Hu!
As soon as Zhang Xuan stepped through the door, a puppet at the very end of the room stood up.
Its appearance looked no different from a real person. With its snowy hair and beard, it resembled a human in his sixties.
Most likely, it’s constructed in the form of Division Head Feng, Zhang Xuan deduced.
Division Head Feng was probably a celestial designer as well, which was not surprising since he came from the Master Teacher Pavilion in the first place. Otherwise, it should have been impossible for him to craft such a lifelike puppet.
If Zhang Xuan had not known in advance, he would have really thought that the figure before him was a true human.
“The battle technique you have chosen is the Grand Constellation Finger. If you are able to withstand my attack with just the Grand Constellation Finger, you will have cleared the trial. Otherwise, you’ll have to leave and try again next time,” the puppet said in an impassive tone.
“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded as he took a step forward.
Pitting the same battle technique against a puppet of the same cultivation realm, even if he did not use his Eye of Insight and Library of Heaven’s Path, he was still absolutely confident that he would be the one to emerge victorious in the very end.
…
“Reporting to Hall Master Xing, it appears that Division Head Wei has taken Sun laoshi to the Martial Arts Division.”
Hall Master Xing and the others had led Elder Qi to the Inner Breath Division, but Zhang Xuan and Division Head Wei were nowhere to be found. Thus, he had turned his sight toward Shi Hao, and he soon received his answer.
Hall Master Xing frowned. “What are they doing at the Martial Arts Division?”
“I’m not too sure either.” Shi Hao shook his head.
“Hold on a moment. Did you just address Sun shi as… Sun laoshi?” The sharp Division Head Liao swiftly noticed that there was something amiss with Shi Hao’s words.
Addressing Sun Qiang as Sun shi was a respectful way to refer to master teachers, but Sun laoshi meant something even deeper than that. It was a way to address one who had enlightened them greatly in their path.
“Yes, Sun laoshi has given us invaluable pointers in our cultivation; we are extremely grateful to him.” Shi Hao nodded.
“This…” Hall Master Xing and the others glanced at one another and frowned.
It was one thing for a spirit awakener to provide pointers to combat masters, but to win the respect of so many of them and have them acknowledge him as their teacher simultaneously… Just what in the world had happened?
Soon, upon clarifying the situation, the trio was dumbfounded.
Destroying the Trial of Inner Breath with a single palm strike and subduing Shi Hao with just a finger… Just how much zhenqi did Sun shi possess?
“Let’s head to the Martial Arts Division to take a look!” said Hall Master Xing, intrigued, before quickly making his way over to the Martial Arts Division.
Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the Trial of Martial Arts.
“You’re all here!” At this moment, Division Head Wei suddenly noticed the old man standing alongside Hall Master Xing and Division Head Liao, and his eyes lit up as he quickly clasped his fist respectfully. “Elder Qi, you are fine?”
“Un.” Elder Qi nodded. “Where is Sun shi?”
“Ah, he just entered the trial,” Division Head Wei replied with a smile.
“Trial?” Hall Master Xing frowned.
“Sun shi is trying to find some Saint 2-dan cultivation technique manuals, but there aren’t any suited for him in the Inner Breath Division. Thus, we came over to look for Division Head Feng, but he happened to not be around. So, Sun shi decided to challenge the Trial of Martial Arts so as to gain access to Division Head Feng’s collection of books!” Division Head Wei swiftly summarized the happenings.
Recalling when they faced the young man earlier and the astounding sight they had witnessed at the Inner Breath Division, Hall Master Xing stroked his beard and remarked, “With his strength, clearing the trial shouldn’t be a problem!”
A genius of Sun shi’s caliber would not face any trouble clearing the Trial of Martial Arts. There was no need to worry about him.
Hall Master Xing continued after a brief pause. “Speaking of which, didn’t Division Head Feng return to the Martial Arts Division right after our conference? He usually spends his time cooped up within the Martial Arts Division, and there have been no reports saying that he has sneaked out like the others. It’s a little weird that he isn’t around here.”
Except for collecting new cultivation techniques and battle technique manuals, Division Head Feng’s greatest hobby was to isolate himself in his living quarters to study battle techniques. In fact, there were many times when Hall Master Xing had invited him to various formal occasions, only to be rejected for this reason. Considering how he did not defect to the Xuanxuan Faction like Division Head Zhou and Division Head Wu, it seemed a little bizarre for him not to be in the Martial Arts Division.
“I was also wondering the same thing,” Division Head Wei said.
He had been a little perplexed by the matter when he heard from Jiao Tan that Division Head Feng wasn’t around. However, out of respect for Division Head Feng’s privacy, he had chosen not to enquire too deeply.
