Chapter 327: Thirty Defects

Silence reigned.

Their worst fears had come true!

The first and second trials of the Hall of No Faults were not separated; they were adjacent to each other.

Normally, before entering, Teacher Wu would explain how to activate the first trial.

Even without an explanation, all apprentices from Tianwu Kingdom knew the rules, so there wouldn't be many mistakes.

But this guy was different!

He rushed in without understanding anything!

It was bad enough that he rushed in, but he didn't even touch the first trial and went straight into the second... His luck was truly terrible!

“Can we go in and save him now?” Alchemist Hongyun asked anxiously.

“Once the Hall of No Faults starts running, it cannot be stopped until a result appears...” Teacher Wu's face turned pale, and he hesitated. “Unless... the Hall Master comes personally and uses the Hall Master's token to force an entry!”

“Alright then!” Vice Hall Master Guan nodded and turned to leave. “I'll go find the Hall Master. I hope he can hold on until the Hall Master arrives...”

If a genius who had continuously broken records in the previous trials were to die here due to their oversight, the entire branch would face a huge disaster.

“Hold on until the Hall Master returns... Is that even possible?”

Teacher Wu's face was ashen.

A Half-Master realm cultivator would be instantly killed when facing a Master realm expert. How could he possibly hold out?

“We can only hope that fortune favors him...”

Knowing there was no other way, they could only look up at the large door before them, secretly hoping.

Inside the room of the fifth trial, Zhang Xuan stared intently at the puppet before him.

What Ling Xiaoxiao said about the first four trials was accurate and didn't differ much from what Teacher Wu had described, so it didn't matter. Seeing everyone chatting, he pushed the door open and entered.

As soon as he entered, he immediately realized something was wrong.

A puppet charged at him the moment he entered, and he instantly knocked it to the ground, rendering it immobile.

Now, a second puppet charged over, its strength clearly different from the first. If he hadn't been fast, he might have already been injured.

“A Master realm early stage puppet? As expected of the final trial, it's much stronger than the previous ones!”

Recognizing the puppet's strength, Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed.

The two puppets in the third trial were only at the Half-Master realm, but this one was directly at the Master realm early stage. No wonder so many people failed the Master Teacher assessment; such a powerful opponent would be incredibly difficult to defeat.

“However... it's nothing to me!”

Although a Master realm puppet was formidable, it was nothing to Zhang Xuan.

He had reached the Half-step Master realm and possessed 1500 ding of strength. With his raw power alone, he could already contend with early Master realm experts. Coupled with cultivation techniques like the Heaven's Path Movement and Fist Arts, and his ability to see others' flaws, even mid or late Master realm cultivators might not win against him in combat, let alone a mere puppet.

As he mused, the puppet before him charged fiercely.

With a thought, he discerned seven or eight flaws. Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, dodged backward, and pointed two fingers like a sword at an opening.

The move didn't use much force, yet the puppet seemed to suffer a heavy blow, its tall frame involuntarily recoiling backward.

“Continue!”

Having succeeded with one move, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. He leaped forward, pouncing on the puppet and mercilessly pummeling its flaws.

Since this was called the Hall of No Faults, it meant finding and attacking flaws. The more flaws attacked, the higher the score would undoubtedly be.

The first puppet had charged too quickly, so he had instinctively slapped it away before he could react. Now that this puppet was strong, it was perfect for some practice.

Bang bang bang bang!

Fists, palms, elbows, thighs... various attacks landed on the puppet, forcing it to retreat repeatedly.

Since transmigrating, he had barely fought. Now, using his full strength, Zhang Xuan felt his True Qi surge and flow throughout his body, an indescribably comfortable sensation.

Crack! Crack!

The pure True Qi moved faster and faster along his meridians, and in a short while, it broke through several bottlenecks that were usually difficult to overcome through regular cultivation.

“He actually broke through the Master realm barrier?”

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He hadn't expected that this offensive would allow him to break through the Master realm barrier that he had been struggling to overcome. He was now ready to break through to the Master realm at any moment.

Stepping into the Master realm was like a fish transforming into a dragon; his lifespan and physical stamina would both see significant improvements.

Although he had felt very close to breaking through before, he knew it would be difficult to achieve without months of arduous cultivation. He never expected a single battle to shatter it.

“No rush to break through yet. This guy is perfect for some practice!”

Pleased, Zhang Xuan wasn't eager to break through immediately.

Once he broke through, beating this guy would be as easy as beating a dog, and it wouldn't be meaningful anymore.

He could use this opportunity to hone his combat skills and his ability to exploit flaws.

“Hall Master's study, not there...”

“Meeting hall, not there...”

“Where could the Hall Master be?”

Knowing that the genius was trapped in the Hall of No Faults, Vice Hall Master Guan didn't stop for a moment. He unleashed his peak Master realm strength, moving as swiftly as a whirlwind.

Soon, he searched all the places where the Hall Master usually appeared, yet he couldn't find a trace of him.

He had previously assumed the Hall Master was in secluded cultivation, never imagining... that he wasn't even in the Master Teacher Hall.

