It took quite a bit of time before Zhang Qingshan returned in an unkempt state. His face was bruised, and his hand was swollen. He looked nothing like the awe-inspiring number one expert of the Grade-1 students from yesterday!
He had seen Zhu Jian’s prowess the day before, and while the latter’s combat techniques were incredible, his zhenqi and physical strength were severely lacking. Under normal circumstances, even if he were to only use half of his strength, he would still have been able to crush the other party easily.
Yet, despite using his full strength, he had still been sent flying with a punch. To make matters worse, it seemed like the other party hadn’t even used his full strength yet.
The more he thought about the matter, the more stifled he felt. He subconsciously turned his eyes to Principal Zhang, who was even younger than him, and admiration unknowingly seeped into his gaze.
There was no doubt that the huge transformation Zhu Jian had undergone was a result of the overnight lecture. To induce such huge growth within an individual in just a single night… Just what in the world was being lectured?
Zhang Qingshan wasn’t the only one who harbored such thoughts. The others also swiftly realized the same thing, and they couldn’t help but stare at the students of Hongyuan in envy.
They had taken pride in the fact that they had been able to enroll within Yunxu, Luoqing, and Qingzhu, which were far more powerful than the bottom placed Hongyuan. However, after all that had happened, they couldn’t help but feel like they had made the wrong call back then.
Under the leadership and guidance of such a formidable principal, the students of Hongyuan would surely reach incredible heights in the future.
Taking into sight the expressions of the crowd, Wo Tianqiong couldn’t help but remark with a bitter smile, “It’s fortunate that the Four Great Master Teacher Academies are located a significant distance away from one another. Otherwise, all of our students would probably be taken away by Hongyuan.”
“Indeed. In the past, I thought that the strength of an academy was determined not by an individual but the relentless diligence of the entire academy, be it the students, teachers, or the elders. However, after seeing Principal Zhang, I’ve realized that that is complete baloney. With just his capability as an individual, he can easily prop up an entire Master Teacher Academy.” Shen Pingchao sighed helplessly.
“Back then, when mankind was suffering under the tyranny of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, Kong shi single-handedly reversed the plight of mankind and ushered in an era of prosperity. We were still in the mindset that quantity is the key, and the more teachers there are, the better it will be for our academies. Yet, the other party was able to achieve everything alone. This is probably the difference between a real genius and run-of-the-mill geniuses like us!” Wu Ran nodded.
Regardless of whether Principal Zhang’s lecturing ability was really that frightening or not, it was a fact that Zhu Jian and the others had undergone a transformational change after listening to his lecture. This in itself was more than sufficient to boost the other party’s reputation, granting him prestige far beyond them
Should Zhang Xuan give the word, it was very likely that their students might withdraw from their academies and join Hongyuan.
To think that their three Master Teacher Academies would end up in such an awkward position despite everything they had done, they couldn’t help but feel stifled within.
“The men from the Combat Master Hall have arrived…”
As the three principals were lamenting over their positions, hushed whisperings suddenly spread throughout the crowd. Turning their gazes over, they saw Zhuo Qingfeng and the others walking toward the dueling platform.
After a day of rest and recuperation, the combat masters had mostly recovered from the injuries they had sustained from Zheng Yang last night. Nevertheless, there were still visible bruises on their faces, which was unlike how they had been when they first appeared the day before.
Their disposition seemed very different as well. Originally, they had arrived with their heads held high, not willing to spare a single glance for the others around them. An air of superiority had lingered around them, as if there was no one who could top them in the world.
But today, their heads were hung in shame, embarrassed to meet anyone’s eyes at all.
But this was to be expected. Reputed to be the pinnacle of fighting prowess in the Master Teacher Continent, those who could join the Combat Master Hall were the strongest among the master teachers.
It was inevitable that they would think of themselves as superior to the students of the Four Great Master Teacher Academies, and they had thought that serving as the invigilators of this selection would be a walk in the park. They would just have to show off their prowess to instill deference for the Combat Master Hall in the hearts of the students and charm a couple of female juniors while they were at it.