“Old Feng actually willingly came out of his den? Why do I find that inconceivable? Wait a moment, could it be…” In the middle of his words, Division Head Liao suddenly recalled a matter and froze.
“What’s wrong?”
Noting that Division Head Liao had thought of something, Hall Master Xing and the others quickly turned their attention to him.
“As you know, I have a close relationship with Old Feng. He regularly comes over to seek my help in clearing his inner demons. On one of these occasions, he told me that he has a bizarre habit.” Division Head Liao spoke with twitching lips. “From time to time, he hides in the Trial of Martial Arts and pretends to be the puppet so as to assess his combat masters personally.”
“Pretends to be the puppet?” Everyone was stunned.
They had not expected to hear such words.
“That’s right. The Trial of Martial Arts is usually conducted by the puppet crafted by Old Feng, but facing multiple combat masters every single day, it inevitably accumulates damage and breaks down from time to time. In such cases, he suppresses his cultivation and acts as the puppet to battle with the challenging combat masters.”
Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, Division Head Liao continued. “I only heard of this matter from him once though, so I took it as a joke. But… could it be true?”
A division head pretending to be a puppet in a trial was not a particularly shocking incident. Naturally, Division Head Feng would not tell such a secret to just anyone, so there were not many in the Combat Master Hall who knew of the matter. Or perhaps, Division Head Liao might even have been the only one aware of the issue.
For Division Head Feng to suddenly disappear despite there being no traces that he had left the Combat Master Hall… could he really be acting as a puppet in the Trial of Martial Arts at that very moment?
Hall Master Xing was stunned for a moment before asking anxiously, “What battle technique did Sun shi choose?”
Considering how dedicated Division Head Feng was toward the pursuit of battle techniques, there was no knowing if he would get serious with Sun shi! It would not be too much of a problem if Division Head Feng injured any of the combat masters—they would at least still be able to resolve it internally—but Sun shi was their esteemed guest!
“He chose the Grand Constellation Finger,” Division Head Wei replied.
“That is indeed a powerful battle technique, but it’s incredibly difficult to master as well. Sun shi actually managed to master such a powerful technique despite his age?” Hall Master Xing was stunned.
“He didn’t know any of the battle techniques, so Jiao Tan offered him the manual of the Grand Constellation Finger, and… he learned it on the spot.” Division Head Wei spoke hesitantly, unsure of how he should explain the matter to the others.
Before he could finish his words, Division Head Liao had already interjected in a panic. “He is going against Old Feng despite only learning the technique moments ago? You should have stopped him!
“Old Feng is a lunatic, you know! If he learns that Sun shi is challenging the Trial of Martial Arts after just learning the fundamentals of the technique, he will think that the other party is disrespecting the solemnity of the trial and fly into a rage! You also know how seriously Old Feng takes the cultivation of battle techniques! This is really bad. Old Feng won’t show any mercy once he is blinded by wrath. We have to rush in to stop him!”
At this point, Division Head Liao’s eyes were widened in horror, and goosebumps rose all over his arms.
Division Head Feng, just like his surname1, was a true lunatic. He took everything relating to battle techniques seriously, and he would never allow anyone to sully it in the least. Given that Sun shi had just learned the Grand Constellation Finger moments ago, his lack of mastery would surely show through in the trial in an instant.
Once Division Head Feng realized the matter, he would spare no punches in teaching Sun shi a lesson! And against a raging Primordial Spirit realm expert, no matter how powerful Sun shi was, there was no way he could last too long against him
Jiya!
Panicking, Division Head Liao and the others quickly rushed toward the door of the Trial of Martial Arts to save Sun shi, but at that moment, the door suddenly creaked opened. A young man calmly walked out from the door.
As he walked, he leisurely adjusted his robe to tidy himself up.
Hall Master Xing and the others ran up to the young man, but upon seeing that the latter was completely unharmed, they couldn’t help but ask in intrigue, “Sun shi… are you fine?”
“Un, I’m fine,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
“Have you… cleared the trial?” Division Head Wei asked.
“Un, it wasn’t too difficult. However, I am really impressed by how exquisitely the puppet is crafted. To fully emulate the situation in a true fight, it is even able to spurt blood! If I hadn’t known in advance, I might have just thought that it’s a real human.”
“Spurt blood?”
Upon hearing those words, the lips of the crowd began twitching wildly.
“I was also as surprised as you are back when I saw it! However, as exquisite as it is, there are still some glitches in it that requires fixing. After I defeated it in a direct clash at the same cultivation realm using the same battle technique, I asked it if I have cleared the trial yet or not, but it did not reply to me. So, I could only continue the fight with it.
“As if that wasn’t bad enough, its cultivation even started rising halfway through! I was afraid that I might be no match for it at that rate, so I made a preemptive strike and knocked it out. That should still be considered as a pass, right?” Zhang Xuan asked slightly worriedly.
