledge?”

“This… How incredible!”

“Indeed, this is amazing. As expected of an artifact from the headquarter!”

…

Upon hearing that this artifact was capable of assessing the amount of knowledge one had accrued, everyone was amazed.

“Usually, if a teacher instructs his student to study, even if the student lazes off, the teacher isn’t able to check. But with this artifact, he could simply weigh his student’s knowledge and determine whether his student has been diligent or not!”

“This is also the main reason why the Book of Emptied River was created.”

With a flick of his finger, a book appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The book was snowy-white in color and average in size. However, its very presence seemed to induce an intense spiritual energy disturbance in the surroundings, indicating that it was no ordinary artifact.

Placing the book on the table before him, Hong shi turned to the crowd and explained, “The Book of Emptied River will emanate seven different colors depending on the amount of knowledge one has accrued within a specific period of time. The colors are namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet! Every rise in color equates to 800 books. Meaning… if the Book of Emptied River glows red, it means that you’ve passed the examination; if it glows orange, it means that you’ve managed to memorize the content of 1600 books, so on and so forth. Thus, you will come up one by one to touch the book!”

“To think that it would be so simple!”

“Given that the artifact was made by an 8-star master teacher, we have no qualms about the fairness of the test!”

Hearing Hong shi’s explanation, everyone came to a realization and nodded their heads.

Since it was a treasure from the headquarter, there was definitely no trouble at all.

“I’m done for…”

But contrary to everyone’s delight, Zhang Xuan’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

If he’d known that he was going to be assessed by such an artifact, he would never have read so many books! In that two hours, the other competitors might have only read a few hundred to more than a thousand books, but he, by browsing through the books using his soul, had managed to read around 200,000 books…

He thought that the test would involve a few questions testing him on the content of the books, and he could easily keep a low profile… Who knew that everything would spiral out of his control so quickly? How was he supposed to keep a low profile like that?

There was no way he could make an artifact created by an 8-star master teacher lie for him!

What was he supposed to do now?

While Zhang Xuan was conflicted, Hong shi stroked his beard and asked the crowd, “Alright, let’s begin the test. Who wants to go first?”

“This…”

Everyone glanced at one another, and after a moment of hesitation, everyone’s eyes suddenly turned to look at Zhang Xuan in unison.

“Why don’t we allow Zhang shi to go first again?”

“Indeed! Zhang shi, feel free to go first. We’re in no hurry at all!”

…

A few of them urged Zhang Xuan forward.

But before Zhang Xuan could reply, Hong shi, upon seeing the sight, staggered and nearly spewed blood.

Of course none of you will be in a hurry! All of you are just hoping that Zhang shi will cause some kind of trouble once more so that you can pass the test easily!

This might be good news to you… But how am I to account this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion if such a farce were to occur once more!

With a reddened face, Hong shi immediately raised his hands and instructed, “Alright, since no one has stepped forward, let’s go by age once more. But this time, we’ll start from the oldest!”

It wasn’t that Hong shi wanted to discriminate against Zhang shi, but this fellow… was simply too fearsome.

If he were to allow him to go up first, who knew what would happen to this Book of Emptied River.

At the very least, the Ghost Domain Illusory City and Otherworldly Demon belonged to him, so he could still bear the burden of them breaking. However, the Book of Emptied River was borrowed from the headquarter, and it had to be returned after the test!

“I’m going last?”

Not expecting even a 5-star master teacher to be so scared of him, Zhang Xuan shook his head, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry.

In any case, going first or last made no difference to him. All that mattered at the moment was for him to pass the test, so he didn’t pay too much heed to the matter.

Besides, he didn’t have the effort to be thinking about it either! The most urgent matter at hand was to figure out how he could hide the knowledge which he had just learned…

…

Hearing the decision made by Hong shi, Pavilion Master Kang and the others were also dumbstruck. Zhang shi, to be able to instill such fear into the host of the Master Teacher Tournament, sure is talented!

Now that the rules had been established, the rest was simple. The first participant to head up was the oldest master teacher of the group-a master teacher from Mingxia Empire.

This master teacher was also among the top ten of the list of contenders to look out for, and his cultivation had reached Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle. Upon hearing that he was to be up first, he started walking toward the Book of Emptied River.

Everyone’s eyes gathered on him.

Taking a deep breath, the master teacher placed his hand on the book momentarily before withdrawing it. The snowy-white book shook for an instant before a clear crisp sounded, and a red light shone.

“Red light, he has passed the test!”

“Wonderful!”

“To be able to weigh one’s knowledge, this artifact really is amazing!”

Seeing the Book of Emptied River in operation left everyone excited.

In their view, artifacts were mainly used in battle or to raise one cultivation. This was their first time seeing an artifact capable of testing one’s knowledge.

Hong shi nodded his head in commendation as he asked, “How many books did you read?”

“Reporting to Hong shi, I’ve read a total of 1238 books!” the master teacher replied.

“Un, not bad!” Hong shi complimented before announcing the result. “Mingxia Empire’s Liu Quan has passed the test. Next, Hengsha Empire’s Zhang Mingzhi.”

Hearing his name being called, a young man stepped forward-Zhang Mingzhi. Even though he was the second oldest among all of the master teachers gathered here, his cultivation was only at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan primary stage, and he was ranked at the lower end of the group.

Walking to the Book of Emptied River, he placed his river on it.

But different from before, the Book of Emptied River didn’t react at all. It was as if his hands had never touched it.

“It seems like he failed to read 800 books!”

After waiting a moment later and confirming that there was no reaction from the Book of Emptied River, everyone shook their heads.

“I have only read 771 books,” Zhang Mingzhi explained with a bitter smile.

He thought that since he was just a little off from reaching 800, he might be able to smoke his way through. But from the looks of it now, it was impossible to fool the Book of Emptied River.

“Un!” Hong shi nodded. “Zhang Mingzhi has failed the test and he’ll be eliminated from the tournament. Next…”

After the first two participants, everyone got a better understanding of the mystical effects of the Book of Emptied River. Following which, based on their age, the master teachers tested the number of books they have read one by one.

Two hours later, all 53 participants, with the exception of Zhang Xuan, had been tested.

This Wisdom test wasn’t as simple as it seemed. In total, seventeen people were eliminated, and after some questioning, all of them had failed to memorize 800 books. In fact, there was one who memorized 799 books, but the Book of Emptied River still deemed him to have failed, and he could only leave in disappointment.

“The results of the Book of Emptied River sure are accurate!”

Seeing how the Book of Emptied River could gauge the difference of even a single book, the crowd couldn’t help but be impressed by its accuracy.

As expected of a treasure from the headquarters, it was indeed fearsome!

Of the 35 people who had passed the test, the one with the best result at the moment wasn’t Luo Xuan nor Liao Wuzhi. Surprisingly, it was one of Zhang Xuan’s acquaintance… Song Chao!

During his test, the Book of Emptied River actually emanated an orange glow… this meant that he had memorized a total of 1600 books!

To be able to memorize so many books in just two hours, his memorization ability was nothing short of monstrous.

Even Zhang Xuan was surprised by his results.

Even though that fellow looked a little slow on the surface, he didn’t expect him to have such a good memory.

Ruohuan gongzi’s result of 1200 or so books was also amongst the forefront.

“Last but not least, Zhang shi!”

Following Hong shi’s declaration, everyone turned their eyes to the troublemaking young man.

“Zhang shi is about to be assessed. I’m really curious to see what his results will be!”

“I don’t think he’ll fare too well in this test. I took a look at him during the test just now, and all he did over the course of the test was take out a book and go into a daze… Under such circumstances, it will be difficult for him to achieve good results!”

“I think so too, but… No matter what, this is Zhang shi! Given his astounding results in the previous two tests, I replace it hard to believe that he will be eliminated in this round!”

“Let’s wait and see then…”

…

After the previous two tests, Zhang Xuan had already become the center of attention. Everyone was curious to see how the fellow who smashed the previous two tests would fare in this one.

Seeing that he couldn’t hide any further, Zhang Xuan walked forward with a depressed look.

He had been wracking his brain over this problem throughout the entire duration, but he still couldn’t replace a feasible solution to it.

“Forget it, I’ll just have to get it done with…”

Knowing that it was impossible for him to avoid it, Zhang Xuan could only muster his courage and step forward. He placed his hand on the Book of Emptied River and retracted it quickly.

Then, he stared at the book, curious to see what color it would glow.

Chapter 584: Spiritual Perception Book Reading Technique

Under Zhang Xuan’s stare, the Book of Emptied River remained motionless, as though nothing had been done at all.

“Why isn’t it moving at all? Could it be that… he failed the test?”

“It can’t be… That would truly be disastrous…”

“But given how formidable Zhang shi is, how could he possibly be unable to memorize 800 books?”

After waiting a moment longer, seeing the Book of Emptied River remaining motionless, everyone was taken aback.

There was no reaction on the part of the Book of Emptied River, it could only mean that the number of books Zhang Xuan read was less than 800!

And if he didn’t meet this mark, it means that he would be… eliminated!

No matter how astounding his results were for the previous rounds, he would be disqualified from this tournament.

How could this be?

“This is such a huge pity! I thought that given how formidable Zhang shi is, he would surely be able to get into the top ten. To think that… he would fall here!”

“It’s indeed surprising how he failed to memorize 800 books!”

“He should have known he would have ended up like that when he went into a daze…”

A commotion broke out amidst the crowd. There were some who expressed their pity while there were some who gloated over the matter as well.

The outstanding performance of this Zhang shi in the previous two rounds had convinced others of his capability, and many saw him as the dark horse of the tournament. Never in their dreams did they expect him to be eliminated in such a manner.

“This…” Pavilion Master Kang, Su shi, and the others felt as though their heads were bursting apart. They were on the verge of tears at this point.

They were still worried that Zhang shi would cause some kind of trouble, but in the end, it turned out that… he didn’t pass the test at all!

This meant that all of the hopes they had pinned on him had been crushed!

Pavilion Master Kang had an awful expression on his face for a long moment before he managed to recover. Sighing, he shook his head and said, “In the end, it seems like Zhang shi is still… much too young!”

Even though he was talented and had a formidable teacher, he was still unable to stand his ground on such formal occasions!

Sighing, a dejected look surfaced on Pavilion Master Kang’s face. He seemed as though he had aged by a decade in an instant.

He had devoted significant effort into this tournament, and he thought that with Zhang Xuan’s appearance, the long trend behind Myriad Kingdom Alliance’s poor performance in the Master Teacher Tournament could be broken… but in the end, his hopes had fallen empty, just like many times before!

On the other hand, Hong shi trembled, and a frenzied look appeared on his face.

Who was the young man before him?

Yang shi’s student!

Even though the latter had put him in a very awkward position in the previous two rounds, he still thought that this was to be expected.

After all, how could a direct disciple of an 8-star master teacher be someone ordinary?

And yet, the other party ended up being eliminated…

The main goal of Pavilion Master Mo in leaving behind a high-tier spirit stone was to motivate Zhang shi as well as to win a favor from him…

And yet, the latter actually failed in the preliminary selection. How was he going to survive as a master teacher now that he had gotten on the bad side of the pavilion master of the headquarters?

