Chapter 1204: Successful Break-In

“What, you’re told you’re wrong and you’re still not convinced? Fine, I’ll tell you then!”

Seeing the other party’s attitude—clearly wrong in so many ways yet unwilling to learn humbly—Zhang Xuan felt slightly displeased, his tone carrying a didactic edge: “Let’s start with the biggest flaw. This ‘Autumn Wind Entwining Hand’ technique, inspired by autumn winds sweeping leaves, should embody the chill and killing intent of the autumn wind. Yet, yours only has the ‘entwining’ aspect, completely lacking any artistic conception. Power without intent is hollow; intent without power is empty! While this might be acceptable for a Spirit-level martial skill, as an ultimate move that only Saint realm experts can execute, its complete lack of artistic conception makes it vastly inferior!”

“This…” Zhao Zhen was stunned.

While some Saint realm martial skills don’t require artistic conception to be performed, having it makes them easier to comprehend and more powerful. Strictly speaking, it was indeed a flaw. When he first created this move, he had just finished his Eight-star Master Teacher assessment. Seeing autumn leaves being swept away, he felt joy instead of desolation, which led to this move being very powerful but devoid of artistic conception.

“The second flaw: your ‘Golden Thread Entanglement’ move releases vital energy to bind opponents, which can indeed restrict their limbs. However, this is only effective against those of the same level or ordinary experts. If it were me, and vital energy pierced here…”

Zhang Xuan moved, grabbing at the air. Vital energy shot from his fingertips, enveloping the surroundings like silk threads.

“You…” Zhao Zhen’s eyes widened.

He’d never taught this move to anyone. He just performed it once in front of this person and he learned it? That couldn’t be right, could it?!

“No, your move is a bit different from what I just performed…” Zhao Zhen suddenly froze, quickly interrupting Zhang Xuan’s demonstration. The other party’s move, though seemingly identical to his Golden Thread Entanglement, had subtle changes that couldn’t escape him, its creator.

“Oh, I just thought your move was too trashy, so I casually changed it a bit!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand. “Don’t interrupt me; let me finish what I’m saying…”

“Too trashy? Casually changed it?” His body trembled, and Zhao Zhen’s consciousness wavered again. He quickly looked at the move the young man was demonstrating. It seemed… it was indeed better and more powerful than the one he used…

Whoosh!

While he was still in shock, the young man extended his other hand and gently pointed at a certain spot. Swish! The entire vital energy net seemed to have been struck at its most crucial node. In the blink of an eye, it coiled together, and the surging vital energy, as if startled, rapidly flew back.

“‘Golden Thread Entanglement’ causes vital energy to automatically retract upon contact with an enemy, which can prevent them from escaping. However, its flaw is also very obvious: once this vital point is discovered, the opponent only needs to lightly point, and the vital energy will flow backward, causing a backlash! Not only will it fail to harm the enemy, but it will injure yourself first…”

Zhao Zhen’s pupils contracted. This move indeed had such a flaw, but… only an Eight-star Master Teacher of at least mid-grade or even high-grade could instantly spot this flaw… And he wouldn’t use this move to attack such a Master Teacher anyway!

“The second move, ‘Thread Coiling Wind and Clouds,’ sends out a silver thread to control the surrounding momentum, having a controlling effect on people. However… if the opponent is armed with a weapon, they can easily cut it, not only escaping smoothly but also damaging your soul…” Zhang Xuan continued.

“Wait a minute…” Zhao Zhen’s body swayed. “It seems… I haven’t even performed my second move, nor have I mentioned it. How do you know its name, and its flaws too…”

“I already told you not to interrupt me. Such a simple move, once you see one, you can infer the rest; it’s not difficult…” Zhang Xuan impatiently waved his hand. “The third move, ‘Falling Leaf Cicada Chirp’… The sound of autumn cicadas is mournful; this is a sound wave attack. It has the most flaws, thirty-seven in total, eight of which are…”

His words flowed smoothly, describing each point with extreme detail, elaborating on the flaws in the martial skill, the methods of its application, and its counters. After only a few sentences, Zhao Zhen knew that everything he said was correct, as if he had pondered over this martial skill for countless years. His mouth twitched, and he felt utterly weak. Zhao Zhen was on the verge of collapsing. If he weren’t an Eight-star Master Teacher with a stable mindset, he would have gone mad long ago. He only saw him perform one move, yet he deduced the subsequent moves, and even their names were identical… Did he feel like he was dreaming?

“Alright, these are the flaws I mentioned. Did you understand? Do you know where you went wrong?” While still overwhelmed with shock, he heard the young man opposite him finish speaking, his tone admonishing.

“I understand my mistake, I won’t dare to do it again next time…” He answered reflexively, but halfway through, Zhao Zhen’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment. This fellow had cast himself as the teacher, and as a result, he had unwittingly cast himself as the student… Yet, he was an ancestor from over ten thousand years ago, countless generations older than the person standing before him…

“Cough, cough!” He stopped his half-finished sentence, Zhao Zhen’s face crestfallen. “Stop talking. You passed…”

“Passed? It seems you still haven’t realized your mistake. As a Master Teacher who came from the Master Teacher Hall of Qingyuan Empire, revered by countless people, is this kind of learning attitude acceptable…” Zhang Xuan frowned. “I’ve seen many students, and you’re the worst I’ve ever seen—not humble at all…”

“…” Zhao Zhen was infuriated. “I’m the examiner! When did I become your student?!” Filled with frustration, he could no longer hold on. His consciousness flickered, and he instantly vanished from the spot.