Yet, instead of instilling deference, they were the ones who had been crushed instead. Just the sheer amount of blood they had spilled easily added to several jin, and placed side by side, it would surely be sufficient to circle around the academy.
(One jin = 0.5kg)
The Combat Master Selection had always been a platform for the combat masters to show off, but when it came to them, it became a platform for them to be pummeled instead, and it was the kind of pummeling where they weren’t able to find an opportunity to retaliate at all. How could they not feel embarrassed?
There was even a point in time when they had wondered if they might have gotten things wrong, and if they were in fact the students from the Four Great Master Teacher Academies whereas the other students were the real combat masters.
“There is no need to be depressed. True strength is something that is accumulated through diligence over a long period of time! The students from Hongyuan do possess formidable combat techniques, but without sufficient strength to back up their techniques, they will still find themselves overpowered easily by experts wielding vastly superior strength. As the saying goes, true strength tears through all techniques. That is not to say that technique is unimportant, but at the very least, the suffering you have undergone isn’t in vain.”
Noticing the downcast atmosphere shrouding the combat masters, Zhuo Qingfeng offered a few words of consolation. “The fact that you were unable to achieve victory only means that you haven’t been working hard enough in your cultivation and haven’t accumulated sufficient strength. We shall double your training when we return so that such a matter will never happen again!”
“Yes!” Hearing Zhuo Qingfeng’s consolation, the combat masters finally brightened up from their gloom.
Indeed, true strength was capable of tearing through all techniques. As long as one could accrue sufficient strength, all techniques would be worth squat!
Seeing that his consolation had managed to raise the morale of the combat masters, Zhuo Qingfeng heaved a sigh of relief. Following which, he turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan and said, “Principal Zhang, let’s begin the assessment.”
After which, he leaped onto the dueling platform and took out the Stone of True Breath with a flick of his wrist.
“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded before asking once more in confirmation, “As long as my students can achieve a score of two or above on the Stone of True Breath, they will have cleared the selection, right?”
“That’s right.” Zhuo Qingfeng nodded affirmatively.
The conventional prerequisite for one to qualify as a combat master was to achieve a score of four, but in special consideration of the overwhelming combat prowess that Hongyuan’s candidates had displayed, they would only require a score of two in order to clear the selection.
“Good. Alright, you should all head up!” Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan gestured for the candidates to head onto the dueling platform.
The candidates nodded before forming a queue to walk toward the Stone of True Breath.
The first in the line was Zhu Jian. He had been assessed by the Stone of True Breath the previous day, so the others had allowed him to head to the front of the queue so as to assess the changes he had undergone first.
Upon reaching the Stone of True Breath, Zhu Jian placed his palm on it and began exerting his physical and zhenqi strength.
Hu!
There was a blinding flash of light before several numbers came into appearance—6.5!
“T-this… how is this possible?”
“Wasn’t his score only 2.1 yesterday?”
“A nightlong lecture actually induced a threefold increase in his physical and zhenqi strength? Is that really a supplementary lesson they have gone through and not the blessing of the deities?”
The numbers that surfaced on the Stone of True Breath had left everyone dumbstruck.
A leap from the 2.1 yesterday to 6.5 today… The crowd couldn’t help but think that their eyes were playing tricks on them.
The ones who had suffered the greatest of blow were, naturally, the combat masters. Their bodies swayed weakly as they turned their gazes to Zhuo Qingfeng with tears glistening in their eyes.
Didn’t you just tell us that true strength is something that is accumulated through diligence over a long period of time?
Didn’t you just tell us that the suffering we went through wasn’t in vain?
An hour’s lecture granted Hongyuan’s candidates a comprehension of combat and battle techniques far surpassing what we have learned over many years of hard work, and a night of supplementary lesson has enhanced their zhenqi and physical strength exceeding what we have achieved from years of arduous and hellish training.
Haven’t been working hard enough… Before Principal Zhang, does hard work even mean a thing at all?
To think our years of effort can’t even compare to a lecture from Principal Zhang…
“It could be just that Zhu Jian is an exception. It is impossible for everyone to have become as formidable as him.” Noticing the looks from the combat masters, Zhuo Qingfeng hurriedly reassured them before turning his gaze back to the Stone of True Breath.