Not to mention, there was an 8-star master teacher standing behind Zhang shi…

He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

Zhang shi passing the test was awful enough, but him not passing the test was even worse!

He must be the first host of the Master Teacher Tournament to land in such a state.

But even so, since the result was out, he couldn’t change his words. Otherwise, the preliminary selection would lose its meaning, and his integrity as the host would be questioned. Thus, he could only muster his courage and announce, “Since the Book of Emptied River didn’t glow, it means that Zhang shi didn’t pass the test. Alright, let’s move on to the last test…”

Halfway through his announcement, he suddenly noticed the shocked widened eyes of the crowd below, as if they had seen a ghost.

“What’s wrong?”

Perplexed, Hong shi turned around and looked, and in an instant, he was dumbfounded as well.

Unknowingly, the Book of Emptied River was already floating in the air, and its entire body was glowing a bright shade of red.

Just when Hong shi was contemplating the reason behind the difference in the shade of red, the color of the glow changed-orange. And after which, orange, green, blue, indigo, and violet…

In an instant, it was as if someone had opened up a rainbow kaleidoscope, or the most brilliant and beautiful firework had exploded. Bright colors filled the entire surroundings.

“Seven… colors?”

Hong shi was stunned.

He had seen before someone inducing a red glow, an orange glow, a yellow glow, a green glow, but… seven interchanging colors, what the heck?

Could it be that the Book of Emptied River had suddenly got high on something, so it decided to show a few colors to celebrate?

Or did it suffer a stroke and malfunction?

But… such a matter had never happened before!

Suddenly, someone amidst the crowd exclaimed, “Could it be that the Book of Emptied River had just finished analyzing Zhang shi’s knowledge… and it’s reflecting his results now?”

“To take so long to analyze? Is that even possible?”

“For it to take so long, how many books must he have read?”

Hearing those words, a huge commotion broke out.

If this matter had happened to someone else, they would have surely just attributed it to the book malfunctioning. But since the person in question was Zhang shi… they couldn’t exclude any possibility.

Given how this fellow was able to tear down the Ghost Domain Illusory City and convince an Otherworldly Demon to commit suicide, it wouldn’t be unimaginable for him to turn the Book of Emptied River into a firework simulator…

Kacha!

While the crowd was in the midst of their discussion, a crisp sound suddenly echoed. The Book of Emptied River, after flickering for innumerable times, suddenly swayed. A crack slowly crept across it, and it fell from the sky, torn into two halves.

“Ah…”

Seeing the precious Book of Emptied River being torn apart, everyone was shocked for a moment before realization struck them.

“There’s no doubt about it now, it is true!”

“Yes, Zhang shi must be the culprit behind it. Otherwise, how could it possibly have broken all of the sudden?”

If they were still hesitant as to the reason why the Book of Emptied River was going bonkers all of the sudden, upon seeing it torn into two, they were confident that it was Zhang shi’s doing!

Given the many precedents that fellow had set, who else could it be?

Hong shi sure was pitiful… Breaking an object borrowed from the headquarters, he would surely be punished severely.

Thinking so, everyone turned to look at the elder on the stage with a sympathetic look.

They were just about to utter words of consolation when what they saw made their eyes widen further.

Upon seeing the torn Book of Emptied River, not only did Hong shi seem in the least panicked or sorrowful, excitement was even gleaming in his eyes. His face flushed a deep shade of red out of excitement, and if not for the etiquette he had cultivated over the years, he might have leaped up in exhilaration.

What was going on?

Didn’t you borrow this artifact from the headquarters? Since it has been destroyed, shouldn’t you be distressed? Then why are you trembling uncontrollably in agitation as though you have eaten an aphrodisiac?

“… What happened to Hong shi? In the previous two stages, when Zhang shi destroyed his possessions, he had a clear look of displeasure on his face. Why would he look so excited this time round?” Zhao Feiwu was perplexed.

“Most probably…” Pavilion Master Kang contemplated for a long period of time before continuing, “… he has just gotten used to it!”

“Gotten used to it?”

The excited Hong shi staggered upon hearing those words.

How open of a heart must he have to get used to having his prized possessions being shattered?

Naturally, the reason why he was happy wasn’t because he had gotten used to having his items being destroyed but that… Zhang shi wasn’t eliminated!

The Book of Emptied River might be precious, but compared to getting on the bad side of Pavilion Master Mo and Yang shi, it was nothing at all.

It was clear which was the lesser of the two evils. Given that Zhang shi had passed the test, naturally, this was something for him to celebrate.

But still… He was probably the only host in the history of Master Teacher Tournaments to be delighted over having his own possession destroyed.

“Red light means one has memorized 800 books, orange light means on has memorized 1600 books, so on and so forth… Given that all of the lights have flickered continuously… Zhang shi, exactly how many books have you memorized in the past two hours?”

Recovering from his negative emotions, Hong shi turned to look at the youngster with doubt in his eyes.

Given that memorizing 5600 books would induce a violet light, and that fellow had induced the violet light to appear as though a firework, even causing the inferior-tier Book of Emptied River to break into two from being overloaded…

How many books must he have read for such a situation to occur?

Thinking of the same thing, curious, the others also turned their gazes to him.

“How many books?”

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.

The matter which he had been troubled over really came to be.

He had been worried about this matter for the entire period of time, but what had to happen would eventually still have to happen.

If he were to tell the truth and say that he had memorized more than two hundred thousand books while the others were struggling to memorize a thousand… would Hong shi die of fright on the spot?

“Cough cough, I wasn’t counting. I think it should be around ten to twenty thousand books…” Awkward, Zhang Xuan decided to divide the figure by ten.

“Ten to twenty thousand books?”

But still, the astonishing amount was still sufficient to shock everyone present here.

While others were still reading seven to eight hundred books, you had read more than ten times of what they did. Are you sure you are still a human?

A master teacher among the crowd exclaimed, “That can’t be. There is only a total of five thousand books on the shelves, and I’ve been looking at you throughout the examination. You have been dazing off, and you didn’t flip through those books either. How could you have memorized the contents of so many books?”

This fellow had been dazing off like a fool right from the start. He had been holding the same book from the start to the end, so how could he possibly memorize the contents of all of the books on the shelf?

Not to mention, there was only a total of five thousand books up there. How in the world did you read ten to twenty thousand books?

“This…”

Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan was at a loss. But still, this was not the first time he had stumbled by such a situation, so he was able to recover quickly. Coughing lightly, he explained, “This concerns a unique book reading technique that my teacher imparted me… Even without flipping through the books, I can still read through them! As for the additional books… After I was done with the books on the shelf, I realized that I still had some additional time, so I went on to read the books I keep in my storage ring as well…”

Knowing that it was impossible for him to explain this matter, he decided to push this matter to the ‘mysterious teacher’ of his. In any case, given that he had such a ‘huge backing’, there was no need for him to worry at all.

“To read through books without flipping through it?”

Everyone was confused.

The words were contained within the book, how could one read a book without flipping through it? Does he have the ability to peer through material objects?

Does such a technique really exist in the world?

But why haven’t I heard of it then?

While everyone was skeptical of Zhang Xuan’s words, Hong shi’s body suddenly trembled, his face paled, and he muttered with a slightly hoarse voice, “Could… Could it be… But how is that possible?

“Hong shi, could it be that you’ve heard of such a technique before?”

A master teacher couldn’t help but ask upon seeing the other party’s reaction.

Everyone also turned their gazes over.

As a 5-star master teacher and a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan expert, Hong shi was indubitably the most knowledgeable of them here, be it cultivation or worldly experience.

“Indeed, I happen to have heard of such a matter before…”

Hearing the question, Hong shi recovered from his shock. He glanced at Zhang Xuan and thought of a certain person, and a look of respect gradually surfaced.

“I had the privilege of listening to Hongyuan Empire’s Pavilion Master Mo’s lesson once, and he mentioned such a matter before. If my conjecture is right, it should be…

“A technique that only a Saint 2-dan expert is capable of… Spiritual Perception Book Reading Technique!”

Chapter 585: Celestial Chess

“Spiritual Perception Book Reading Technique?”

“Saint 2-dan?”

All of the master teachers below stared at one another in confusion.

They had never heard of such a term before.

Instead of answering the question straight away, Hong shi said, “Beyond Fighter is Transcendent Mortal, followed by Half-Saint, Nascent Saint, and finally, Saint. I believe you all should be aware of these cultivation realms!”

“Un!” The crowd nodded their heads.

Most of those present were all master teachers. Even though Saint was still very far off from them, perhaps even out of reach, they had at least heard of it.

“Half-Saint and Nascent Saint are just intermediary stages while Saint, just like Transcendent Mortal and Fighter, consists of 9 dans!” Hong shi continued.

Half-Saint and Nascent Saint are just two normal realms, just like Origin Energy realm and Yin-Yang realm. On the other hand, Saint was the name for the entire set of cultivation realms.

Just like Fighter and Transcendent Mortal, it could be divided to nine tiers.

“The first dan is known as Void Pursuit realm. At this realm, one will be capable of flight. As for the second dan, it is known as… Spiritual Perception realm!”

With a grave look on his face, Hong shi said, “Only at this level can one open their ‘Incipient Eye’ and awaken their Spiritual Perception.”

Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Spiritual Perception… What’s that?”

He had heard of the concept of souls, but he had never heard of Spiritual Perception before.

Hong shi explained, “Spiritual Perception is a unique capability that only Saints possess. As we know, upon reaching Consonant Spirit realm, one’s soul becomes aligned with one’s body, thus allowing one to temper one’s soul and strengthen it!”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

Transcendent Mortal 5-dan Consonant Spirit realm opened up a whole new world to cultivators. At this level, not only would a cultivator be able to train their physical body and zhenqi… they would be able to train their souls too.

“A strong soul can achieve unimaginable feats; you will understand this upon reaching that realm. Once one’s soul reaches a certain level… one becomes able to extend the reach of their soul and perceive everything that it touches. In fact, one’s sight would even be clearer than what our eyes are capable of… This is what Spiritual Perception is!” Hong shi said.

“Extending… the reach of one’s soul?”

“For a soul to be able to extend beyond one’s body to conduct observation… how powerful must one be?”

“It can’t be… Is Hong shi saying… Zhang shi already possesses the strength of a Saint 2-dan?”

Everyone leapt in shock.

Saint 2-dan? How was that possible?

Zhang Xuan was also perplexed by the situation unfolding around him. All he had spouted was nonsense, how did Hong shi draw the line to the Saint realm?

Hong shi shook his head.

“Naturally, Zhang shi can’t possibly be a Saint. There’s no need to worry, allow me to finish my explanation first. You’ll understand it after I’m done!

“Reading via Spiritual Perception is much more convenient and efficient than reading manually. This is also the reason why Saints accrue knowledge swiftly, and they grow at an astounding pace.

“While Zhang shi isn’t a Saint, he seems to possess an ability equivalent to this as well. If I’m not mistaken… an expert must have dug out the Incipient Eye of a Saint 2-dan and transplanted it to him using some unique method, thus allowing him to read and memorize content swiftly!”

Even though Hong shi was the one raising the conjecture, he still couldn’t help but feel shocked by the matter.

Only a Saint who had opened his Incipient Eye could awaken his Spiritual Perception.

