Chapter 325: Hundreds of Bells Ringing Together

"How could it be so fast?"

"It hasn't even been half an incense stick of time, has it? He's already started teaching, and... finished?"

"What exactly did he teach?"

Hearing the bell, everyone outside trembled.

After the Compendium of Techniques provides a manual, there's an incense stick of time to read it before explanations begin. Now, people had only been inside for about half an incense stick of time when the Sage Bell rang. Could it be... that he was given a new manual and started teaching immediately without even looking at it?

And... it's only been this long, and he's finished teaching?

Because only after completing the explanation can one gain the sages' approval and hear the bell ring. Others, even if they gained approval, would spend at least three or four incense sticks of time inside, with the longest taking half a day to teach.

For it to start ringing after just half an incense stick of time... Not only had they never seen it, they had never even heard of it!

"Teaching too quickly will definitely result in incomplete content. I'm afraid one bell ring is the limit!" The elder behind Ling Xiaoxiao couldn't help but shake his head, a look of regret on his face.

Haste makes waste, and it's true for everything. Even if one is capable and quickly understands cultivation techniques... to start teaching after just glancing at a book, being too eager for speed, surely means missing crucial details. After all, even the simplest techniques embody the wisdom of ancestors; a slight misstep could lead one astray forever. Many cultivators in the world fall into qi deviation, precisely because of misinterpretations of cultivation techniques leading to deviations in practice.

Of course, even if one understands, a short lecture time means the content won't be comprehensive, easily missing key points. Many who test to become master teachers, similar to answering an exam, will state all the knowledge they possess, hoping to hit on something that earns greater recognition. Finishing in such a short time indicates less content was delivered. Even if the Sage Bell rings, it likely won't ring many times.

"Yes, he's still young, a bit too impatient..." Apothecary Hongyun also nodded. He had received favors from the other party and naturally hoped that Teacher Zhang Xuan could go further. He didn't expect him to be so hasty; his achievements would probably stop here.

"A fall into a ditch makes you wiser. When he tests for a two-star master teacher, he won't be so reckless..." The elder nodded, just as he was lamenting, the ground shook again, and a mighty sound rang out once more.

*Dong! Dong! Dong!*

Three consecutive booming sounds shook the ground.

"Four rings? Excellent? Already comparable to Master Mo Hongyi's achievement?"

The elder and Apothecary Hongyun exchanged a glance, nearly spitting blood. They had just said the other party was too reckless and wouldn't achieve much, and then four rings sounded at once... Both felt their faces burning, a surge of pain.

"Four rings... that should be the limit, right?"

After the four rings, there was a moment of silence. Only then did the elder sigh in relief, looking forward, just about to say something more, when his ears vibrated again. The sound rang out once more.

"Five rings - complete understanding... A new record... has been born!" Everyone's faces turned pale, dumbfounded.

For thousands of years since the establishment of the Master Teacher Pavilion in the kingdom, Mo Hongyi's four rings were the best achievement. Others, no matter how strong, could at most tie that record... But Zhang Xuan, in front of them, had only used half an incense stick of time and achieved five rings... He had already broken the record, becoming the first.

"A genius is truly a genius. He picks up a manual, understands it instantly, and teaches it to achieve five bell rings, complete understanding... Admirable, admi—" The elder sighed, but before he could finish speaking, the ground shook again. Another booming sound.

"Damn! Is it ever going to end?" The elder was almost in tears. "Just when I thought the person's limit was reached, it rang again. Just when I thought no further progress was possible, it rang again... Are you doing this on purpose? Others' bells ring consecutively after a lecture, with little time between them. But yours, it rings suddenly, then suddenly again. Are you trying to scare people to death?"

"Six rings... perfect..." He felt frustrated, while everyone else's faces turned pale, all petrified.

"Vice Hall Master Guan, where is the Hall Master? Quickly send someone to invite him!" In a room deep within the Master Teacher Pavilion, an elder strode in.

"The Hall Master returned last night and entered secluded cultivation. He instructed us not to disturb him unless it was a major matter!" Guan Zequan, the Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Pavilion, looked over, puzzled: "Elder Zhu, what has happened to make you so flustered? Come, tell me. If it's truly a major matter, I'll go get the Hall Master right away and ask him to come!"

"Secluded cultivation?" Elder Zhu frowned, hesitated for a moment, then explained: "Someone is taking the one-star master teacher examination!"

"A one-star master teacher examination?" Vice Hall Master Guan chuckled, involuntarily shaking his head: "Isn't Wu Quan here? Let him preside over it. Is such a minor matter worth disturbing the Hall Master for? Don't you know the Hall Master has an old injury and needs to recuperate?"

"I know a one-star master teacher exam isn't worth disturbing the Hall Master for! But... if you knew how much commotion the examinee caused and what results he achieved, you probably wouldn't say that!" Elder Zhu shook his head.

"Oh? How much commotion could it cause? Could it be a genius like Mo Hongyi?" Vice Hall Master Guan was startled.

"Mo Hongyi?" Elder Zhu shook his head: "I only went to see after hearing the Sage Bell ring; I didn't see the first three stages, so I don't know the exact results and can't comment on them. I only know that the Sage Bell has been ringing continuously..."

