Chapter 1147: The Tragic Lord Feng

As he stepped into the spacious passage, a puppet stood up. It looked exactly like a real person, appearing about sixty years old, with a white beard and hair.

"Hall Master Feng must have crafted it in his own image," Zhang Xuan mused to himself. Hall Master Feng, having come from the Master Teacher Pavilion, must be skilled in the Heavenly Crafts profession; otherwise, it would have been impossible to craft such a lifelike puppet. If one hadn't known beforehand, they would probably have thought it was a real person.

"You have chosen the Grand Constellation Finger Art. Finger against finger, if you can withstand my attack, you pass! If not, leave!" the puppet stated expressionlessly.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded and stepped forward. Using the same martial art at the same cultivation level, he had absolute confidence. He could easily win, even without using his Eye of Insight.

"Hall Master, is it true that Hall Master Wei took Teacher Sun to the Martial Arts Hall?" Hall Master Xing and the others arrived at the Internal Breath Hall with Elder Qi. Not finding Zhang Xuan or the others, they couldn't help but ask Shi Hao, who was nearby, and quickly received an answer.

"Why did they go to the Martial Arts Hall?" Hall Master Xing frowned.

"I don't know!" Shi Hao shook his head.

"Wait a moment, did you just say... Teacher Sun?" Hall Master Liao, who was beside them, noticed something off about the wording. Addressing him as "Master Sun" is a sign of respect for a master teacher, but "Teacher Sun" implies a deeper relationship, acknowledging him as one who has bestowed knowledge.

"Yes, Teacher Sun guided us in our cultivation. We are deeply grateful!" Shi Hao nodded.

"This..." Hall Master Xing and the others exchanged glances, frowning. An Enlightener guiding combat masters... and even causing so many combat masters to acknowledge him as their teacher simultaneously... What had happened? Soon, after clarifying the situation, the three of them were dumbfounded. Crushing the Internal Breath Passage with one palm, and making Shi Hao admit defeat with one finger... How profound was this Master Sun's True Qi cultivation?

"Let's go to the Martial Arts Hall and see..." Full of curiosity, they hurried toward the Martial Arts Hall. They soon arrived outside the Martial Arts Passage.

"Why are you here?" Hall Master Wei was momentarily stunned, then quickly clasped his fists. His eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Elder Qi... are you alright?"

"Yes!" Elder Qi nodded and asked, "Where is Master Sun?"

"Oh, he just entered the passage for assessment!" Hall Master Wei replied with a smile.

"Assessment?" Hall Master Xing frowned.

"Master Sun wanted to find a cultivation technique manual for Saint Realm 1-dan. We didn't find anything suitable in our Internal Breath Hall, so we came to find Hall Master Feng. He happened to be out, so Master Sun decided to pass the Martial Arts Passage assessment and then go to the library to examine the texts!" Hall Master Wei explained.

"With his strength, passing the assessment should be... not difficult!" Recalling the young man's battle with them and the scene they had just witnessed in the Internal Breath Hall, Hall Master Xing stroked his beard. Such a talented individual should have no significant problem passing the Martial Arts Passage assessment; there was no need to worry.

"Hall Master Feng returned after the meeting ended earlier and didn't run out like everyone else. This fellow always stays indoors; how come he's not here today?" Hall Master Xing asked with a smile. Hall Master Feng's favorite thing to do was to hide at home and research martial arts. Even with multiple invitations, he wouldn't leave. This time, he didn't run off to the Xuanxuan Club like Hall Master Zhou and Hall Master Wu, so how could he not be in the hall?

"I found it a bit strange too..." Hall Master Wei shook his head. He had also found it a bit strange when he first arrived. However, since the people on their side had all said so, and it was Jiao Tan who said it, he didn't feel it was appropriate to investigate further.

"Old Feng can bring himself to go out? Why do I find that hard to believe? Hmm? No, could it be..." Hall Master Liao, who was beside them, sighed, then suddenly remembered something and froze.

"What's wrong?" Seeing him like this, Hall Master Xing and the others uniformly looked over.

"Old Feng and I... we have a good relationship," Hall Master Liao slowly began. "He often comes to me for help resolving inner demons... He once told me he has a peculiar habit: he'd hide in the Martial Arts Passage, disguise himself as a puppet, and assess combat masters..."

"Disguise as a puppet?" Everyone was stunned.

"Yes, in the Martial Arts Passage, puppets demonstrate martial arts for the assessment! But sometimes, after repeated activations, the puppets can get damaged... At such times, he would often suppress his cultivation, disguise himself as the puppet, and fight the combat masters..." Swallowing, Hall Master Liao continued, "He told me about this, but I only took it as a joke. He wouldn't... actually do it, would he?" As a Hall Master, disguising oneself as a puppet for an assessment was not something glorious. Not many people knew about it; perhaps in the entire Combat Master Hall, only he, the Hall Master of the Heart Palace, was privy to this secret. Hall Master Feng was suddenly absent, yet he hadn't left... Could it be that he really went to the passage, disguised himself as a puppet, to test combat masters?!

"What martial art did Master Sun choose?" After a moment of stunned silence, Hall Master Xing hurriedly looked to the side. Given that fellow's obsession with martial arts... he might really do it.

"He chose the Grand Constellation Finger Art..." Hall Master Wei said.

"This martial art is incredibly powerful, but difficult to cultivate. Master Sun is so young, yet he has learned it?" Hall Master Xing was stunned.