Theoretically speaking, if an Incipient Eye was dug out and transplanted onto another person, as long as it was done properly, that person should be able to awaken his Spiritual Perception as well.

But of course, due to the lacking cultivation, that person wouldn’t be able to utilize the Spiritual Perception properly. At most, he would only be able to use it on reading books.

But even so, for a low-tier master teacher, its significance was immense.

To be able to read ten books in the time it took for others to finish reading one, it was just a matter of time before one surpassed all of one’s peers.

It was no wonder Zhang shi was able to be adept in so many occupations despite his young age. It had to be the working of this ability of his!

Most probably… Yang shi had prepared this specially for him just for this.

To dig out a Saint 2-dan’s Incipient Eye and transplant it on another perfectly… How powerful must Yang shi be?

Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

It was no wonder Pavilion Master Mo feared the other party so much, going to the extent of even using a high-tier spirit stone to please the other party. An expert of such caliber was indeed qualified to be fawned upon by him.

“To transplant the Incipient Eye of a Saint 2-dan on someone else?”

“To be able to read swiftly even without flipping pages?”

“Not to mention, to be able to read books in the storage ring as well?”

“It is no wonder you could read so many books within two hours. But still… to be able to memorize all of these, isn’t your memory a little way too good?”

“Indeed. Just browsing through a book doesn’t mean that one has necessarily memorized it. What is truly fearsome is for one to read swiftly while assimilating its contents!”

…

Hearing Hong shi’s explanation, everyone came to a realization. They turned to look at the young man before them with a look of fright.

To be able to dig out the Incipient Eye of a Saint 2-dan, what kind of terrifying background does this fellow have?

Amidst everyone’s shock, Ruohuan gongzi’s eyelids were twitching violently. Depression loomed over his head.

It was just a moment ago that he asked Zhang shi how many books he had read, and the latter replied that he had read the same number of books as him. This had left Ruohuan gongzi happy for quite a while. He thought that he had finally found something that he was on par on with that monster, but in the end…

How in the world can your twenty thousand books be around the same as my one thousand books?

Even if you wish to console me, please do it with some sincerity!

Interrupting into the noise, Hong shi said, “Alright, regardless of how it is, given that Zhang shi has memorized the contents of more than twenty thousand books, as can be proven by the shattering of the Book of Emptied River, I hereby announce that he has cleared the test. Is there anyone with any objections?”

“None at all…”

The crowd hurriedly shook their heads.

You must be jesting! The other party read twenty thousand books and even crippled the Book of Emptied River. Even if we were to have objections, would you listen to them?

“Un, since that’s the case, let’s move on to the last test of our preliminary selection-intelligence!”

Hong shi turned to look at the remaining participants.

“Even with the support of a teacher, the path of cultivation is ultimately individual. Other than hard work and talent, more importantly, one has to possess superior intelligence. Even when studying the same cultivation technique or battle technique, different students will interpret it differently and thus, the extent of benefit they could derive from it would differ as well. One can easily become a master teacher with talent, but to wish to become a capable master teacher relying solely on that, I can tell you it’s nigh impossible!

“As such, intelligence is crucial to walking further as a master teacher.

“Intelligence is indeed important to a master teacher… But how can one test their intelligence? Will they be given a cultivation technique to analyze?

“But analyzing a cultivation technique would make the test biased toward some. Everyone would have differing levels of compatibility with a specific cultivation technique, and besides, talent and wisdom also counts in it as well. It doesn’t seem possible to isolate intelligence and test it as itself!”

The crowd was puzzled.

Intelligence is of utmost importance to a master teacher, everyone present here could make the association. However, such a quality couldn’t be quantified easily, and given such, how could comparisons be made?

Even if you can measure wisdom through weighing knowledge, how can you measure intelligence?

Even when attempting to comprehend a cultivation technique, a person with lower intelligence would surely replace it easier to comprehend a technique aligned with his constitution as compared to a person whose constitution is incompatible with the technique.

“Hehe, I understand your concerns, and I’ve thought a lot about this issue as well.”

Noticing everyone’s worry, Hong shi chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, the fog veiling another corner of the round stage scattered, revealing a seemingly ordinary gazebo.

Seated in the gazebo was a white-robed old man, and a gray chessboard was placed on a stone table in front of him. Black and white stones intersected one another atop the chessboard, as though yin and yang assailing one another-a chess formation.

The old man had an impassive face, and there wasn’t the slightest vitality that could be felt from him. With a look, it was clear that he was a puppet.

“This is Celestial Chess. Its rules are completely different from all other chess games existent in the world, thus forming its own school. Back then, when I was touring around the world, I chanced upon it in some ruins. I don’t know who created it, and there weren’t any explanations regarding the rules either. Intrigued, I spent many years attempting to decipher it, but even so, I only managed to comprehend around forty to fifty percent of it.”

Waving his hand once more, a wall not too far away from the gazebo shimmered, and an image of the layout of the chess in the gazebo was projected on it. It was entirely foreign to everyone present here. Even those who had immersed themselves in chess in the past were unable to draw on their experiences to decipher this.

“A chess formation?”

“It seems so. But given that no one knows the rules… how will the participants be assessed?”

“I’ve no idea as well!”

There were many among the crowd who were learned in the Way of Chess, but seeing the profound formation projected on the wall, they realized it was entirely different from what they had learned before, and this left them dumbfounded.

“In Celestial Chess, the heavens and earth are the chessboard, and the stars are the stones. It is intricately aligned with the essence of the world. One won’t be able to comprehend anything by seeing the formation on the wall, but on the pillars in the gazebo, there are some words left behind by the previous owner of the chessboard.

“Through these words, one is able to decipher the rules of the game.

“After deciphering the rules, one can challenge the puppet in the gazebo. If one were to make an invalid or a losing move, one will replace himself incapable of placing the stone down on the board. This test has nothing to do with talent, cultivation, or anything at all, it is purely a match of intelligence. Those with higher intelligence will be able to decipher more of the rules and make more moves whereas those with lower intelligence will have limited comprehension of the rules and replace the number of moves they can make limited as well. To pass this test, you’ll have to make at least six valid moves,” Hong shi explained.

“This… To actually use chess to gauge one’s intelligence, amazing!”

“The heaven and earth as the chessboard, and the stars as the stones, how domineering!”

“Through this chess, one would indeed be able to isolate intelligence from other external factors. It is truly a fair test!”

…

Hearing the rules, everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

The Way of Chess was highly demanding on one’s intelligence. Some who devoted decades to the game might replace themselves outmatched by a child who had barely learned it for a few days, albeit rarely. This didn’t necessarily mean that the child was more knowledgeable than the adult, just more intelligent.

As such, there was a saying among top chess players: ‘Chances are null if one fails to reach the top by twenty!’

Without sufficient intelligence and talent, it would be nigh impossible for one to reach the top. It’s cruel, but such is the world.

Given that this Celestial Chess operated by entirely different rules compared to all other games in the Master Teacher Continent, and one was to compete with the puppet through deciphering the limited words written on the pillars, it was indeed the best way to quantify one’s intelligence.

As expected of a 5-star master teacher, his means were indeed exceptional.

“All master teachers who enter the gazebo will only be given an incense’s time to read and decipher the words on the pillars before starting the match with the puppet. If one exceeds the timing or is unable to put down his piece, that would be the end of the test.”

Hong shi waved his hands and said, “Alright, now that I’ve finished explaining the rules, let’s begin the test!”

“Yes!”

The participants nodded their heads.

“Since there is only one chess board, we can only go one by one. Thus, let’s decide the sequence…”

Hong shi glanced at the crowd.

In the first test, Zhang Xuan was the first to take the test, and he destroyed the Ghost Domain Illusory City, thus no one was eliminated. In the second test, due to the Otherworldly Demon committing suicide halfway through the test, only the three men who fled in the midst were eliminated. And in the third test, seventeen people were eliminated.

After the three tests, of the fifty-six initial participants, only twenty were eliminated, leaving behind a hulking thirty-six.

“Why don’t… I go first?”

Zhang Xuan stepped forward.

Given that there were thirty-six people in total and given that just the preparation time in itself was one incense’s time, by the time everyone was done, the sun would have already set. Since that was the case, he might as well quickly get it over and done with so that he could rest.

“Cough cough…” Seeing Zhang Xuan walk over, Hong shi nearly choked on his saliva. “You? Don’t even try!”

I am not so courageous as to let you go first after you wrecked the previous three tests!

Chapter 586: Failure?

Knowing what the other party was worried about, Zhang Xuan said, “It’s just a chess game, I don’t think it’s possible for me to destroy the chessboard…”

Everything before… was just carelessness. Now that he knew the rules, he would surely make sure to take precautions and make only six moves… As long as he were to show some restraint, it would be impossible for anything awry like in the previous few tests to happen.

Ignoring Zhang Xuan, Hong shi waved his hands and spoke affirmatively.

“Why don’t we go by age once more? We’ll start from the oldest!”

I also thought that nothing would go awry in the previous test! After all, it was just a test on reading books. Who could have imagined that the Book of Emptied River which I borrowed from the headquarter would be destroyed?

Just think about how much damage you have caused since the tournament started! And you still want to go first? Dream on!

“Alright then.”

Seeing how even a 5-star master teacher was scared to such a point, not even giving him a chance to explain himself, Zhang Xuan shrugged helplessly.

It seemed like he could only bide his time here and wait for the others to be done.

“It is fortunate that Hong shi stood his ground! Otherwise, who knows what would happen this time round…” Pavilion Master Kang and the others also wiped the cold sweat off their foreheads upon seeing the scene.

When Zhang Xuan offered to go first, all of them also leaped in shock.

While it seemed implausible for anything to happen in a chess game, the person in question was Zhang Xuan! Given his unconventional way of doing things, there was no way they could be certain!

In any case, the safest bet was to put him at the very last.

While they were deciding on the rules, among the participants, Liu Quan of Mingxia Empire’s eyelids were twitching uncontrollably.

He just happened to be the oldest among the group… Who in the world did he offend for him to have to go first each time?

It was not like he did anything wrong, he was just the oldest among all of the participants here. Was there really a need for him to go first consecutively?

But in any case, being the first or the last was unlikely to make any difference in this test anyway. It was just a difference in the mental state.

Taking a deep breath, he drove his Soul Depth and activated the Heart of Tranquil Water. After which, clasping his fist toward Hong shi, he proceeded over to the gazebo.

The others also quickly turned their sights over.

Liu Quan walked to the four pillars propping from the gazebo one by one, and after which, he fell into deep contemplation. It didn’t take too long for an incense’s time to be up. With a frown, he walked to the opposite end of the chessboard form the puppet, picked up a stone, and lightly placed it down on an empty spot.

Huala!

The stone floated in the air for a moment before slowly falling down onto the chessboard.

“He managed to place it…”

“It seems like he has made a right move!”

Seeing that the stone had been successfully placed down, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Hong shi had said previously, the stone couldn’t be placed if the move was an invalid or losing move.

Hu!

The old man opposite of him also put down a stone.

Seeing the move the old man made, seemingly put in a difficult position, a deep frown appeared on Liu Quan’s forehead. But his dilemma didn’t continue for too long. Soon, he placed down another stone as well.