“You knocked it out?”
“Its cultivation started rising halfway through?”
If they were still uncertain whether or not Division Head Feng was acting as the puppet before, Zhang Xuan’s words had fully confirmed their doubts—the puppet had to be Division Head Feng!
The puppet in the Trial of Martial Arts was not weak, but its strength was fixed. There was no way its cultivation would suddenly rise in the midst of a battle! The only plausible explanation was that it was Division Head Feng in disguise!
“Let’s go in to take a look!” Hall Master Xing and the others quickly bypassed Zhang Xuan and rushed into the trial, and with just a glance at the situation inside, their faces began twitching uncontrollably.
A bloodied Division Head Feng was smashed into the wall, and his clothes had been torn to shreds by some kind of devastating might. His current situation was as unkempt as one could imagine.
“It’s indeed Old Feng…” Division Head Liao quickly rushed forward and placed his fingers on the other party’s pulse, confirming that the figure before him was indeed a living human.
He flicked his wrist and swiftly popped a recovery pill into Division Head Feng’s mouth. At the same time, he drove his zhenqi into the latter’s body to help the latter assimilate the energy within the pill.
Not too long later, the unconscious Division Head Feng finally came to.
“What are all of you doing here?” Division Head Feng asked with a confused look.
“Were you assessing a young man earlier before… being knocked out?” Hall Master Xing asked hesitantly.
“Yes… that does seem to be the case. The young man who came in to challenge the trial earlier has a profound comprehension of the Grand Constellation Finger. Given the same cultivation realm and battle technique, I was no match for him at all! Intrigued, I discreetly raised my cultivation to see how far I could push him… but who would have thought that the fellow would suddenly rush over at that instant and knock me out with a flick of his finger? Then… then… I can’t recall anything anymore…” Division Head Feng’s face reddened.
It was not easy for him to meet someone who had achieved such incredible mastery in the Grand Constellation Finger. As a martial arts fanatic, it was inevitable that he would be fascinated by the matter. Wanting to witness the might of the Grand Constellation Finger in its full glory, he had attempted to push the other party a little further. But who could have expected that he would be knocked out before he achieved anything at all?
How embarrassing!
“You are really…” Hearing those words, Hall Master Xing could not help but sigh in vexation.
For an esteemed division head of the Combat Master Hall to be pummeled into such a tragic state by a mere Saint 1-dan fellow… Hall Master Xing really had no idea what to make of the matter.
However, recalling how he and another two division heads had been completely subdued by Sun shi back in the Heart Division at all, he realized that he was not really in a position to admonish Division Head Feng either.
“Right, how did you know that I was in here? Also, who is that young man?” Division Head Feng asked curiously. “I don’t think I have seen him around in the Combat Master Hall before.”
While he did not know all of the combat masters in the Combat Master Hall, he could still recognize most of their faces. The face of the young man looked extremely foreign to him, so there was a good chance that he was not from their Combat Master Hall.
“He’s a spirit awakener whom Hall Master Xing invited over to help enchant his Primordial Spirit,” Division Head Liao explained.
“He’s a spirit awakener?” Division Head Feng was stunned. “But he was able to overpower me easily even when the both of us were at the same cultivation realm. You are telling me that a spirit awakener has managed to attain such a deep comprehension of the profound Grand Constellation Finger?”
One must know that he was the head of the Martial Arts Division! With his deep comprehension of battle techniques, he wielded fighting prowess far surpassing his peers.
With such strength, it was nigh impossible for any cultivator of a lower cultivation realm to match him even when he had suppressed his cultivation to the other party’s level. Yet, a spirit awakener had not only managed to subdue him but even easily knocked him out when he attempted to raise his cultivation.
“It’s the truth. Sun shi isn’t just a spirit awakener but a master teacher as well. It’s like this…” Seeing the look of disbelief on Division Head Feng’s face, Hall Master Xing could only explain the various happenings earlier.
“This…” Division Head Feng’s body stiffened in shock, not daring to believe what he had just heard. “Just eleven breaths after he looked through the manual of the Grand Constellation Finger, he has already attained a mastery in the technique that far surpasses what I have achieved in the past several hundred years?”
Seeing that Division Head Feng had his confidence utterly shattered, Hall Master Xing quickly stepped in to change the topic. “It’s meaningless to judge true geniuses by our common sense. Come, I’ll introduce Sun shi to you.”
“Un.” Division Head Feng sighed deeply before nodding.
The very moment that the group stepped out of the trial room together, they saw innumerable combat masters kneeling and kowtowing on the ground. Their excited and admiration-filled gazes were directed toward a young man not too far away.
“Teacher, thank you for opening our eyes!”
Double slap!