Right after Zhu Jian was done with his assessment, another candidate stepped forward and placed his palm on the Stone of True Breath, and a brilliant flash of light shone.
6.1!
Following which…
6.3!
6.2!
5.9!
6.7!
…
Under this relentless wave of shocking results, it didn’t take too long for the crowd to be completely numbed.
At this point, it couldn’t have been clearer to them that Zhu Jian wasn’t just an exception. The average prowess of Hongyuan’s candidates had indeed been raised.
The combat masters had already been no match for Hongyuan’s candidates on the grounds of combat techniques before, and at this very moment, the other party had even raised their physical and zhenqi strength to be beyond theirs. In other words, they were completely outmatched in all aspects!
The combat masters who had just barely plastered the shattered pieces of their confidence back together suffered yet another heavy blow.
Noticing the air of desolation shrouding the guests from the Combat Master Hall, School Head Mo stepped forward and consoled, “Don’t worry about it, such blows are daily occurrences around our principal. It will be fine once you get used to it.”
“Indeed. Once you get used to it, you will start to think that anything our principal does is natural.” Zhao Bingxu nodded in agreement.
“…” Zhuo Qingfeng.
“…” The combat masters.
“…” The three principals.
Get used to it….
Just how heavy a psychological pressure were the elders and teachers of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy put under for them to say such words!
…
After a moment of heavy breathing to regain his calm, Zhuo Qingfeng finally soothed the frustrations in his heart and announced loudly, “I hereby announce that the hundred candidates from the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy have cleared the assessment, and from this day forth, they are official members of the Combat Master Hall!”
“That’s wonderful!”
“All of our candidates have cleared the selection!”
“For all one hundred to clear it simultaneously, we have definitely made history today.”
Upon hearing the announcement, a huge commotion broke out beneath the dueling platform as the faces of innumerable students of Hongyuan reddened in agitation.
Their academy had always been in last place in every Combat Master Selection. Over the course of ten thousand years, only 327 candidates had successfully cleared the selection. Inevitably, this record had become the shame of the entire academy, be it the principal, elders, teachers, or students… But this time around, a hundred candidates of theirs had cleared the selection simultaneously, and that was three times the number of the other three academies combined!
They never could have imagined this to be possible in the past.
“Principal Zhang, we wish to become combat masters as well. Can you conduct a lecture for us too?”
“Indeed! I swear that I will surely work harder than the candidates to raise my fighting prowess so that I can go and play around in the Combat Master Hall.”
“Principal Zhang, please conduct a lecture for us.”
“Hahaha, the Combat Master Selection, is it? As long as Principal Zhang lectures us personally, it won’t be too long before our entire academy is filled with combat masters!”
…
Right after Zhuo Qingfeng made the announcement, loud cheers burst forth from the crowd. Countless students gazed at Zhang Xuan in agitation.
Many of the top twenty candidates were friends or acquaintances of them, so they had a clear grasp of their strength. After witnessing the strength of the combat masters, they knew that it would be impossible for most of them to clear the selection under normal circumstances. Yet, with just two lectures from their principal, all of their candidates had managed to clear the selection.
They might not be as talented as the top twenty, but if their principal were to lecture them more frequently, wouldn’t they have the opportunity to become combat masters as well?
Such a notion swiftly rippled through the minds of the student populace, and it grew from a spark to an unstoppable inferno.
The Combat Master Hall was just a branch of the Master Teacher Pavilion, but due to the overwhelming strength its members possessed, it was highly respected among all cultivators, and many sought to join its ranks.
Even if they were uninterested in becoming combat masters, there was no cultivator who would be willing to give up on such an ideal opportunity to raise their fighting prowess.
“This…”
Not expecting the student populace to react in such a manner, Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before shaking his head.
“I do have the ability to raise your fighting prowess significantly, but not everyone will enjoy an improvement as great as the hundred candidates. However, if you are truly interested in listening to my teachings, I am more than willing to conduct a public lecture for everyone. However, whether or not you will be able to join the ranks of the Combat Master Hall will be dependent on Combat Master Zhuo’s call. If he is unwilling, there is nothing that can be done about it.”