Just like that, they quickly exceeded the minimum requirement of six stones to pass the test, and soon, they reached their ninth stone.

But on the tenth, Liu Quan found himself unable to push his stone down anymore.

“Mingxia Empire’s Liu Quan passes with nine stones! Next! Fenglie Empire’s Han Zhaoji…” Hong shi announced.

Han Zhaoji walked up onto the stage.

Not too long later, he left the gazebo with an excited expression on his face. He had passed the test with a score of seven stones.

Following which, the next candidate went up.

After five consecutive successful challenges, the remaining participants felt much more confident. But at this point, the streak was broken. The sixth challenger found himself unable to put down the fourth stone, and the next four challengers that went after him failed the test as well.

Eventually, it was Luo Xuan who broke that losing streak.

At this point, everyone realized that the formation on the chessboard would change for each participant, and thus, everyone would be unable to emulate the moves of those who had gone before them. This ensured the equality of the test.

Time passed, and the sky soon darkened. Just like what Zhang Xuan guessed, by the time the thirty-five master teachers were done, a full moon was already hanging in the sky.

Even though those who came for the tournament were all geniuses, many still fell in this test. While the number of eliminated participants wasn’t as exaggerated as in the previous test, a total of nine people still failed.

However, most of Zhang Xuan’s acquaintances, such as Ruohuan gongzi and Song Chao, still managed to pass the test.

Surprisingly, the one holding the current record wasn’t a participant from the strongest Fleeting Cloud Sect or the second strongest White Helios Sect; rather, he came from an empire that was of similar standing to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.

The cultivation of this master teacher could be considered to be near the lowest among the participants, but his intelligence seemed to be exceptional. Against the puppet, he managed to hold on for sixteen steps, and the impressed old man puppet even offered a word of compliment, “Good.”

“Zhang shi, it’s your turn!”

After everyone was done, Hong shi turned his gaze to the bored Zhang Xuan with a slightly apologetic look.

The latter wished to go first, but due to his own fear, he forced the latter to the back instead.

“Un!” Zhang Xuan stretched his back before walking over to the gazebo.

The gazebo wasn’t too big—around an average person’s height. The first thing he saw upon entering was that the closest pillar to him had the four words ‘East’, ‘South’, ‘West’, and ‘North’ on them.

These four words didn’t possess any artistic conception belonging to a painter behind it, they were just ordinary words.

Turning his sight to the second pillar, there were words on them as well… ‘Spring’, ‘Summer’, ‘Autumn’, and ‘Winter’

As for the next pillar, there were only two words… ‘To’ and ‘Fro’.

And for the fourth pillar, there was only a single word… Reason!

“North South East West, Spring Summer Autumn Winter, To Fro, and Reason? This… What the heck are these?”

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He thought that there would be more detailed hints, but they were just normal words.

Four pillars of eleven words, but there were no links among them whatsoever, and none of them had anything to do with chess either. What was he supposed to decipher?

After looking at each of the pillars, he turned his attention to the chessboard.

The chessboard looked much more chaotic than before. With just a single glance, Zhang Xuan was plunged into confusion.

“Celestial Chess, heaven and earth as the chessboard, and stars as the stones…”

Frowning, Zhang Xuan recalled what Hong shi said and a thought suddenly struck him. “North South East West refers to space, Spring Summer Autumn Winter refers to time, To Fro… refers to position, and Reason… refers to the heart!”

“Space, time, position, and heart…”

All the knowledge that Zhang Xuan learned previously flowed through his head, and the light in Zhang Xuan’s eyes slowly intensified.

It was no wonder why Hong shi was intrigued by it. The name of the Celestial Chess wasn’t just for show. It was indeed emulating the heavens and earth as the chessboard!

It built on a person’s heart to construct a vast world and used it as the chessboard. It was indeed a formidable game.

“I wonder how far I can go based solely on my comprehension and intelligence.”

Upon understanding the rules behind the Celestial Chess, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.

He had depended heavily on the Library of Heaven’s Path and Eye of Insight on his previous stages. Given how simple the current stage was, he was curious to see how far he could go on his own capability.

Turning around, Zhang Xuan walked over to the opposite of the stone table and sat down. Studying it for a moment, he decided on a position, grabbed a stone, and decisively placed it down.

…

“Do you think that Zhang shi will break the Celestial Chess?”

“That should be impossible; it’s just a chess game. Besides, one will be unable to put his stone down if one makes a wrong move.”

“It is indeed unlikely for anything to happen to the Celestial Chess… But I still think that it won’t end that simply. Why don’t we bet on it then?”

“What do you want to bet on?”

“I bet that Zhang shi will destroy the Celestial Chess. If I win, you will hand over your Silk Fan to me. Otherwise, I’ll give you the Emerald Pearl which you have been eyeing!”

“Deal…”

…

As soon as Zhang Xuan walked into the gazebo, discussions immediately broke out among the crowd. There were even a few who betted on it.

“Cough cough!”

Hearing the excited bets in the surrounding, Zhao Feiwu, Pavilion Master Kang, and the others slapped their foreheads in embarrassment, fearing that others would know that they were acquainted with Zhang shi…

To think that a participant of the Master Teacher Tournament would actually be regarded as the God of Destruction…

“It will be the dueling round right after this test. Even though we still don’t know the rules behind it, if Zhang shi and Ruohuan gongzi were to both proceed on to the next round, this would be the best results that our Myriad Kingdom Alliance has ever achieved over the years!” Ling shi analyzed and said.

“Indeed!” Pavilion Master Kang nodded his head.

There were only twenty-seven people left in the tournament.

There were seven powers whose two participants were already eliminated.

In other words, even if Zhang shi and Ruohuan gongzi were to fail terribly in the dueling round, the results would still be much better than what the Myriad Kingdom Alliance had ever achieved in the previous tournaments.

It was fortunate that Ruohuan gongzi had managed to reach Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle under Zhang shi’s help, and his experience with Zhang shi had helped temper his soft qualities such as courage. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to pass those tests.

In other words… Zhang shi had played a pivotal role in the current outstanding results of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.

Just as they were thinking about this matter, Su shi suddenly exclaimed, “Look! Zhang shi is making a move!”

Everyone quickly lifted their gazes and saw Zhang Xuan seated right before a puppet. He placed a stone down on the board.

In that moment, everyone waited with bated breaths.

Fortunately, the stone went down. After which, the old man opposite to him picked up a stone as well, but at that moment, he suddenly froze, as though he had no intentions of playing the stone at all.

“What’s going on?”

“It can’t be that… Zhang shi is intending to destroy the puppet instead of the Celestial Chess?”

Upon seeing the old man’s frozen body, everyone stared at one another in bewilderment.

They were just contemplating whether the Celestial Chess would be destroyed by Zhang shi, and the latter, with a single step, caused the movements of the puppet to freeze… It couldn’t be that it was really broken?

Wasn’t that a little… way too exaggerated?

Everyone turned to look at Hong shi, and the latter had a deep frown on his forehead as well.

After a short moment later, Hong shi couldn’t stand the tension anymore. He walked over to the gazebo and looked at the puppet.

And a moment later, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Just like the others, he thought that the puppet might have malfunctioned. But after taking a closer look, the puppet was still operating perfectly.

“Please make your move!”

Standing beside the puppet, Hong shi bowed.

Even though the old man was a puppet, it possessed spirit and it was capable of interpreting human speech. The both of them had often played against one another, and Hong shi possessed deep respect for him.

“Un!”

After a moment of hesitation, the puppet nodded and placed his stone down.

Zhang Xuan was stunned for an instant, but he soon picked up a second stone and placed it down.

Weng!

But the chess simply floated in midair, refusing to go down no matter how much force Zhang Xuan put into pushing it down.

“He can’t place the stone? Does this mean that… his move is invalid?”

“So… he failed?”

Everyone was taken aback. Even Hong shi was in disbelief.

Based on the rules, one would only be considered to have passed the test after making six moves, and currently, Zhang shi had only made a single move. Did this mean that… he had failed the test?

“Shit… Does this mean that there’s a mistake in my comprehension?”

Gedeng! Zhang Xuan’s heart skipped a beat.

He used neither the Library of Heaven’s Path nor the Eye of Insight this time… Was he really going to fail just like that?

Chapter 587: Dueling Round Begins

All along, regardless of what it was, he had always used the Library of Heaven’s Path and Eye of Insight to interpret and understand profound topics. But this time, he had decided to test out his own intelligence by playing with the rules he interpreted from the words inscribed on the pillars.

He thought that he would at least be able to get six pieces down, yet… he found himself stuck on the second stone. Could he have really screwed up this time?

Was his intelligence really that poor?

Zhang Xuan was on the verge of tears.

He had proceeded smoothly in the past three tests, he didn’t expect to fail here.

Hong shi’s face was also twitching violently.

To be unable to put down the second stone… How was he supposed to clear up the mess this time? He couldn’t possibly say that considerably Zhang shi’s talent, he was an exception and could clear the test just by putting down a single stone?

If only he’d known this would happen, he would have surely allowed Zhang shi to go first!

In the end, such a matter happened. If Zhang shi were to bear a grudge against him over this matter, he would surely be screwed…

What the heck was this! For a 5-star master teacher, the host of the Master Teacher Tournament, to have his heart hanging over a mere preliminary selection, he couldn’t help but feel intense indignation.

Gritting his teeth, Hong shi mustered his courage and announced, “Since Zhang shi was unable to put down the second stone, this means that… he has failed the test! Alright, since the preliminary selection is over, let’s move on to the dueling round…”

But at that moment, the puppet opposite to Zhang Xuan suddenly pushed the chess board aside and stood up. A clear voice reverberated in the air.

“I have lost!”

“Lost?”

“What does that mean?”

“Zhang shi… won against the puppet in a match of Celestial Chess? Not to mention, he even had the other party willingly admit his defeat?”

“Aren’t the rules of the Celestial Chess difficult to comprehend? To actually understand the rules within an incense’s time to defeat the puppet…”

Everyone was taken aback. The impossibility of the situation was driving them insane.

They thought the reason why Zhang shi was unable to put down his second stone was due to his lack of understanding of the rules. Never could they have imagined that the puppet would admit his defeat in the next moment…

This wasn’t just at the level of ‘understanding the rules’ or not… Rather, Zhang shi had become an expert in the game, an existence that others could only look up to!

“Are you for real?”

Luo Xuan, Song Chao, and the others widened their eyes in disbelief.

They had undergone the test personally, and they knew how profound Celestial Chess was. Those who could put down more than six stones could be considered geniuses among geniuses. And yet, the person before them actually defeated the puppet utterly in his second move…

Was he still a human?

Contrary to everyone’s shock, Hong shi felt immense relief instead.

It seemed like every time he was going to announce Zhang shi’s loss, the other party would make a huge turnaround…

In that instant, he felt as though he was being toyed with.

If this were to go on, on top of going bankrupt, he would have to worry about his heart malfunctioning due to the excessive shock…

While everyone was dumbfounded, shocked, gritting their teeth, convulsing, kicking, rolling… The person in question, Zhang Xuan, was also bewildered.

He used neither the Library of Heaven’s Path nor the Eye of Insight this time, and he was relying solely on his own intelligence to clear this test. As such, he was lacking in confidence.

