“Fixed?”
Looking at the remaining rubble of the majestic castle from before, Hong shi’s body stiffened, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
If you only broke a face of a wall or a corridor, I might still be able to fix it. But this… How in the world do you expect me to fix this?
Fix your head!
It’s just a test. If you can clear it, so be it. If you can’t, it’s nothing much as well… May I ask how in the world did my Ghost Domain Illusory City offend you for you to hold such a heavy grudge against it?
Besides, how long has it been? Two minutes? Three minutes?
In such a short period of time, even I would be unable to reach the center. How… in the world did you manage to tear it down?
Hong shi’s heart nearly stopped then, and he was about to go insane.
“Indeed…”
Contrary to Hong shi’s frenzied response, Pavilion Master Kang and the other elders from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion slapped their faces, as if they’d known that this would occur.
They knew that something would go awry… but even so, they underestimated the extent to which things could go ‘awry’ at. This was the Master Teacher Tournament! Under such circumstances, how was the test supposed to proceed?
The Ghost Domain Illusory City was the key to testing the candidates’ temperament. Given that it had collapsed, how are the other participants going to be assessed?
To cut off other people’s path while walking your own…
Zhang shi, aren’t you being a little too competitive!
While they were all speechless, Liao Wuzhi’s body also swayed weakly from side to side in shock.
It was just a moment ago that Ruohuan gongzi said that he was worried about the safety of the Ghost Domain Illusory City, and he mocked the other party for being ignorant. But from the looks of it now… it seemed like he was the one being ignorant!
To tear down an entire fortress three minutes after walking in…
You aren’t a master teacher but a demolisher, right?
While silence loomed in the surroundings, Zhang Xuan patted the dust off his body and stepped away from the rubble with a helpless expression.
All he wanted to do was to silently halt the formation and walk out normally. Why was such a simple wish so hard to realize?
“Fix… It’s impossible to fix it!”
Even though Hong shi’s heart was hurting so much that it was dripping blood, and he was about to faint from anger. But he quickly forced himself to calm down and recover.
No matter what, the other party was Yang shi’s student. Furthermore, it wasn’t an intentional action on the other party’s part, so it was best for him to just overlook this matter.
While he still felt it was a huge loss to lose a treasure of the Ghost Domain Illusory City’s caliber, given that it was already destroyed, there was no use pondering over it. Thus, he could only swallow his pain and accept his loss.
Just that… Given that the Illusory City was completely wrecked, how were the others supposed to take the test?
The other master teachers also shot glances over.
After a moment of hesitation, Hong shi gritted his teeth and said, “Since the Ghost Domain Illusory City has been damaged… we’ll put aside the Temperament test for the time being and move on to the Courage test!”
Even though having a single test voided in the preliminary round would affect the results, it was still at a level where he could overlook.
“Courage test?”
“How is it going to be carried out?”
Upon hearing the next test, everyone swiftly recovered from their shock, and discussions sounded amidst the crowd.
“I believe everyone should know the reason behind why Kong shi established the Master Teacher Pavilion!” Hong shi said.
A master teacher replied, “To strengthen the human race so as to better fend off the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and other calamities!”
The primary reason as to why Kong shi established the Master Teacher Pavilion was to raise the might of the human race as a whole so as to further its prosperity.
“Indeed. Several ten thousand years ago, the powerful Otherworldly Demonic Tribe committed innumerable atrocities, resulting in grievous sufferings to all lifeforms. In order to save the world, Kong shi established the system of master teachers, and after several ten thousand years of development, we’ve achieved an unprecedented level of prosperity!”
Hong shi nodded his head as his gaze fell on the crowd. “The Courage test is actually very simple. You just have to fulfill the responsibility of a master teacher and… face an Otherworldly Demon!”
“Otherworldly Demon?”
“Hasn’t that race gone extinct already? Could it be that there are still survivors?”
Everyone was taken aback.
The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had been expelled by Kong shi several ten thousand years ago, and not a single trace of them remained on the continent. To face an Otherworldly Demon… What did Hong shi mean?
“The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was indeed expelled several ten thousand years ago. However… there are still a few remnants living on the continent. They disguise themselves as humans and hide amongst our communities!”
Hong shi’s eyebrows shot up as he waved his hand.
Hula!
The fog veiling another corner of the round stage cleared, revealing a gigantic stone house.
Even though the stone house was tightly sealed, and its interiors couldn’t be seen at all, an intense killing intent emanated from within. It felt as though one would be torn apart just by approaching the stone house.
“What a savage aura. Could it be that… an Otherworldly Demon is currently inside the stone house?”
“I’ve heard that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has an extremely brutal nature. They regard humans as nothing more than mere ants, and they slaughter them without any guilt whatsoever… As such, an exceptionally dense killing intent lingers around them. This killing intent made it impossible for an ordinary human to approach them-they would simply faint from fright during the encounter-let alone, kill them!”
“Even across a stone house, the killing intent emanated is already so astounding. How powerful must the Otherworldly Demons really be?”
…
Feeling the aura coming from within the stone house, everyone’s faces warped in shock.
Fearsome!
All those who were on the round stage were all 4-star master teacher… Even so, the killing intent emanated from within the stone house was sufficient to render their legs wobbly. How powerful must the Otherworldly Demons be then?
“The Otherworldly Demons are callous and cunning. For their growth, they are willing to even devour their own kind! In their eyes, humans are just lower-tier lifeforms, mere prey for them!”
Hong shi harrumphed. “This fellow here has been hiding in Hongfeng Empire, and he had killed at least several thousand humans there. It took me three years before I managed to capture him.