"Ringing continuously? Could it be, more than four rings?" Vice Hall Master Guan's eyebrows rose.

"More than that..." Elder Zhu gave a wry smile.

"Four rings are excellent. More than four rings, doesn't that mean... it's reached five rings? That signifies complete understanding, without any errors..." Vice Hall Master Guan no longer maintained his casual demeanor. He stood up, his expression solemn: "The knowledge contained within the Sage Bell was left by four-star master teachers. Reaching five rings indicates that the explained knowledge has received their complete approval... Are you sure it's a one-star master teacher examination?"

"It is a one-star master teacher examination!" Elder Zhu nodded: "And... it rang more than five times!" It wasn't that Elder Zhu didn't want to say, intentionally leaving suspense; it was that even he couldn't believe it.

"Not five rings..." Vice Hall Master Guan could no longer contain himself, his lips trembling: "Could it be... six rings? Five rings mean complete understanding, six rings mean perfection, indicating that the understanding of the cultivation technique is on par with a four-star master teacher..."

Before he could finish speaking, Elder Zhu said in a voice that made him frantic: "It's seven rings!"

*Thud!*

Vice Hall Master Guan's knees buckled, and he sank back into his seat, his face pale: "Seven bell rings, acknowledged by all sages? This... how is this possible?"

Everyone knew that six bell rings meant achieving a perfect level, but they didn't know there was a seventh ring. Reaching this state meant gaining the acknowledgement of the Sage Bell! In other words, he had received the approval of four-star master teachers, and in terms of understanding cultivation techniques, he could converse with them as equals. A person taking a one-star master teacher exam, getting the approval of the consciousness left by a four-star master teacher, and being able to converse as an equal? Guan Zequan felt his face turn pale, his heart filled with disbelief.

As Vice Hall Master of the Master Teacher Pavilion for so many years, he had seen many geniuses! But someone this monstrous, he had not only never seen but never even heard of!

"Seven bell rings... can we now invite the Hall Master to come over?" Seeing his body tremble, Elder Zhu knew that anyone hearing this news would likely react the same way, and he looked over again.

"This... of course, we can. However, I'll go check first, to confirm..." Suppressing the shock in his heart, Vice Hall Master Guan exhaled and waved his sleeve.

"Alright then, let's go!" Elder Zhu nodded, and the two walked out. Just as they stepped out of the room, a tremendous chime resonated throughout the entire Master Teacher Pavilion. The previous sounds had only circulated within the examination hall for master teachers, but this sound seemed to shake the entire Tianwu Royal City. The violent tremor seemed to tear through the Master Teacher Pavilion's restraints, ripping open a chasm in the heavens and earth.

Under the immense tremor, Vice Hall Master Guan and Elder Zhu both fell to the ground simultaneously, their faces pale, and a disbelieving voice slowly rang out... "It's... a hundred bells chiming together... all sages bowing in reverence?"

"What... what exactly happened?"

"All sages bowing in reverence? What does that mean? How have I never heard of it?" Hearing all the bells chime simultaneously, the sound seemingly tearing through the air, Ling Xiaoxiao could no longer resist looking at the elder behind her.

She had heard of one ring, two rings, three rings... all the way up to six rings, but never seven! Now, a hundred bells chiming together... made her even dizzier, unable to understand what was happening.

"A hundred bells chiming together, all sages bowing in reverence, means... that even if a four-star master teacher were here, they would listen attentively to the lecture without daring to refute... It means that Zhang Xuan's explanation of cultivation techniques has already surpassed the four-star realm, reaching the level of a five-star master teacher, or even higher..." The elder trembled.

"What? Surpassed four stars?" Ling Xiaoxiao's face turned pale. That guy who supposedly understood nothing, his comprehension of cultivation techniques and martial arts surpassed four stars... How could this be possible? She felt her body tremble slightly, almost going crazy.

"Yes, but..." The elder stopped there, his horrified eyes also filled with confusion.

"But what?" This time, not only Ling Xiaoxiao but also Apothecary Hongyun from the side looked over.

"But... normally, when a hundred bells chime together and all sages acknowledge, the bells should continuously ring for the duration of a cup of tea as a celebration. Why did it only ring once and then stop?"

"Duration of a cup of tea?"

"Yes!" The elder shook his head: "It seems we'll only know the answer once the master teachers come out!"

Inside the Compendium of Techniques room, all the one-star master teachers overseeing the examination were utterly captivated. The youth's explanation of the Rippling Water Palm was so thorough; if one cultivated according to his methods, everyone would learn it in no time. Truly reaching a state where everyone is like a dragon.

*Dong dong dong dong!*

Just like the captivated audience, the surrounding large bells, having heard such profound theories, became excited and rang simultaneously, their sound piercing the sky.

"Shut up, are you done or not? One ring, two rings, three rings, I didn't mind those, but now you're all ringing together haphazardly. I haven't even finished my lecture yet, what are you barking about?!" Frowning, Zhang Xuan reprimanded them. The many chiming bells immediately fell silent.

Master Wu, Mo Hongyi, Mo Yu, Jiang Chen, and others, all stood with mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.