This was precisely the reason why his heart stopped when he found himself unable to put down the second stone and panicked.

But… Never in his dreams could he have imagined that not only would he clear the test, the puppet would even admit defeat on his own accord…

Just as he was about to say something, the old man before him bowed, and a voice echoed in his mind. “Even though you only made a single move, you sealed all possible paths of advancement and retreat. I’m unable to counter your move at all. Finally, Celestial Chess… has a successor!”

After which, a surge of information suddenly dived into his head.

Hong long!

With this surge of information, countless plausible chess formations and set ups became assimilated as part of his knowledge.

“Soul Impartation?”

Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

‘To be able to allow a puppet to conduct Soul Impartation, how powerful must the person who created the puppet be?’ Zhang Xuan thought with a grim expression. But before he could take a look at his newfound knowledge, the puppet before him suddenly fell motionless, as though it had lost all strength. Following which, countless cracks starting creeping across its body.

“This is bad!”

Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in alarm. He quickly rushed forward to stop the impending destruction.

In the information that was transferred to him, he learned of the meaning behind the existence of the puppet-to pass down the heritage of Celestial Chess. Now that it had accomplished its raison d’être, the lingering will left within the puppet vanished, resulting in its inability to continue functioning. Naturally, the puppet started to fall apart.

Just that…

Even if you are going to fall apart, at least do it after I’m done with my test, when no one is around! To fall apart at such a time… How am I supposed to face Hong shi?

Placing his arm on the old man, Zhang Xuan infused his zhenqi into him in hopes of forcefully keeping in intact. Yet, contrary to his expectations, the zhenqi he infused collided with the other party’s zhenqi.

Boom! The puppet immediately exploded into dust.

And the chessboard and gazebo also seemed to have lost its source of power, and they collapsed, turning into ruins.

“The heck…”

Zhang Xuan was frenzied.

I only did that out of goodwill so as to sustain the puppet for a moment longer… How could I’ve known that such a thing would occur?

But actually, thinking deeper into it, Zhang Xuan also realized his error. The puppet was sustained by a lingering will, and most likely, this lingering will was infused into it through the means of a soul oracle. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be possible for a lifeless puppet to be capable of Soul Impartation…

And his Heaven’s Path zhenqi happened to be the nemesis of soul oracles. What should have been a simple collapse turned into an explosion instead with the interference of his zhenqi…

Turning his gaze to the crowd, Zhang Xuan saw everyone staring at him with widened eyes, as though looking at a monster.

“Did you see that? Even the Celestial Chess wasn’t spared!”

“I told you that it would be destroyed right? And to think that you didn’t believe me…”

“How could Zhang shi explode the puppet even after it has admitted defeat? This is too much!”

“You’re right. But if he didn’t do so, how could he maintain his reputation as the God of Destruction?”

…

Everyone whispered with hushed voices.

They thought that perhaps Celestial Chess would be an exception, but in the end, just like the artifacts in the previous three tests, it was destroyed as well! It seemed as though regardless of how valuable an artifact, it only had one fate upon meeting Zhang shi… Utter destruction!

It doesn’t matter how sturdy or resilient you are…

“…”

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan spurted blood.

I really didn’t do it intentionally, I was really trying to save him…

I didn’t do any of these voluntarily, it was all just coincidence!

“He destroyed something yet again?”

Pavilion Master Kang and the others stared at one another. At this point, there was only one thought in their mind-relief. They couldn’t help but feel relieved that they didn’t use any valuable artifact in the selection round back then… Otherwise, their Master Teacher Pavilion would probably be bankrupt by now.

“My Celestial Chess…”

Hong shi’s lips trembled in agitation.

Only he knew how long it took for him to accrue sufficient wealth to obtain the Ghost Domain Illusory City and the Celestial Chess… and yet, in a single tournament, they were all destroyed by Zhang shi. In just a single day, he was reduced to a poor bloke.

He felt as though a knife was lodged deeply into his chest, leaving his heart bleeding profusely.

Even so, he did see what happened to the puppet clearly.

The puppet was crumbling even before Zhang shi approached it, and Zhang shi was indeed moving to secure it… It was just that his help only made things worse, and an explosion was induced.

But while he knew of this, there was no doubt that the reason behind the crumbling of the puppet was still due to Zhang shi…

If only he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have bothered with a preliminary round. He would have just gone ahead with duels in an elimination format instead!

It took a while before Hong shi was able to calm down. Exhaling deeply, he forcefully suppressed his indignation.

All he could do now was ask for some compensation from Pavilion Master Mo, and hope that the latter would offer something in exchange for the loss he had incurred… He didn’t know how else he could console himself at this point.

Hong shi glanced at the crowd and asked, “Given that the puppet has admitted defeat, it means that Zhang shi has fully comprehended the rules behind the Celestial Chess. Does anyone have any objections against this ruling?”

“No!” Everyone shook their heads.

While the fellow standing before the ruins of the Celestial Chess was indeed a God of Destruction, they had to admit that the other party did possess capability that an average person could hardly imagine.

“Since Zhang shi has completed his challenge, this signifies the end of the preliminary selection. Since it’s no longer early, let’s waste no time and proceed straight onto the dueling round!” Hong shi announced.

Since the four tests of the preliminary selection was over, it was time to move on to the dueling round.

“The rules for the dueling round are simple. The duels will be in pairs, and the sequence and matching will be decided by picking lots. The duel need not be a fight, it can also be based on the various core aspects of a master teacher, such as Soul Depth, knowledge impartation, understanding of cultivation, flaws identification, so on and so forth!

“The winner moves on to the next round whereas the loser is eliminated. This will go on until the top ten is out!”

Hong shi glanced at the participants and said, “Is there anything you wish to clarify?”

“No!”

The participants hurriedly shook their heads.

This was the usual format of the dueling round in the Master Teacher Tournament, and the rules were simple as well.

“Alright, we’ll start with picking lots. There are 27 people currently, and 16 people will move on to the next round. In other words… there will be five people who will move on to the next round straight without competing,” Hong shi said.

There is a fixed rule to dueling rounds stating that no matter how many participants there are initially, after the first round, it should be in a power of two, meaning 2, 4, 8, 16, 32… so on and so forth. This was to ensure greater fairness in the subsequent rounds, especially as the fights became more intense later on.

Only through this sequencing could it be guaranteed that only two people would be competing for the champion spot eventually.

“Alright, let’s begin picking lots!”

After introducing the rules, Hong shi waved his hand, and a master teacher walked up with a box prepared beforehand. The remaining twenty-seven participants came up one by one to pick a number.

Zhang Xuan was the same as well.

After a quick look, he shook his head.

It seemed his luck wasn’t too good; he hadn’t managed to draw the five empty slots that allowed for automatic advancement to the next round.

“I managed to draw the empty slot!”

Just as Zhang Xuan was lamenting his misfortune, he saw Ruohuan gongzi looking at him excitedly. Taking a look at the other party’s lot, he saw ‘A1, empty’ written on it.

On the other hand, written on Zhang Xuan’s lot was ‘D2′.

Seeing that everyone was done drawing the lots, Hong shi said, “The dueling round will be divided into four main sectors, namely A, B, C, and D, and each sector will be further divided into 1, 2, 3, and 4. Those who draw the same lots will be matched against one another, and those who have the word ’empty’ written on their lot will progress straight on to the top sixteen!

“Based on the ranking of the respective powers in the previous tournament, the participant with the higher ranking will have the privilege to choose the content of the duel. Of course, his opponent will have the right to object to the chosen dueling format as well, but the right to object will be limited to once per duel! After that right has been used once, he would have no choice but to accept the next proposed dueling format.”

This was similar to the rules employed in previous rules, so there was no need to elaborate on it.

“Alright, the first round will start now. Since A1 is empty, may the two participants who drew A2 proceed on to the stage in the A sector!”

Hong shi waved his hand, and the final area of fog veiling the stage dissipated, revealing four stages. They were labeled A, B, C, and D respectively.

Two young men holding onto the lot which they had just picked walked toward the stage labeled A.

Chapter 588: Challenging Fist Art

As they proceeded onto the stage, Hong shi urged the participants of the other three stages to proceed there as well.

The master teachers who drew B1, C1, and D1 got into their position.

Following which, they began to discuss the content of their duel.

Regarding this, Hong shi wouldn’t interfere at all.

And soon, they finished making their choices.

Of the four stages, two chose knowledge impartation, one chose Soul Depth, and the remaining one chose a physical duel.

A competition among master teachers extended way further than mere brute strength; their capability included their supporting occupations, Soul Depth, Impartation of Heaven’s Will, knowledge impartation, and many other aspects. If it was just a simple battle, there would be no need to make it so grand.

As such, there were actually very few master teachers who chose physical duel as a means to determine the victor.

“So, this is the real Master Teacher Tournament!” Zhang Xuan remarked in awe.

The previous round was just to weed out the less capable participants; what that was unfolding before him at this very instant was the true competition among master teachers.

As well as the true Master Teacher Tournament.

Gazing at the four stages, Zhang Xuan found a familiar face.

Song Chao!

Even though the preliminary selection wasn’t easy, he seemed to have achieved fairly decent results, thus advancing honorably to the dueling round.

The person he was matched with was a disciple of a sect. While that disciple was of similar cultivation realm to Song Chao, he had fared relatively poor in the preliminary round. Knowing that it was unlikely for him to emerge triumphant in other aspects, he, making full use of the advantage derived from the rules, proposed for a straightforward fight instead.

“Begin!”

The gong signaling the start of the match sounded, and the disciple immediately dashed straight toward Song Chao.

Trading blows, a huge wind gushed into their surroundings. Possessing similar cultivation realms, both of them stood their ground and it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.

Even though the stage wasn’t too big, there was formation around it. It was impossible for the duo to break the formation with their current cultivation realm, so they could fight as they pleased without any worries.

“It seems like… Song Chao will be able to advance to the next round!”

After looking at the duel for a moment, Zhang Xuan soon deduced that it was likely for Song Chao to triumph over this opponent.

While the duo was nearly equally-matched, Song Chao’s movements were much more flexible and careful, biding his time for an ideal opportunity to strike.

As long as his opponent showed the slightest opening out of anxiety, Song Chao would capitalize on the opportunity to defeat him swiftly.

Knowing the likely conclusion, Zhang Xuan turned his attention to one of the stages conducting the knowledge impartation duel instead.

Compared to Song Chao’s stage, where the competitors were driving their zhenqi to hurl fists at one another, this side seemed much more refined.

Twenty cultivators of differing cultivation realms were randomly picked from the square, and the competitors chose ten of them each to form a group.

After dividing the cultivators among the two competitors, they began to conduct their lesson via zhenqi telepathy so as to not interrupt one another.

The time limit was an incense’s time; whoever’s group experienced a greater degree of growth during this period of time would be deemed the winner.

This kind of competition was much more refined, and it seemed to be more aligned with the disposition of a teacher.

Seeing that it would take some time for the victor to be decided, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the stage where the competitors were competing on Soul Depth.

The two of them held onto a Stone of Insight each, and soon, numbers appeared on them-14.7 and 14.9. Naturally, the latter was deemed as the victor.

