Chapter 1143: Too Long

Battle masters were crowded at the entrance to the library, and Shi Hao and Xiao Bo were among them.

“What are you doing?”

Seeing them gather around, their eyes red either from excitement or anger, Dean Wei frowned, a hint of displeasure in his voice. “Master Sun is not a member of the Combat Master Hall,” he stated, “so he is not subject to the rule that requires passing an assessment to enter the library.”

“Dean, that’s not why we’re here!” Shi Hao quickly explained, seeing the misunderstanding. “There’s something we hope you can come and see for yourself…”

What had happened in the passage was simply too astonishing. They figured that if they told him, he probably wouldn’t believe it, so it was better for him to witness it firsthand to understand.

“What happened?” Dean Wei asked, noting Shi Hao’s serious expression.

“Please come this way, Dean. You’ll understand when you see it,” Xiao Bo said, stepping forward.

“Alright,” Dean Wei replied. Knowing they were reluctant to speak and that it might involve classified information from the Inner Breath Hall, he hesitated briefly before turning to Zhang Xuan. “Master Sun, I trouble you to wait for me here for a moment!”

“Alright,” Zhang Xuan nodded.

It was clear that the others had something to deal with, and it would be better for him to stay put rather than follow them.

With an apologetic expression, Dean Wei followed behind Xiao Bo and walked forward.

Seeing him leave, Zhang Xuan shook his head. He was just about to rest and look through the many books he had just collected when Shi Hao, who had spoken earlier, stepped forward.

“I am Shi Hao,” he began, “and I would like to spar with Master Sun, if you would permit it?”

The other party had managed to penetrate the Inner Breath Passage with a single palm, indicating his true qi was many times denser than Shi Hao’s. He was eager to test such a genius.

He also wanted to see if the other party had truly earned such a high score based on his actual strength.

“Spar?”

“Yes!” Shi Hao cupped his fists. “I hope Master Sun will grant my request.”

“Alright!” Zhang Xuan nodded, seeing the serious attitude and genuine desire to compete.

Up until now, he hadn’t fought against a combat master other than Feng Xun, so this was a good opportunity to see what the other party’s strength was like.

“Please excuse my offense!” Shi Hao took a deep breath, his chest immediately swelling. His aura surged upwards, like a dagger unsheathed, emitting a striking, cold glint.

Whoosh! His body lunged forward, striding straight ahead. His steps were heavy and powerful, and even before he reached Zhang Xuan, there was a sense of an overwhelming wave crashing down, leaving no room to evade.

With sheer force, he could overcome any technique. His internal energy was profound, and his true qi was immense. When fighting, he never relied on elaborate techniques, only overwhelming, direct attacks.

This time was no different; he directly unleashed his full power. His true qi surged like a vast ocean, and any ordinary cultivator encountering it would immediately feel trapped in quicksand, unable to escape.

This was his Tilted Sea Art, pouring forth like rivers and seas, inescapable and unavoidable!

“Not bad!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up as he sensed the opponent’s power.

Had he not cultivated the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, his true qi density might have been comparable to Shi Hao’s, or at best, only slightly stronger.

For an ordinary cultivation technique to produce true qi comparable in quantity to that generated by the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, this individual was indeed formidable. It was no wonder he had broken records and was hailed as number one.

“Make your move!” As Zhang Xuan was pondering this, he heard Shi Hao shout from the opposite side. With fingers splayed, Shi Hao fiercely chopped towards him.

It wasn’t a sophisticated martial technique, but rather the simplest Great Hand Seal.

Though simple, combined with his immense true qi, its power was transformed. It felt as if it could shatter the entire space, and the air, under the impact of the violent force, emitted a thunderous roar as it surged forward.

In an instant, the formidable true qi formed a massive wave, seemingly intending to tear apart everything in its path.

Zhang Xuan didn’t dodge. With a slight smile, he simply extended a finger and tapped forward.

Whoosh! The incredibly fierce wave halted abruptly at his fingertip, unable to advance even an inch. It was like a colossal serpent whose vital spot had been seized; no matter how it struggled, it was utterly useless.

“Get out of the way…” Seeing his most powerful attack blocked by a single finger, Shi Hao’s face flushed red. With a roar, he pushed his entire body’s strength to its limit, feeling a tearing pain in his meridians.

Observing the veins bulging on his forehead, Zhang Xuan shook his head. He bent his finger and gently flicked.

The massive wave dissipated, and the wild true qi scattered. Shi Hao stumbled back seven or eight steps, his face flushed.

“Thank you for your mercy, Master Sun…” After taking a couple of breaths and feeling no injury on his body, Shi Hao’s face reddened. He stepped forward and quickly cupped his fists.