“Sigh!” Seeing the other party’s consciousness vanish out of shame, Zhang Xuan shook his head. “An Eight-star Master Teacher, yet with such little composure… No wonder the entire Qingyuan Empire was in such disarray, and the Master Teacher Hall even more so. They clearly knew I was wronged, yet they wouldn’t let me pass immediately… If they’re not asking for death, who is? Since I’m here to challenge the hall anyway, I might as well challenge them until they’re thoroughly convinced.”

***

Outside the Master Teacher Tower.

“The light on the second floor lit up, indicating that Master Teacher Zhang had encountered Master Teacher Zhao Zhen!” Looking up at the light emanating from the towering pagoda, Master Teacher Wu mused, “Master Teacher Zhao Zhen’s mastery of martial skills has reached an astonishing level. Even if Master Teacher Zhang can pass his martial skill assessment, it will likely take a significant amount of time…”

As the Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Hall, having been there for several hundred years, he was intimately familiar with the Master Teacher Tower’s checkpoints, knowing them perfectly. As he was calculating, he saw the light on the second floor immediately extinguish. When challenging the Master Teacher Tower, encountering a checkpoint automatically illuminates a light; once passed, the light extinguishes.

“This… he passed?” He couldn’t help but be stunned. Just moments ago, he was thinking it would take considerable time even if he passed, but he never dreamed… it would be so fast! Only three minutes at most, and he passed… How could a dignified Eight-star Master Teacher be so easily convinced?

“Hmm? Look, it’s lit up again?” Someone exclaimed. Looking up, Master Teacher Wu was stunned once more. The second floor, which had just extinguished, had inexplicably lit up again. A lit light indicates failure to pass. Could it be… Master Teacher Zhang didn’t pass?

“No, this is Master Teacher Han’s light on the third floor; the color is different…” As he puzzled over this, Hall Master Gou’s voice rang out. Master Teacher Wu quickly looked and indeed noticed the discrepancy. The light that had just lit up was indeed different from the previous one. The earlier one was somewhat orange, while this one was milky white.

“This is Master Teacher Han guarding the pass. But that’s not right. Master Teacher Han left the Master Teacher Hall eight thousand years ago. Although he’s also an Eight-star low-grade, he’s much stronger than Master Teacher Zhao. He was originally supposed to guard the third floor, so how did he appear on the second?” Hall Master Gou’s voice continued.

Master Teacher Wu frowned. Others also found it strange. “Under normal circumstances, during a simple challenge, the light extinguishes once passed, and the checkpoint’s position doesn’t move…” Still perplexed, Hall Master Gou was mid-sentence when his body suddenly stiffened, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Could it be… Master Teacher Zhao’s consciousness on the second level dissipated?”

“Consciousness dissipated?”

“Yes, legend has it that if the consciousness of an ancestor guarding the Master Teacher Tower dissipates, the Master Teacher guarding the upper checkpoint will automatically come down to replace them…” Hall Master Gou’s throat was dry. “It’s just a challenge; at most, it’s an assessment. How could a consciousness dissipate? Ancestors, when dealing with challenges, merely assess. As long as one can pass, they wouldn’t make things overly difficult… Consciousness dissipated… What exactly happened?”

While they were still at a loss, the milky white light also flickered and vanished directly. Immediately after, a light blue light appeared on the second floor.

“Master Teacher Han’s consciousness also disappeared…” Hall Master Gou was stunned again, then suddenly leaped up. “This is bad! Quickly, go up and stop Master Teacher Zhang… Our Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall has only produced these few strong experts over ten thousand years, leaving behind these few strands of consciousness. If they all disappear, our Master Teacher Hall will be utterly finished…”

The consciousnesses of these predecessors remain in the Master Teacher Tower; for those who have reached peak levels, they can still learn if they don’t understand something… If they all disappear, the Master Teacher Hall will have nothing, truly finished.

“Stop him? Master Teacher Zhang is challenging the hall, and headquarters has agreed. Under normal circumstances, stopping him is not allowed…” Master Teacher Wu was startled but also understood the gravity of the situation. He was anxious but also knew the rules, so he quickly said.

“I know we can’t stop him… Then, can’t we just concede?” Hall Master Gou was on the verge of tears. “If our Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall concedes and admits that he successfully challenged the hall, that should stop him…”

Hall Master Gou flipped his wrist, took out his Hall Master token, held his palm upright, bit his fingertip, and pointed it sharply upwards. A beam of light shot straight into the sky.

Boom!

Immediately after, a huge force once again rose from above the Master Teacher Hall, giving off a strong oppressive aura. Then, a grand voice slowly resounded.

“The Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall acknowledges Master Teacher Zhang Xuan’s successful challenge and voluntarily concedes. Please cease the challenge… Oh, never mind, it’s already finished…”

Before the voice had even finished, a ‘creak!’ sound was heard as Zhang Xuan walked out of the Master Teacher Tower, a bewildered expression on his face.

“What exactly is going on with your Master Teacher Tower? Why are all the examiners piled up on the second floor?”