This was the simplest and most efficient dueling format.

But still, Soul Depth was the foundation of a master teacher, and most people were unwilling to have it publicly known. As such, it was very rare for participants to choose such a dueling format.

And soon, the first round was over. Just like what Zhang Xuan guessed, Song Chao won.

The two stages dueling via knowledge impartation also came to a conclusion. The one who fared the best induced a breakthrough in a cultivator among his group within the time limit and achieved victory. On the other stage, the master teacher won through a high overall evaluation score and advanced on to the next round.

At the end of the first round, there were some who celebrated, and similarly, there were those who looked gloomy as well. But indifferent to the results, Hong shi announced the lots for the next round.

“For the second round, will the competitors who drew A3, B3, C3, and D2 proceed on to the stage…”

B2 and C2 were empty slots.

Upon hearing that it was his turn, Zhang Xuan walked toward the ‘D’ stage.

“Zhang shi… drew D2? Why am I so unlucky?”

Seeing Zhang Xuan walk out from the crowd, a young man’s face suddenly warped, and he nearly cried on the spot.

He had also drawn D2, which meant that he was matched up against this God of Destruction.

“It is indeed unfortunate that you were paired with him for the very first match…” The mouth of the friend beside him also twitched.

This Zhang shi had been showing outstanding results since the start of the tournament, even destroying all of the artifacts through inconceivable means. If there was a list of competitors whom one didn’t want to be matched with, that fellow would surely be at the top.

At the current stage, his reputation was even greater than Luo Xuan’s.

To be matched with such a person in the first round, his luck was indeed terrible.

“What do I do now? Should I just forfeit? If I don’t forfeit, will he… destroy me too?” The young man asked his friend with a tearful face.

Given how that fellow tore apart everything before him, the young man was seriously frightened that he might be ripped into pieces if he were to stand against that God of Destruction. It was only a tournament, he had no desire to die so tragically…

“Cough cough, I don’t think he would go so far as to do it to a human too!” consoled his friend.

“But I also thought the same for the Celestial Chess as well…” the young man retorted.

“This…” His friend was tongue-tied.

That fellow was simply too frightening. If he had a choice, he would rather face the Otherworldly Demon once more than stand against that fellow.

In other words, the pressure he felt from facing Zhang Xuan even exceeded that from the Otherworldly Demon!

“It wasn’t easy for you to come to reach this stage, it would be unwise to forfeit at this point. Don’t worry, even though that Zhang shi is incredible, he can’t possibly be infallible!”

His friend patted his shoulder and said, “In any case, the Myriad Kingdom Alliance fared worse than our sect in the previous tournament. As long as you propose a dueling format that benefits you, there might still be a chance of victory. Once you succeed, with this momentum, you will surely be able to strive for the top eight at least!”

After a moment of contemplation, the young man nodded his head.

“That… you’re right!”

Everyone would surely be watching his duel with Zhang Xuan. If he could achieve victory, not only would his confidence be inflated, he might also instill fear in the other competitors as the person who defeated the God of Destruction. With this advantage over his competitors, he just might be able to get into the top ten.

After all, psychological warfare was an essential aspect of a duel as well.

“Fine, for glory!”

Understanding that only with risk could one achieve something great, the young man gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

While he was still frightened, as a 4-star master teacher, he was still able to get himself back into condition swiftly.

“Then let’s quickly analyze Zhang shi’s weakness then…”

Seeing the young man regain his fighting spirit, his friend nodded his head in commendation. “In the first test, Zhang shi broke the Ghost Domain Illusory City. This means that the Mystic Gate Hidden Jia contained within the artifact is ineffective toward him, hinting that he has excellent mental fortitude and eye of discernment!”

“Un!”

Finding the words rational, the young man nodded his head.

The pitch-black Ghost Domain Illusory City was filled with spirit beings, and without outstanding eyesight, it would be impossible for one to even navigate within it. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for one to destroy it so easily even if they intended to do so!

“You are unlikely to defeat him in that aspect, so… avoid any duels that concerns one’s vision or discernment ability.”

The young man added, “Right! So that means that flaws identification and cultivation guidance are out of question!”

His friend continued his analysis. “Ok. Moving on to the second test, he managed to persuade the Otherworldly Demon via his Impartation of Heaven’s Will. This means that his Soul Depth is extraordinary… Therefore, you shouldn’t compete with him in Soul Depth or knowledge impartation!”

To be able to persuade an Otherworldly Demon to commit suicide with just mere words, this meant that the other party’s Soul Depth and mastery of Impartation of Heaven’s Will had reached an astounding level. If the young man were to compete with Zhang shi over this, it was likely that the scene with the Otherworldly Demon might replay.

His friend summarized his analysis and gave his final evaluation.

“As for the third test and fourth test… Even though very little can be said about those tests, it shows that he possesses outstanding wisdom and intelligence. As such, it is likely that his understanding of cultivation is superior. Thus… in conclusion, I think that you should just compete with him in a physical duel!”

“Indeed. If I were to challenge him in a physical duel, considering that he’s only at Yin-Yang realm pinnacle while I’m at Clarifying Turbidity realm intermediate stage, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to triumph over him!” The young man’s eyes lit up upon seeing a ray of hope.

Since there was no way to win via the other dueling format, that leaves him with only one option… Physical duel!

Considering that his cultivation was higher than the other party, he was at an advantageous position.

“But… he has a chance to reject the dueling format that I propose once. What if he were to do so?” After celebrating for a short moment, the young man suddenly thought of a possibility and his smile collapsed.

Even though the Myriad Kingdom Alliance didn’t have any say in the selection of the dueling format, especially since they were in the last place the previous Master Teacher Tournament, their participants were still entitled the right to reject a proposed dueling format once.

If he were to propose a physical duel and the other party disagrees to it, wouldn’t he be limited to those few other dueling formats once again?

His friend smiled.

“Are you a fool? There are many types of physical duel! You can simply propose a fist duel, and after he rejects it, you can go on and propose a sword duel. There is no way he’ll be able to reject you then. Given that you’re ranked first in terms of swordsmanship in our sect, there is no way that you will lose to him in a sword duel!”

“That’s right!”

Regaining his confidence, the young man’s eyes lit up once more. “Thank you for your suggestions. When I defeat him and proceed on to the top ten, I’ll surely pay back this favor. Wait for the news of my victory!”

Saying which, he walked over to the D stage with a confident smile on his face.

…

“I am Wu Tianhao from Soaring Cloud Sect. May Zhang shi guide me well!”

Stepping onto the stage, the young man clasped his fist.

“Myriad Kingdom Alliance, Zhang Xuan!” Zhang Xuan nodded in response. “May I know what kind of dueling format Wu shi has chosen?”

“I wish to challenge you in a fist duel!” Following by his friend’s advice, the corners of Wu Tianhao’s lips crept up.

“Fist duel?” Zhang Xuan nodded his head. “Sure!”

“You don’t agree to it? Fine, we’ll have a… Ah?”

Wu Tianhao was excitedly prattling on when he suddenly came to realization and froze. “Did you just… agree to my proposed dueling format?”

“I did, you proposed a fist duel, right? Let’s start then!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

In truth, Zhang Xuan could tell what the other party was up to-it was simply too obvious! But in any case, it didn’t make a difference to him at all.

“…” Wu Tianhao’s body swayed weakly.

Why can’t you follow common sense? That’s cheating, too, you know!

You’re supposed to reject my initial proposal so that we can conduct a sword duel…

How can you agree to it so readily!

I was thinking that I could defeat you with my ethereal swordsmanship, but you just had to wreck my plans…

But it’s fine this way as well! Even though my fist art is lacking as compared to my sword art, it isn’t too weak either. At the very most, I’ll just have to use my full strength from the very start. Let’s see how you’re going to withstand that!

The other party was two small cultivation realms weaker than him, and further, there was a qualitative difference between Yin-Yang realm and Clarifying Turbidity realm as well. As such, Wu Tianhao didn’t believe that Zhang Xuan could possibly win the fist duel.

“Since you’ve agreed to it, let’s start then!”

Having made up his mind, Wu Tianhao drove his cultivation, and in an instant, the aura surrounding him surged. For an instant, an image of a majestic tiger stepping out of the woods came into the minds of the onlooker. Clenching his fists tightly, he charged forward.

Chapter 589: Accidentally Used Too Much Force

“What? Why did Zhang shi agree to a duel of fist art?”

Seeing the situation on the stage clearly, Pavilion Master Kang panicked.

The main reason why he didn’t think that Zhang shi would be able to win the champion spot was because he knew that such a thing would happen.

In the end, the latter’s cultivation was simply too weak. This weakness of his would surely be exploited by his opponents.

The foundation to fighting was one’s cultivation, and no matter how formidable Zhang shi’s Soul Depth or other qualities were, it would be of minimal help to him in a straightforward duel!

“Indeed, he was definitely rash to have accepted the duel…”

Su shi and Ling shi remarked with an awful complexion.

While the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, given its ranking in the previous tournament, didn’t have any say in the dueling format, Zhang shi still had an opportunity to reject the dueling format. Even though the other party proposed a physical duel, he could have rejected it!

On the other hand, Zhao Feiwu had already seen through the ploy of the master teachers and smiled bitterly in response.

“Actually… it doesn’t make a difference at all!”

“Hmm?” Frowning, the group turned around to look at Zhao Feiwu.

As long as it wasn’t a physical duel, given Zhang shi’s astounding talents in all other aspects, there was no way he would lose!

So why wouldn’t it make a difference?

“Knowing that the greatest weakness of Zhang shi is his cultivation realm, how could the other party possibly give up on such an ideal opportunity? If Zhang shi had rejected the duel of fist art, there’s a high chance that the other party would’ve proposed a duel of spear, a duel of saber, or something along those lines… He might be able to avoid it once, but he wouldn’t be able to do it the second time!” Zhao Feiwu said.

Even though she had never been to a Master Teacher Tournament before, she had read many books on it, and she had a good grasp on its rules.

“This…”

The faces of Su shi, Pavilion Master Kang, and the others froze.

They had overlooked this due to their anxiety.

Besides, as honorable master teachers, they didn’t expect Zhang shi’s opponent to actually exploit the loopholes in the rules in such a manner.

Upon realizing this fact from Zhao Feiwu’s words, their faces immediately puffed crimson in rage.

“Despicable!”

Ling shi bellowed, “How can they be so despicable!”

“But they are still playing within the rules. In the end, this is still a tournament after all. It is natural that they would use whatever means they could to achieve victory.” Pavilion Master Kang shook his head. “We can only hope for a miracle to happen now…”

“Miracle? How can a miracle happen so easily? Putting aside how Zhang shi has barely reached Yin-Yang realm pinnacle and it is unlikely that he has fully reinforced his cultivation yet, just the fact that there is a huge gap of two small cultivation realms between them already makes it nigh impossible for him to achieve victory…” Su shi shook his head.

There was a huge difference even in every small cultivation realm of the Transcendent Mortal realm, not to mention, a full cultivation realm. A Yin-Yang pinnacle cultivator only possesses 800,000 ding of strength whereas a Clarifying Turbidity realm intermediate stage expert harnesses an immense might of 1,200,000 ding. That was a difference of 400,000 ding! This was a gap that mere luck couldn’t hope to cover.