"He doesn't know other martial arts; the Grand Constellation Finger Art is something he just learned..." Hall Master Wei replied.

"He just learned it and now he's going to confront Hall Master Feng?" Hall Master Liao exclaimed, panicking. "Old Feng is a maniac, very serious about assessments. If he knew someone just learned it and came to challenge, he'd definitely be furious and show no mercy. Oh no, Master Sun is going to be in trouble... Quick, go stop him!"

"Creak!"

Filled with urgency, just as they were about to rush into the passage to help, they heard the sound of a door opening, and then saw a young man slowly walking out. As he walked, he was straightening his clothes.

"Master Sun... are you alright?" Seeing him emerge completely unharmed, Hall Master Xing and the others quickly rushed forward.

"I'm fine!" Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, recognizing them.

"You... passed the challenge?" Hall Master Wei asked, somewhat worried.

"Yes, those puppets inside, they're really lifelike..." Zhang Xuan exclaimed in admiration. "I gave one a beating, and it actually spat blood! If I hadn't known beforehand, I would have thought it was a real person!"

"Spitting blood?" Everyone's mouths twitched.

"Yes, that fellow, using the same martial art at the same level, couldn't beat me," Zhang Xuan explained. "I asked if I passed, but he didn't answer me! So I had to continue fighting. Seeing his strength increase higher and higher, and fearing I couldn't defeat him, I decided to strike first and knock him unconscious... Knocking out a puppet should count as passing, right?"

"Knocked out..."

"Strength increasing higher and higher?" If they weren't sure before whether it was a puppet or Hall Master Feng, hearing these words, they were now 100% certain it was the latter. Although the puppets in the Martial Arts Hall were not weak, their levels were fixed; it was impossible for them to increase their strength while fighting... Unless it was a powerful individual in disguise.

"Let's go see..." Ignoring Zhang Xuan, who looked somewhat unfulfilled after defeating the puppet, Hall Master Xing and the others hurriedly walked toward the passage. Entering, they took just one look and their faces twitched uncontrollably.

They saw Hall Master Feng, covered in blood, embedded in the wall. His clothes were torn to shreds by the violent force, like rags. He looked as pathetic as could be.

"It really is Old Feng..." Coming closer, Hall Master Wei checked him and immediately confirmed his identity. With a flick of his wrist, he took out a pill and fed it to him, simultaneously circulating True Qi to help him absorb it. Not long after, the unconscious Hall Master Feng woke up.

"Why are you all here?" Hall Master Feng asked, looking confused.

"Were you just assessing a young man," Hall Master Xing asked, "and then... got beaten up?"

"Yes," Hall Master Feng replied, a blush rising on his face. "The person who came for the assessment had an extremely firm grasp of the Grand Constellation Finger Art. At the same level, I couldn't defeat him using the same martial art! Out of curiosity, I secretly increased my power... Who knew that fellow, seeing me change my cultivation, suddenly rushed over and wounded me with a single finger. And then, and then... I don't remember anything else..." Seeing someone able to cultivate the Grand Constellation Finger Art to such a level, he was delighted, like a hunter finding prey. He wanted to compete more with the other party and unleash the finger art's maximum combat power. The result was... before he could even force out the other party's full strength, the person rushed over and knocked him unconscious first... Just thinking about it made him feel ashamed.

"Oh, you..." Hall Master Xing said with a helpless expression. The dignified Hall Master of the Combat Master Hall, getting beaten to such a state by a Saint Realm 1-dan fellow... it was truly pathetic. However, as soon as he thought of how the three of them in the Heart Palace had also been heavily beaten... he immediately felt a sense of balance.

"By the way, how did you know I was unconscious?" Hall Master Feng asked, curious. "Who was that young man? He doesn't seem to be from our Combat Master Hall, does he?" He didn't know everyone in the Combat Master Hall, but he could recognize most of them. This young man was very unfamiliar; he shouldn't be from within the hall.

"He's an Enlightener whom the Hall Master invited to help stabilize our primordial spirits..." Hall Master Liao explained.

"An Enlightener?" Hall Master Feng was stunned. "An Enlightener, with such profound comprehension of martial arts? At the same level, I was no match?" He was the Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall of the Combat Master Hall, and with his cultivation, he ranked among the top in the entire Qingyuan Empire. With such strength, even if he suppressed his cultivation, he wouldn't be too weak... Yet the other party, an Enlightener, not only crushed him at the same level but even when he increased his cultivation, he couldn't stop them and was easily knocked unconscious...

"It's true... This Master Sun is not only an Enlightener but also a Master Teacher. The situation is like this..." Seeing his confused expression, Hall Master Xing had no choice but to explain in detail what had happened earlier.

"This..." Hall Master Feng's body stiffened; he couldn't believe it. "He learned the Grand Constellation Finger Art in just a dozen breaths, and understood it more profoundly than I, who have studied it for hundreds of years?"

"True geniuses cannot be measured by our standards," Hall Master Xing said quickly. "Come, I'll introduce you to this Master Sun. You two can consider it making acquaintance through combat!"

"Okay!" After recovering a bit, Hall Master Feng nodded. The group walked out of the passage, and just as they left the room, they saw numerous combat masters from the Martial Arts Hall uniformly kneeling on the ground. Each one looked at the young man not far away, filled with reverence and excitement.

"Thank you, Teacher, for helping us resolve our doubts..."