“The backyard!”

After searching the front, he turned and ran towards the backyard.

Many Master Teachers lived there. Behind the Master Teacher Hall was a vast residence, divided into many courtyards, and the Hall Master resided in one of them.

Moving at top speed, he reached the Hall Master's courtyard in six or seven breaths. Before he even entered, he heard the roar of a savage beast.

“Why is there a savage beast?” Vice Hall Master Guan was startled.

This was the Master Teacher Hall, not the Beast Hall. Where did a savage beast come from?

“Is the Hall Master in danger?”

His pupils constricted, and he disregarded all etiquette, pushing the door open and rushing inside.

“Hall Master...”

He called out, preparing to act, but when he saw the scene in the courtyard, he froze on the spot.

The Hall Master was indeed in the courtyard, and there was a savage beast, but it wasn't the battle he imagined. Instead, the Hall Master was feeding the beast roasted meat.

A giant savage beast was excitedly eating, its face full of enjoyment.

“Teacher Guan, what brings you here in such a hurry? What happened?”

Seeing him rush in without announcing himself, the Hall Master frowned.

“Hall Master, this is bad! A genius undergoing the Master Teacher assessment has fallen into the Hall of No Faults...”

Vice Hall Master Guan knew this was not the time to dwell on such issues, so he quickly explained the situation in brief.

“You said... he unknowingly directly triggered the second trial's puppet?” The Hall Master was stunned, then showed anxiety. “How foolish! Let's go!”

Knowing that there was no time to waste, and no longer bothering with the meat-eating beast, the Hall Master's body flickered as he rushed out.

The two peak Master realm experts moved with extreme speed, like a swift wind, reaching the Master Teacher assessment hall in about ten breaths.

They expected to see everyone's anxious faces upon entering, but instead, they saw everyone with wide eyes, looking dazed and bewildered, as if bewitched.

“What's going on?” the Hall Master asked, confused.

With such a formidable genius trapped in the Hall of No Faults, shouldn't everyone be worried and anxious, hoping for him to come and find a way to save the person?

Why were they all so unconcerned, acting like fools?

“Hall Master... look, look!”

As he wondered, Vice Hall Master Guan noticed something and couldn't help but point forward.

Following his finger, they saw a row of numbers on the wall of the fifth trial, shining brightly and hurting their eyes.

“Four hundred sixty-five... What is that?”

His body trembled, and the Hall Master nearly fainted on the spot.

“It's... it should be the score for finding flaws...”

Vice Hall Master Guan swallowed hard.

“Score for finding flaws?”

The Hall Master's face darkened, almost wanting to vomit blood.

Didn't you say this guy was in danger and about to be killed?

Didn't you say he was trapped and couldn't get out?

What are these scores?!

In the Hall of No Faults, finding one flaw earned one point, two flaws earned two points, three flaws earned three points... and so on, increasing incrementally.

For others, even the most talented, finding six or ten flaws was impressive, a record that would be hard to break for a hundred years. But this one... 465?

What the heck!

“465 means... he found thirty flaws in the puppet...”

His heart trembled, and his face twitched uncontrollably. The Hall Master felt he was going mad.

The Hall of No Faults was called 'No Faults' because the puppet's techniques and cultivation methods were specially reviewed by a 4-star Master Teacher. The techniques it could execute were as powerful as those of a 4-star Master Teacher suppressing their cultivation.

Even if there were mistakes, there would only be one or two, and they would be hard to detect. But this guy...

Thirty flaws, 465 points...

Did your family build that puppet?

“Are you sure... he entered the second trial and not the first?”

His mouth twitched for a long time, and the Hall Master could no longer hold back.

Someone assessing for a 1-star Master Teacher inadvertently entered the second trial and found thirty flaws in a Master realm puppet... Even someone assessing for a 2-star Master Teacher wouldn't be able to do that!

“The light flashing on the first trial's wall is blue, and the second trial's is red... When the trial started, I saw it with my own eyes, it was red, there's no mistake!”

Vice Hall Master Guan also looked dumbfounded.

He had anxiously called the Hall Master over, intending for him to rescue a genius from tribulation. Yet... the person inside was having a delightful time fighting and playing happily.

How long had it even been?

And he had managed to find over thirty flaws!

Vice Hall Master Guan swayed.

Not to mention him, even if all the Master Teachers in the Master Teacher Hall were sent in, they wouldn't be able to find so many!

After all, this was a puppet left by a 4-star Master Teacher. Unless one's insight far surpassed theirs, finding so many flaws would be almost impossible!

Creak!

As the two were going mad, the door opened, and a young man walked out.

Seeing him emerge, Teacher Wu quickly went to meet him. “Master Zhang, are you... alright?”

Since he had passed all five trials, he was certainly a Master Teacher. Therefore, Teacher Wu changed his address from 'Teacher Zhang' to 'Master Zhang'.

“What could possibly happen in a normal assessment?”

Zhang Xuan looked at him with a strange expression, then sheepishly added, “However... I didn't control my strength well just now and accidentally broke that puppet. It should... be able to repair itself, right?”