“Indeed, the gap between the two of them is simply too great. I don’t think it is possible for Zhang shi to reverse the situation as well… Ah?”

Pavilion Master Kang shook his head in dismay as the thought of Zhang shi falling in defeat dominated his mind. However, in the next instant, his body suddenly stiffened, and his eyes slowly widened in shock.

“What’s wrong?”

Su shi was baffled by Pavilion Master Kang’s sudden reaction.

“Look at the stage…” said Pavilion Master Kang hurriedly.

“At the stage?” Su shi quickly raised his gaze, only to see Zhang Xuan standing alone on the D stage. His opponent, Wu Tianhao, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is the opponent he is fighting against?” Su shi asked bewilderedly.

How in the world did that fellow disappear in the blink of an eye?

One must know that leaving the stage after the start of the duel meant instant disqualification!

“He… He…”

With trembling lips, Pavilion Master Kang pointed in the sky and said, “He’s flying up there…”

“Flying?”

Guangdang!

Su shi and the others nearly fell to the ground.

Flying? Are you saying that that fellow is a Saint?

The group traced Pavilion Master Kang’s finger and looked up, and in an instant, a bizarre expression appeared on their faces.

There was indeed a black human silhouette soaring freely in the sky. At this point, he was already around a hundred meters above ground level, but his ascension didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

If that fellow in the sky was planning an attack, there was no reason for him to soar so high up. On top of that, he was shrieking non-stop as though he had seen a ghost. Furthermore, he was ascending backward instead of forward, as though a ball which was sent flying with a kick.

“What’s going on?” Su shi could no longer hold back his intrigue any longer.

“Zhang shi… lightly pushed him up, and he just suddenly… started flying!” Pavilion Master Kang’s lips were twitching uncontrollably.

Even though he had seen it happen personally, he still found it hard to believe his eyes.

That Clarifying Turbidity realm intermediate stage cultivator had driven his cultivation to its maximum capacity and shot a punch straight at Zhang shi.

The might of the fist art was so great that even an expert of Pavilion Master Kang’s caliber would have to go on the defensive. But… Zhang shi didn’t even attempt to avoid the punch at all. Instead, he faced it with a casual rising trajectory palm strike, and in the next moment…

That fellow was already soaring into the sky…

“Lightly pushed him up?”

Su shi, Ling shi, Jin Conghai, and the others stared at one another in confusion. They felt as though they were listening to a foreign language, and in an instant, they were all left dumbfounded.

Transcendent Mortal 4-dan intermediate stage, that was roughly their cultivation realm as well. Furthermore, the other party was a master teacher like them, meaning his eye of discernment and capability wouldn’t pale in comparison to them at all. And yet, with a light push from Zhang shi, he was actually sent flying?

Why did it sound as though it had come out from a fantasy novel? No matter how they tried to process this information, it simply sounded too ridiculous to them!

…

They weren’t the only ones who were left dumbstruck. At this very instant, the entire square was completely silent.

In truth, everyone also felt angered by Wu Tianhao’s shameless action of proposing a duel of fist art, but upon seeing this sight, their eyeballs nearly popped out.

What just happened?

They had considered the possibility of Zhang shi achieving a victory, but that should have been a difficult one after trading innumerable blows. Yet, to send Wu Tianhao flying with a light push, as though he was simply throwing a pebble, could this all be a dream?

When did a Clarifying Turbidity realm expert become such a pushover?

“No, it’s because of Zhang shi’s formidable eye of discernment!”

“He used Wu shi’s strength against him to send him flying!”

“That’s right. He saw through the other party’s technique in an instant and used the momentum of the other party’s movements against him to send him flying… This technique is the ideal example of ‘curbing force with skill’!”

“But everything happened in an instant, how did he manage to react so quickly?”

Soon, there were quite a few people who managed to put the pieces together, but this did little to alleviate their shock.

Everything was over in a flash, but there were a fair number of 4-star master teachers present in the square, and every single one of them possessed outstanding eye of discernment.

Wu Tianhao had put all of his strength into that single fist, but… As the saying goes, ‘the branch that does not bend is the first to break’. While thoughtless flexibility can land one in a disadvantageous position, a lack of flexibility can leave one vulnerable. Zhang shi had seen through the flaws of his battle technique instantaneously and exploited them. Thus, even before his fist could even connect, he was already sent flying.

And so… the sight of the flying man occurred.

Seeing this sight, the eyelids of Wu Tianhao’s friend twitched violently, and he nearly spewed blood.

If only he’d known that this fellow was so formidable, he would have never proposed a physical duel. Even if Wu Tianhao wasn’t injured by that palm strike, judging from how high he was flying… even if he wasn’t crushed into minced meat, he would surely be crippled.

Could it be that… he was the legendary ‘pig-like teammate’?

Just as he was filled with self-reproach, Wu Tianhao finally came to the peak of his ascension, and began falling instead. He fell headfirst into the roof of the Alliance Head Residence, and amidst a cloak of dust and screams of agony reminiscent of butchered pigs, he disappeared from view.

“Junior Tianhao…”

Leaping in fright, Wu shi’s friend hurriedly dashed toward the direction where Wu shi disappeared. But before he could get far, a voice tinged with embarrassment was suddenly heard from the D stage. “Um, pardon me… I accidentally used too much force…”

Pu!

Accidentally used too much force?

Hearing those words, everyone nearly collapsed to the ground.

You are the weaker one here, the one with the lower cultivation realm. You knocked a person with higher cultivation realm flying, and you still said that you accidentally used too much force…

The more Wu shi’s friend thought about it, the more frenzied he felt. It was as if that fellow wasn’t content with just smashing through every single test in the preliminary selection. At the start of the dueling round, he even had to knock a cultivator two small cultivation realms higher than him up into the air…

What kind of monster was this fellow?

Where did the fairness in the world go to?

While he was feeling so stifled that he could go insane, Zhang Xuan was plagued with frustration as well.

That fellow simply charged straight at him with all of his might as soon as the duel began. If it was anyone else, they might have really been forced into a disadvantageous position instantly. But in truth, that attack posed no threat to him at all.

With a might of 1,000,000 ding from his zhenqi cultivation and 1,600,000 ding from his soul cultivation, he was able to harness an immense might of 2,600,000 ding in total. This was on par with a Consonant Spirit realm intermediate stage expert, it would be a miracle if that fellow could withstand it.

But at the same time, he knew that if he were to send the other party flying in a frontal confrontation, it might incur some doubts. As such, he chose to utilize the Eye of Insight to search for an opening in the other party’s technique so as to throw him off the stage…

However, he still underestimated that fellow’s strength. On top of that, he hadn’t had many opportunities to test out his strength ever since the advancement in his cultivation, and thus, he didn’t have a clear grasp of his strength yet. As such, he accidentally put in a little more force…

Falling from such a high altitude, even if the other party was a Clarifying Turbidity realm intermediate stage cultivator, he would still suffer grievous wounds. While it was unlikely that he would die from this ordeal, he would probably be bound to his bed for the next two months.

Honestly speaking, Zhang Xuan really didn’t do it intentionally.

His face-off with clone, which ended in a tragic defeat for him, had given him a skewed impression of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan experts. How could he have known that that fellow would actually fly so far…

“Forget it. Hong shi, does this count as my victory?”

Since what was done was done, there was no use being conflicted over it. Thus, Zhang Xuan turned his attention to Hong shi and asked.

“Y-yes, you’ve won!”

Hong shi’s lips twitched.

It seemed the other party’s destructive capability didn’t differentiate between artifacts and humans…

He wasn’t the only one harboring such thoughts. The eyebrows of the other participating master teachers on the stage were also twitching uncontrollably.

“By no means should we ever fight with this fellow!”

“You’re right, but… if we don’t challenge him to a physical duel, what else can we challenge him in?”

“I’ve no idea as well. But in any case, a physical duel is out of question. Otherwise, who knows what kind of tragic fate could befall us…”

…

While everyone was astounded by Zhang shi’s amazing feats in the preliminary selection, they didn’t think that he was much of a threat. After all, the other party was a mere Yin-Yang realm pinnacle cultivator. As long as they unleashed their full strength, defeating him shouldn’t be a problem at all… But reality couldn’t be any further than that…

Wu Tianhao was a clear example.

Just thinking about Wu Tianhao’s plight was already sufficient to send shivers down their spines.

Since Zhang Xuan finished his duel early, he turned his attention to the other stages.

In this round, his pair was the only one who resorted to a physical duel. The other pairs chose to battle it out through other means.

In fact, there was even a pair who chose the unconventional ‘discourse duel’.

On top of a deep understanding toward cultivation, master teachers must also possess broad knowledge.

The format of discourse duel is similar to Pill Discourse. Both parties would pose questions to one another, and the side that failed to answer correctly first would be deemed the loser.

To ensure greater equity, the duel consisted of a total of three rounds, and the side that won two rounds was the overall winner.

In the discourse duel, the other master teacher from Fleeting Cloud Sect achieved victory.

After realizing that there were actually minimal differences among the different dueling formats, Zhang Xuan quickly lost his interest. Sometime later, Hong shi’s voice sounded.

“Alright, since we’ve decided on the top sixteen, we’ll take an hour of rest before proceeding on to the next round to determine the top eight!”

“The results of the top sixteen are out?”

Just as Zhang Xuan was curious to see who was in the top sixteen, he suddenly noticed Ruohuan gongzi walking over with a worried expression.

Chapter 590: Zhao Feiwu’s Analysis

“Zhang shi…”

Walking up to Zhang Xuan, Ruohuan gongzi hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, “I have something to request of you!”

“Feel free to speak!” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

While he did have some misunderstandings with this proud genius of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, they had resolved most of their grudges back in the Glacier Plain Court. Furthermore, as fellow participants representing Myriad Kingdom Alliance, if he could be of help, he wouldn’t reject it.

“Initially, I don’t bear much hope in reaching the top ten. However… now that I’m already in the top sixteen, if I don’t at least give it a try, I will regret it for life…” Ruohuan gongzi’s face reddened.

Having picked ‘A1’, he was able to advance to the next round unconditionally.

Humans are born with desire. If he had been defeated in the previous round, he wouldn’t have been so conflicted. Now that he was already in the top sixteen-a victory away from getting into the top ten-he couldn’t help but harbor some hope.

“… But the one I’m fighting against in the next match is Qin Lei of White Helios Sect!”

With a distressed expression, Ruohuan gongzi uttered gloomily, “I don’t have the confidence to defeat him!”

Zhang Xuan turned to look at Ruohuan gongzi and asked, “Qin Lei? The person who is ranked third on the list?”

He had seen this name on the list that Pavilion Master Kang gave him previously. Qin Lei was a genius of White Helios Sect. As a 4-star pinnacle master teacher and a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle expert, he was only below Fleeting Cloud Sect’s Luo Xuan and the Frigid Gale Sect’s Liao Wuzhi on the list, and he was a popular contender for the champion spot as well.

“Yes!” Ruohuan gongzi nodded his head.

“If that’s the case, it would indeed be difficult for you to defeat him!” Zhang Xuan frowned.

