Chapter 1125: Heartbroken Sect Leader Xing

Hall Master Zhou cried.

As the Hall Master of the Weapons Hall, he had dedicated his entire life, over eight hundred years, to studying spear techniques. It would have been understandable if his opponent had simply trained for a longer time, as everyone's talent differs—some excel, others don't, making direct comparisons difficult. The crucial point was that the person before him specialized in fist techniques, and yet, in spear techniques… he had only practiced for two hours before easily defeating Hall Master Zhou.

"Well… I don't remember clearly; it might have been more than two hours…" Seeing Hall Master Zhou's face twitching and looking as if he might faint at any moment, Liu Yang felt a little awkward and quickly explained.

Back then, to prepare for the challenge from the War Master Hall, he, Wang Ying, and Zheng Yang had exchanged their ultimate techniques, each teaching the others everything without reservation. Because time was short, they learned very quickly. When he learned the spear techniques, it took him roughly… two hours… No, wait, it might have been even less than two hours. Was it one and a half hours, or just one? He had been too focused and forgotten… Why couldn't he remember it for the life of him? Liu Yang's face was a picture of conflict.

"Alright…" Seeing Liu Yang try to comfort him with an awkward expression, Hall Master Zhou felt his chest boiling, as if a mouthful of fresh blood was about to burst forth.

"I am Yan Qinghai, Hall Master of the Palm Techniques Hall. Is there anyone willing to fight me?" Seeing the Hall Master of the Weapons Hall defeated, another elder stepped forward.

"Palm techniques?" Liu Yang furrowed his brow, then nodded, "I'll do it again…"

"Alright, you just finished a fight. Take a rest; I'll go instead…" Wang Ying stepped forward.

"Senior Sister, he specializes in palm techniques, which are quite similar to fist techniques. You're better at leg techniques, so I should still go!" Liu Yang shook his head, surprised that Wang Ying was vying for the chance.

"I just learned a palm technique from our teacher, and I haven't tested it yet. I don't know its power, so I'd like to try it out…" Wang Ying said.

"The Master taught me that move too, and I want to try it out as well…" Liu Yang added.

"Alright, why are you being so ungracious? You just fought a match; shouldn't you be resting? What if someone challenges you again later and you lose?" Wang Ying's delicate brows furrowed.

"Yes, I just fought a match, but you saw it—it wasn't challenging at all, okay? I didn't even use a thousandth of my true qi; it recovered in two breaths. I don't need any rest at all…" Liu Yang said.

"..." Hall Master Zhou."..." Hall Master Yan."..." Everyone from the War Master Hall.

Are you kidding me?! Can you show some respect for your opponents? We're still alive, not dead yet… In any case, we are the top experts of the War Master Hall. With such contempt, do you even consider us worthy opponents? Even if you don't hold us in high regard, at least give us some face…

"You're the Senior Sister, so you call the shots…" After arguing for a while, Wang Ying finally got the chance to fight, asserting her position as the senior sister.

"Let's begin!" With an excited expression, Wang Ying approached Hall Master Yan Qinghai of the Palm Techniques Hall. "I only recently learned this palm technique and have never used it in a real fight, so I don't know its power. Please go easy on me…"

"It's too late to beg for mercy now…" Yan Qinghai had been bottling up his frustration and was about to explode. Seeing her step forward and utter those words, he roared in anger, showing no mercy, and unleashed his most powerful ultimate technique.

*Boom!*

Even before his palm reached her, the sheer force caused the air to explode, churning like boiling oil. A Saint-level martial art: Red Dragon Palm! Legend had it that the Red Dragon lived in lava, emitting intense heat. The Red Dragon Palm, imbued with pure yang energy, could melt steel when unleashed. Yan Qinghai was invincible with this technique and was considered one of the top practitioners in the War Master Hall.

Seeing his attack, Wang Ying instinctively prepared to dodge. But then she remembered this was a palm technique competition, so she immediately stopped, gritted her teeth, and unleashed the palm technique her teacher had taught her. Great Sorrow Heavenly Devil Palm! This move, the teacher had supposedly also learned recently and never used in combat before, but it felt quite powerful.

Their palms met.

"Argh…" Yan Qinghai cried out miserably as he was sent flying backward. While still in the air, his suppressed cultivation rapidly recovered, and he only stopped when his face had turned pale.

"You truly just learned this palm technique? And you've never fought anyone with it?" Yan Qinghai's chest ached with stifled pain.

"Yes, that's right. On the way here, our teacher said he had just learned a new set of palm techniques that were quite good and told us to practice them. So I learned a bit, but I found it troublesome to practice, as it required cultivating emotions. I only practiced it a few times in total, found it boring, and never used it again!" Wang Ying said.

A significant drawback of this technique was that it required cultivating emotions. As she was only a teenager, how could she understand such concepts? After practicing for a while, she found it boring and never really trained in it again.

"Boring? Such a powerful palm technique, and you find it boring?" Yan Qinghai's chest hurt even more. Although the opponent had only used one move, the power of this palm technique was evident: it surpassed all the ultimate techniques he had ever learned! With such power, and yet the girl in front of him actually called practicing it troublesome… boring…

"Could you… teach me this move?" Unable to hold back, he asked with a nervous expression.

"Of course! Our teacher is very generous and open-minded; he never keeps his techniques to himself. If you want to learn, I can teach you right now…" Wang Ying smiled. Since she began cultivating, she had never encountered such a troublesome move, requiring both mental accumulation and emotional investment… It was too cumbersome! In her opinion, it probably wasn't a particularly powerful ultimate technique, so since the other party wanted to learn it, there was no harm in teaching it.