“Even though I’ve used the Golden Soul Lock to seal his root bone, making it impossible for him to exert much strength, the killing intent that he had tempered over countless years still remains. He could easily exert immense pressure on one’s soul and draw out the deepest fear in one. Putting aside 4-star pinnacle master teachers like you all, even half 5-star master teachers would hesitate to face him directly.”
It is similar to a human meeting a tiger; even the latter didn’t make a move, the former would still instinctively feel fear, and strength would drain from their body.
This was a matter of courage.
“If one doesn’t even have the courage to approach a tiger, how could he possibly ever kill one? If a master teacher doesn’t dare to approach an Otherworldly Demon, then no matter how far he advances as a master teacher, it would be for naught!
“The Courage test is simple. You just have approach him, and your courage will be judged by how far you close you get to him. The requirement for clearing this test is 5 meters; those who fail to meet this requirement will be eliminated.”
Waving his hands, Hong shi flicked his finger.
Huala!
The walls of the stone house immediately burst apart, and a three-meter tall savage-looking beast appeared before everyone.
Honglong!
As soon as the beast came into view, a violent aura abruptly diffused into the surroundings. Some of the audience seated closer to the round stage suddenly felt an intense vertigo striking their mind, and their vision went dark-they had instinctively fainted out of fright.
The master teachers on the stage weren’t doing much better either. Song Chao and the other master teachers’ faces turned pale, and their lips took on a shade of purple.
In the past, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe had enslaved humans, and if not for Kong shi creating the Master Teacher Pavilion and eventually expelling them from the Master Teacher Continent, the entire continent would still be subjected to their tyranny.
Perhaps such primal fear had been deeply imprinted into human instincts, but very few were able to withstand the blow to their soul from the sight of an Otherworldly Demon.
“This is an Otherworldly Demon?”
Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows twitched.
The fellow before him looked like a gigantic savage beast. Bloodthirst seemed to exude from every single inch of its body, inducing the feeling that one would be torn to shreds if one were to try to approach it.
Putting aside the other master teachers, even Zhang Xuan found it difficult to approach the Otherworldly Demon within a 5-meter radius.
“Fearsome!”
It was no wonder the Master Teacher Pavilion dared not let down their guard despite several ten thousand years having passed since the disappearance of the Otherworldly Demons. They were indeed worthy of such wariness from the Master Teacher Pavilion.
“He is bound and unable to move, so you need not worry of being harmed. The time limit is half an incense’s time, and those who are unable to get within 5 meters of him will be eliminated!”
After which, Hong shi lit an incense and waved his hands. “The time starts now!”
Hearing that the test had started, the crowd on top of the round stage began advancing toward the beast with a grave look on their faces.
Zhang Xuan followed behind them as well, but with just a single step, his face abruptly lost all color.
Just this single step had subjected him to twofold the pressure from before. The savage killing intent lingering in the air stripped his legs of its strength, rendering him unable to proceed further.
He glanced at the others around him, and they didn’t seem to be in a much better condition than him. Sweat covered their foreheads, and their faces were as pale as a sheet of paper.
Forcefully taking another step forward, the pressure intensified yet again. It was as if he was a lone boat standing before a huge storm; powerful waves rushed at him, threatening to sink him at any moment. At the same time, it was as if he was standing right at the edge of a cliff; a single step forward would mean plummeting into Avīci and subjected to an eternity of suffering.
‘Under such circumstances… even ten meters would be difficult, not to mention, five meters!’
Initially, Zhang Xuan thought that this test would be a walk in the park, but it turned out to be tougher than he had expected.
It seemed that with his willpower itself, it would be impossible for him to pass this step.
Advancing another step forward, only ten competitors remained alongside him.
‘Let me try driving my zhenqi!’
Taking yet another step forward, Zhang Xuan felt as though he was coming to the limit of his endurance. Thus, he decided to drive his zhenqi.
He didn’t use his zhenqi to ward off the killing intent beforehand so as to test his own limits. But regrettably, four steps seemed to be it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take a single inch forward.
Hu!
As the Heaven’s Path zhenqi flowed through his body, the pressure weighing down on him immediately disappeared, and the tenseness he felt faded.
That energy that threatened to rip him apart a moment ago felt nothing more than a gentle breeze on him at this moment.
‘As I expected, the Heaven’s Path zhenqi is indeed capable of neutralizing killing intent!’
The Heaven’s Path zhenqi possessed no attribute whatsoever, but this allowed it to neutralize all types of attributes of all types. Zhang Xuan had previously guessed that driving the Heaven’s Path zhenqi would neutralize the killing intent from the Otherworldly Demons, and fortunately, it seemed like he was spot-on.
He secretly peeked at the others
Different from him, the others had been driving their zhenqi right from their start, but that did little to alleviate their pale complexion.
But even so, with their sheer determination, those at the front were already approaching the 10-meter mark.
‘Incredible!’
Seeing how they were able to proceed so far despite being unable to neutralize the killing intent effectively with their zhenqi, a hint of respect appeared on Zhang Xuan’s face.
It was no wonder they were known as geniuses, and why Pavilion Master Kang didn’t think well of them. They did possess the qualities worthy of their evaluation.
If not for Zhang Xuan ‘cheating’ through his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, it was hard to tell whether he could have traveled further than them.
Relieved on the immense pressure on him, Zhang Xuan’s thoughts gradually grew lively.
‘Could the immense pressure exerted by the Otherworldly Demon… be considered as a battle technique as well?’
Given how everyone was so frightened such that it was difficult for them to approach the Otherworldly Demon, the latter was clearly utilizing some kind of ability to exert pressure on one’s soul.
Even if this ability couldn’t be considered as a battle technique, it should be close to one. Given so, is it possible for the Library of Heaven’s Path to peer into the flaws of the Otherworldly Demon?
‘Flaws!’ Zhang Xuan willed.
Hu!
A book materialized in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