While Ruohuan gongzi improved immensely in the past two months, reaching Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle as well, it would still be difficult for him to compete against disciples of huge sects like his current opponent.

After all, there was a huge gap in the resources they were entitled to over many years, and two months of last-minute training was far from sufficient to cover the gap.

“Thus, I wish to seek Zhang shi’s guidance… Regardless of whether I’m able to defeat him or not, you’ll have my gratitude!” Ruohuan gongzi quickly said.

Zhang shi had truly fared impressively in this tournament. Even the most popular contenders such as Luo Xuan and Liao Wuzhi found themselves being outshone.

If there was someone who could bring him the closest to success, it wasn’t his teacher Pavilion Master Kang but the young man standing before him at this instant.

“I can offer you pointers, just that…”

At this point, Zhang Xuan shook his head before continuing, “… given that we don’t even know the content of the duel, how can I offer you any effective pointers?”

There were many different dueling formats to the Master Teacher Tournament, and given that the Myriad Kingdom Alliance was ranked in the last place in the previous tournament, Ruohuan gongzi didn’t have the right to choose. Under such circumstances, he could only go along with the proposed dueling format from the other party, so how could Zhang Xuan offer any effective guidance?

After all, the bare minimum to preparing a winning hand was to know what cards the other party had up his sleeves. Otherwise, even if a 6-star or 7-star master teacher were to be present here, he would surely be completely helpless in the face of this situation.

Even if Zhang Xuan wished to be of help, there was nothing he could do!

Ruohuan gongzi hesitated for a moment before saying, “In the previous round, the person he faced was Wu Qing from True Breath Sect. The both of them were nearly equals, so he proposed knowledge impartation and won through it. Against me… I think there’s a good chance he might choose a physical duel so as to be spared the effort!”

Wu Qing was also another master teacher whose name was listed in the top ten of the list, but due to his bad luck, he met with Qin Lei in the very first round and ended up being eliminated.

As the both of them were nearly equally-matched, Qin Lei proposed knowledge impartation.

But against Ruohuan gongzi, it was unlikely that Qin Lei would go through that much trouble; the chances were that he would outright propose a physical duel.

Even though the both of them were Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle, the other party had more years of experience behind him. Not to mention, the resources that White Helios Sect provided the other party was far greater than Ruohuan gongzi’s. Thus, it was likely for Ruohuan gongzi to be the weaker one in all aspects, be it battle technique or power control.

As such, his guess was actually rather logical. There was indeed a high possibility that the other party would propose a physical duel against him.

“This…”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

If it was really a physical duel, then things could be solved easily. It was a walk in the park for him to raise the other party’s fighting prowess up a notch within the next hour. However… what if it wasn’t a physical duel?

Wouldn’t all preparation be done in vain?

Just as Zhang Xuan was just about to say something, Pavilion Master Kang called over to them.

“Zhang shi, Ruohuan, have some food first!”

Turning around, they realized that most of the master teachers had already departed from the stage to rest their wearied bodies and regain their energy.

“Let’s head down first!”

There was no use discussing this matter when nothing was confirmed at all. Thus, the duo walked down the stage.

The Alliance Head Residence had prepared quite a luxurious spread. There was even spirit beast meat, an extremely effective nourishment in recovering one’s expended zhenqi.

Upon seeing the feast, Zhang Xuan felt his stomach grumble.

“What were you two talking about?” Zhao Feiwu asked the duo with a light smile.

“Oh, Ruohuan gongzi is facing Qin Lei from the White Helios Sect in the next match, and he hopes that I can offer him some pointer for it. However, we don’t know what dueling format the other party is likely to choose,” Zhang Xuan replied as he filled his mouth with the delicacies before him.

“What kind of dueling format?” Zhao Feiwu cupped her chin, and after a moment of contemplation, she replied, “I think that… it is likely to be comprehension of cultivation!”

“Comprehension of cultivation?” Zhang Xuan, Ruohuan gongzi, and the others in the surroundings turned to look at her.

In truth, most of them had agreed with Ruohuan gongzi’s view that the other party would choose physical duel. As such, they were intrigued to see that someone had a different viewpoint from theirs.

“Comprehension of cultivation? But that is a very troublesome duel to hold, and the evaluation is extremely tricky as well. Very few people would choose that kind of dueling format!” Su shi replied.

There were many ways a comprehension of cultivation duel could be held, such as interpreting a battle technique, interpreting a cultivation technique, and so on… But regardless of which one it was, it was extremely time-consuming and effort-consuming. More importantly, there were many differing viewpoints regarding the topic, and they could all be correct at the same time. In other words, as long as one’s interpretation wasn’t too off the mark, it would be hard to decide on a winner.

On top of that, as 4-star pinnacle master teachers, it was impossible for their understanding of cultivation to be too far off the mark. As such, there were very few who would opt for such a troublesome dueling format.

“Tell us more about it!”

But still, while the princess before him was lacking in cultivation, Zhang Xuan knew that she was an avid reader, and she had shown that she was particularly astute in guessing the thoughts of others on multiple occasions as well.

“The basis behind my deduction is simple-it depends on what he hopes to achieve in this tournament!”

Zhao Feiwu chuckled mysteriously.

“What he hopes to achieve?” Ruohuan gongzi was taken aback. “Wouldn’t it be winning the champion seat?”

The greatest glory one could derive from the Master Teacher Tournament would be to win the champion seat. As one of the most popular contenders for the position, it would be natural for Qin Lei to be eyeing that seat!

“You’re right, but what do you know is his greatest obstruction to his goal at the moment?” Zhao Feiwu’s eyes narrowed into crescents as she turned her beautiful face toward the young man before her.

“You mean… Zhang shi?”

There was no one present in this square who would offer a different answer than that at this point.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to use the word ‘rampage’ to summarize Zhang Xuan’s performance in the preliminary selection. And after the first dueling round, there was no one else who thought that they could exploit his low cultivation. With this, he had become the strongest contender for the champion seat, standing above even Luo Xuan.

Thus, the greatest obstruction Qin Lei would face in becoming the champion was indubitably him.

“Indeed. Since his goal is Zhang shi, naturally, he doesn’t view you as a threat. Thus, in the first place… he has never really thought of you as an equal before!” Zhao Feiwu said.

Ruohuan gongzi’s face reddened.

Even though those words were indeed hurtful, he knew that it was true.

Given the disparity between both of their capabilities, the other party indeed had nothing to fear of him.

“However, given that you came from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, and his goal is to defeat Zhang shi… there is a good chance he will use Zhang shi’s greatest strength to defeat you so as to taunt him!” Zhao Feiwu continued.

“My greatest strength?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback by those words.

“Un. Even though you have shown outstanding aptitude in multiple aspects such as your temperament and wisdom, without a doubt, your greatest strength is your intelligence and Impartation of Heaven’s Will!”

“That’s right!” Pavilion Master Kang nodded his head.

Zhang shi had performed impressively throughout the tournament, but these two factors were what that left the deepest mark on the onlookers.

Using Impartation of Heaven’s Will to persuade an Otherworldly Demon to kill himself; defeating the puppet of the Celestial Chest with a single move.

On the other hand, destroying the Ghost Domain Illusory City didn’t really reflect much about Zhang shi’s capability, especially given that the other participants hadn’t had the chance to undergo it themselves, whereas memorizing twenty thousand books was due to his strong background. These two feats paled in comparison to the former two.

“Impartation of Heaven’s Will is highly tied to one’s Soul Depth, so even if he thought that he could defeat you in that aspect, it would unlikely to be spectacular… but intelligence is different! A master teacher’s intelligence is usually reflected through the depth of his understanding of cultivation, and if he could perform outstandingly in that aspect, he might be able to steal the spotlight from Zhang shi. This is a good opportunity for him, so I believe that there’s a good chance that he will grasp it!”

Zhao Feiwu chuckled as she revealed her analysis. “Rather, I think that a physical duel would be one of the less likely options for him. After all, it is unseemly for a refined master teacher to be engaged in physical brawls. It wouldn’t reflect well on him even if he were to win!”

“You’re right!”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Zhao Feiwu seemed to have grasped the other party’s thoughts accurately, and her words seemed to fit perfectly as though a jigsaw puzzle.

“Your analysis is right, but how would a duel involving comprehension of cultivation be carried out? After all, we can’t possibly replace a manual on the spot and decipher it…” Ruohuan gongzi asked in bafflement.

The most direct way for to determine whose comprehension of cultivation is deeper would be for the duo to decipher the same book, but… which book would they choose? After all, wouldn’t the result be biased no matter which book is chosen?

“There are other ways to measure one’s comprehension of cultivation. If I recall correctly, there’s a dueling format known as… ‘Flaw Identification’, right?” Zhao Feiwu replied with a smile.

“Flaw identification? You mean… the dueling format where both sides each execute a battle technique, and the respective opponents point out the flaws in the executed technique, and whoever manages to point out more flaws is the winner?”

Ruohuan gongzi was stunned. “But… that requires one to have an exceptional eye of discernment and profound comprehension of cultivation. Usually, only higher rank master teachers would do it for lower rank master teachers. For him to point out my flaws…”

He didn’t finish his words, but what he wanted to express couldn’t be any clearer.

They were both 4-star pinnacle master teacher. For the other party to actually boast of correcting Ruohuan gongzi’s mistake, wasn’t he being a little too arrogant?

“Indeed. Don’t worry, since this Qin Lei wishes to win the spotlight and outshine Zhang shi, there is a very good chance he will choose this dueling format!” Zhao Feiwu smiled.

Since the other party was aiming for the champion seat, he had to shatter the heavy pressure Zhang Xuan was exerting on him first. And for this, Ruohuan gongzi, who was a fellow representative of Myriad Kingdom Alliance, served as the perfect stepping stone.

Only by using the most arrogant way to step down on Ruohuan gongzi would his own strength be emphasized. Only through this way could he finally get on equal footing with Zhang shi.

“…”

Ruohuan gongzi had a bitter look on his face.

What was this?

He thought that he would at least be respected as a fellow competitor in the Master Teacher Tournament given the massive rise in his cultivation, but in the end, the other party only regarded as a mere stepping stone.

“The heck, I’ll screw him over!”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he felt. Gritting his teeth, Ruohuan gongzi turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, “If this is the dueling format, does Zhang shi have any ideas as to how I can achieve victory?”

To actually challenge a master teacher of equivalent rank to a match of flaw identification… the other party was indeed hubristic. But while Ruohuan gongzi hated to admit it, he had no confidence to face the other party in such a match-off.

Thus, he entrusted his hopes to the young man before him who had created miracles time and time again.

“Ideas?” Zhang Xuan frowned. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up, and a peculiar smile appeared on his face. “I do have an idea, but it won’t be easy to carry out!”

“Oh? As long as I can defeat it, I’d do anything no matter how difficult it is!”

Hearing that the other party had an idea in mind, Ruohuan gongzi’s eyes lit up. He quickly stood up and bowed sincerely. “Zhang shi, I humbly seek your guidance…”

“Er… Alright then!”

Zhang Xuan casually picked up the bowl of meat soup which he was half-done with and passed it over. “Take this and pour it over your opponent!”

“Ah? Pour it… over Qin shi?”

Ruohuan gongzi’s eyes widened in shock.