"You… you can teach it?" Yan Qinghai's face turned pale, then his expression grew serious. "From now on, I'm joining the Xuanxuan Association! Anyone who dares to tell me to leave, I'll fight them to the death!"

"..." Hall Master Xing."..." The other Hall Masters.

"I am Hall Master Wu of the Leg Techniques Hall! I am willing to compete with you…" Everyone fell silent for a moment. An elder stepped forward, but before he could finish his sentence, Hall Master Xing walked up. "Alright, all this fighting hurts harmony. These two young friends have also expended quite a bit of energy, so I think that's enough for today!"

"Hall Master…" Hall Master Wu was anxious, seeing the Hall Master intervene. Weren't they here to cause trouble? How could they give up halfway?

"Ahem, alright, Hall Master Wu, let's stop here for today. The members of the Xuanxuan Association aren't leaving anyway; we can slowly exchange ideas later…" Hall Master Xing said. If they didn't stop the exchanges, he was afraid that all their Hall Masters would end up joining the Xuanxuan Association. If that truly happened, it would be humiliating.

"Alright!" Hall Master Wu also realized, his eyes full of reluctance. The cultivation techniques and moves displayed by those two young people earlier were astonishing, and he somewhat wanted to learn them. However, seeing the Hall Master's expression, if a few more Hall Masters went to learn today, he would probably go mad. No, it was better to forget about it for now. He'd secretly come over sometime tonight…

"Two young friends, may I ask where your Dean Zhang Xuan is currently?" After stopping the restless Hall Masters who were itching to continue competing, Hall Master Xing looked at them with a smile.

"Our teacher went out this morning and hasn't returned yet…" Wang Ying replied.

"He's out?" Hall Master Xing nodded. "How about this, let's discuss the exchanges after your teacher returns…"

"Alright!" Wang Ying nodded.

"Very well, we'll take our leave now…" With that, Hall Master Xing didn't linger and hurriedly left with the remaining Hall Masters.

They rushed all the way, and it didn't take long for them to fly back to the War Master Hall's Elder's Council Hall. Once everyone was seated, a period of silence fell.

This trip, not only had they failed to retrieve the students, but they had also lost two Hall Masters. Out of the ten Hall Masters, only six remained, and it appeared several others were restless, ready to leave at any moment. They had envisioned using the War Master Hall's prestige and power to attract geniuses after these exchanges. Instead, before they could attract anyone, they themselves had been lured away… The more Hall Master Xing thought about it, the more disheartened he felt.

"What do you all think about today's events?" After a long period of heavy silence, he couldn't help but look around the room.

"Well… the Xuanxuan Association indeed possesses extraordinary qualities. That young man must be Dean Zhang's direct disciple; his fist techniques are truly formidable!"

"Indeed, it's my first time seeing someone defeat Hall Master Chen with fist techniques at the same cultivation level! And the spear techniques were amazing too; Hall Master Zhou couldn't even withstand a single move!"

"To be honest, I found the palm technique to be the most exquisite. A single strike, like a vast dome, enveloped everything, giving a feeling of being trapped in space, with no way to escape…" Several Hall Masters discussed animatedly.

"Ahem!" Clasping his chest, Hall Master Xing felt even more disheartened. He had thought they might offer some pertinent suggestions to change the current situation. Instead… what was with all the admiring expressions and gleaming eyes? Did they truly believe the War Master Hall's heritage was inferior to that of a small academy?

"Alright, everyone, you may disperse for now!" Hall Master Xing waved his hand, knowing that the remaining Hall Masters were utterly awestruck by the Xuanxuan Association's fist techniques, movement techniques, spear techniques, and palm techniques, and wouldn't be able to come up with any good ideas anytime soon.

"Yes, sir!" The Hall Masters bowed and exited simultaneously.

The room quickly quieted down, leaving only him and one other elder: Liao Bujin, Hall Master of the mysterious Mind Hall.

Hall Master Xing approached him. "What do you think?"

"Reporting to the Hall Master, this matter has both advantages and disadvantages. In fact, I believe that for our War Master Hall, it might not be a bad thing!" Hall Master Liao said.

"A good thing?" Hall Master Xing looked over. He couldn't see how.

"It's undeniable that the Xuanxuan Association's understanding of combat is truly formidable and captivating. But… if we could incorporate them into our Qingyuan Empire War Master Hall, wouldn't our strength immediately increase immensely? Surpassing the War Master Halls of other conferred empires would simply be a matter of time." Hall Master Liao said.

"This… I know, but looking at the Xuanxuan Association's current situation, how could they possibly join our War Master Hall?" Hall Master Xing shook his head.

"It's actually very simple. Although the Xuanxuan Association is united, I've observed that they are only loyal to Dean Zhang Xuan. If we can persuade Zhang Xuan to join our War Master Hall… then these people will naturally become ours without any effort!" Hall Master Liao smiled.

"This…" Hall Master Xing paused. What the other party said was true: if Zhang Xuan could be persuaded to join the War Master Hall, the Xuanxuan Association would not only cease to be a problem but become a great asset. It's just… That might be very difficult!

"The Dean is currently at the Half-Step Leaving Aperture realm, with a powerful nascent spirit. If we could find a highly skilled Spirit Enlighter to nourish his nascent spirit, making it even more refined, and once he masters *that* technique from the Mind Hall—even if he suppresses his cultivation, no one at the same level would be able to defeat him… Then, we find Dean Zhang, challenge him to a duel, and make joining the War Master Hall the wager… Hehe, I'm not afraid he won't agree!"