His attack had been so powerful that anyone else would have certainly been unable to withstand it. Not only did the other party block it with a single finger, but he also minimized the backlash of the force, preventing any injury to Shi Hao. The sheer power and precise control displayed were truly terrifying.

“Your strength is not bad!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Shi Hao was indeed quite good. In terms of true qi density alone, while he couldn’t compare to Zheng Yang and the others, the gap wasn’t too significant.

If someone with this level of strength were to spar with the Xuanxuan Association, the latter would definitely not be an opponent.

It seemed that after returning, he would have to instruct them not to compare their true qi quantity, otherwise they would surely lose.

“Indeed,” Shi Hao replied with a wry smile.

He was known as the number one in Saint Realm 1-dan true qi in the Combat Master Hall, yet in the other party’s eyes, he was merely… “not bad”!

However, the other party certainly had the qualifications to say such a thing.

“Until now, I finally believe that Master Sun passed the assessment based on his true strength…” Shi Hao hesitated for a moment. “However, there’s one more thing I’m unclear about that I’d like to ask.”

“Please ask!”

“You pierced through ten stone tablets with a single palm… I want to know, how much true qi did you expend or lose doing that?” Shi Hao couldn’t help but ask.

Shi Hao himself had expended all his true qi to pierce through fewer than four tablets. The other party had shattered all of them with one palm, likely not even using full strength. Still, he wanted to know exactly how much of his total power had been consumed so he could gauge it, better his own cultivation in the future, and strive to surpass him sooner.

The many battle masters standing nearby also looked over, their gazes fixed on Zhang Xuan.

To be honest, they were all extremely curious.

Shi Hao, after passing his assessment, had been deathly pale and looked like he might collapse at any moment. The fact that he could even perform his ultimate move just now was only after consuming several pills and spending a long time recuperating…

Yet, this person before them had emerged from the passage with a rosy complexion, looking less like he had just undergone a strenuous assessment and more like he had enjoyed a good meal. Immediately afterward, he had casually begun reading. If, as they had previously speculated, he hadn’t passed the assessment, that would be one thing. But the crucial point was that he had passed with a perfect score, and in *this* state. Just how incredibly dense was the true qi within him?

“How much true qi did I expend?” Zhang Xuan was surprised by the question. He paused, scratched his head, and thought for a moment before replying, “I didn’t really pay attention, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve already fully recovered while reading just now, so there’s no need to worry!”

“Recover? No need to worry?” Shi Hao choked on his saliva and nearly fainted.

Who was worrying about him? He wanted to know Zhang Xuan’s exact strength! And he recovered simply by reading books…

Could it be that the amount of true qi consumed by passing through the Inner Breath Passage was insignificant and irrelevant to him?

Shi Hao’s face turned pale, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He had intentionally held back from breaking through for twenty years just to set a record that no one had broken for three centuries. The record was set, only to be shattered by someone else in less than two minutes…

And the most crucial part was that the other person didn’t even seem to care!

He had previously thought that if he couldn’t surpass him now, he would work hard for another twenty years to do so. But now, it seemed… not to mention twenty years, even two hundred years wouldn’t be enough!

They were simply not on the same level.

In that instant, Shi Hao felt utterly dejected by the realization.

For twenty years, he had endured countless hardships and suppressed numerous impulses to break through, all to set that record. Yet, the record he created was deemed insignificant in the other party’s eyes…

The more he thought about it, the more he felt like spitting blood.

“Then… Master Sun, how long have you been at the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan to accumulate such profound true qi?” he asked again, gritting his teeth.

Although the other party appeared to be around twenty years old, some members of powerful clans possessed special secret arts that masked their true age. Just like himself, he was over two hundred years old, but to outsiders, he appeared to be only about thirty.

If the other party had been at the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan for over twenty years, then Shi Hao wouldn’t consider himself too weak; at least he could regain some confidence.

“I have indeed been at this realm for quite some time!” Zhang Xuan said with a sigh, hearing the question.

He had reached the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan but hadn’t been able to find the Heaven’s Path Divine Art for Saint Realm 2-dan. He had indeed stayed at this realm for quite a while, and the thought of it made him feel somewhat ashamed and embarrassed to admit.

“Long?” Shi Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had gained such strength by cultivating for a long time at this realm, then his talent probably wasn’t that much superior to Shi Hao’s after all…

“Yes, that’s right. I haven’t been able to find a suitable cultivation technique, which is why I went to the library just now—to see if I could gain some insights to break through my current bottleneck!”

Zhang Xuan sighed, looking a little shy. “After all, I’ve been stuck at this realm for over a month now. If I don’t break through soon, I’ll be worse than my own students…”

“…” Shi Hao clutched his chest.

“…” The many battle masters were speechless.