Chapter 554: Spiritual Intelligence Retention

Two minutes earlier.

Stepping into the room, Zhang Xuan looked around. The room was not large. Immediately visible was a weapon rack, fully stocked with all kinds of weapons: swords, sabers, spears, and more.

Elder Bai stood in the center, looking over with a calm expression. "Choose a weapon; use what you're best at!" he said.

"Weapons?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Weapons can easily hurt people, so I'll pass." The long sword, long spear, and great saber he was skilled with all carried a formidable weapon intent, making them incredibly powerful. Since it was only an assessment, there was no need for such danger.

"You..." Elder Bai's face darkened. *Weapons can indeed hurt people, but did he think he could hurt me?* His eyebrows rose, and his eyes grew cold. *What an arrogant fellow, truly not knowing his place.*

"Fine, since you won't use one, don't blame me for being merciless!" Too lazy to waste time arguing, Elder Bai's body swayed. His power, at the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, was suppressed to the peak of Transcendent Mortal 1-dan. "Now my cultivation is the same as yours. Make your move!" Elder Bai extended an arm, looking over coldly. Since the other party wasn't using a weapon, it would naturally be improper for him, a dignified Transcendent Mortal 4-dan expert, to use one. They could only fight bare-handed.

"You go first..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"You..." Elder Bai's eyes twitched with anger. *Was this guy confident, or just a bit dense? My strength is immense. Once I attack, you won't even be able to resist. Do you really think you can withstand more than a few moves? The previous candidates, as soon as they arrived, unleashed their strongest attacks, overwhelming me like a storm, only managing to last over twenty moves... If I go first, are you sure you can even stand a chance?*

"Alright then!" Seeing that the other party had no intention of making a move, Elder Bai raised an eyebrow, stomped his foot hard on the ground, and charged straight forward. Whoosh! His body transformed into an afterimage, reaching the young man in the blink of an eye.

"Lie down!" Seeing that the young man didn't even try to dodge and remained standing, Elder Bai scoffed coldly and pressed his palm straight down. Before his palm could make contact, he suddenly felt nothing. Zhang Xuan had vanished from his sight.

"Oh no..." His pupils contracted. He quickly turned his head, only to see a shoe sole appear right before his eyes. Before he could react, he was sent flying backward, sticking straight to the wall. He looked even worse than Elder Wu from before, with a huge, vivid shoe print clearly visible on his face.

Elder Bai spat out a mouthful of blood, completely bewildered. The martial art he had just performed was called 'Easy Pickings,' and it had already reached the Spirit-tier Middle Grade, possessing boundless power. Especially its myriad variations and follow-up moves, which were too numerous to count, dazzling the eyes and making it difficult to discern truth from illusion. He had thought that once he unleashed it, the opponent would be toyed with in his grasp, unable to tell north from south, or discern feints, real moves, or illusions... He never dreamed that it would be dodged in an instant!

What made him even dizzier was that the vital point of this move, unlike the armpits, crotch, or back of other ultimate techniques, was at the *Qingming* acupuncture point! The *Qingming* point is located between the eyebrows, an easily discoverable spot. Hiding the vital point there meant exposing the most dangerous area right under everyone's noses, something no one would expect. This was originally his most confidential true qi circulation route; even his closest direct disciples and Hall Master Kang were completely unaware of it. Yet, this guy in front of him had just kicked it...

In an instant, his vital point was struck, and his true qi scattered throughout his body. If he hadn't, at the last moment, released his suppressed cultivation and returned to the peak of Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, that single blow might have been fatal!

*Damn it! What in the world just happened? I'm a peak Transcendent Mortal 4-dan expert. I suppressed my cultivation to spar with a Transcendent Mortal 1-dan guy, and ended up getting kicked in the face and nearly dying... He had come specifically to assess the opponent, to see how many rounds this young man could last. But instead... he himself hadn't even lasted a single round and was almost kicked to death...* The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became, his face turning a shade of ashen blue.

As he struggled to jump down from the wall and regulate the chaotic true qi within him, he saw the young man walk over with a concerned expression. "Elder Bai, are you alright?"

"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Elder Bai dropped from the indentation in the wall to the ground. Before he could even regulate his breath, he heard the other party muttering to himself, a hint of emotion in his voice. "I thought if I let you go first, you might last a few moves, but I didn't expect you couldn't even withstand one. That's too weak..."

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out. *This damn well should be my line, shouldn't it? I came here to assess how many moves you could last, and now I'm severely injured by your kick...*

"Shut up!" The more he thought, the angrier he became, and he roared.

"Shut up? Does Elder Bai want to spar again?" the voice from the other side continued.

"I..." Elder Bai was speechless, his chest tight with discomfort, on the verge of tears. The opponent's dodge just now was as fast as lightning. If he were at Transcendent Mortal 4-dan, he could definitely have dodged it and even found a way to nullify the attack. But... at 1-dan, it was simply impossible. More importantly, the kick from behind looked a bit underhanded, but... with a Transcendent Mortal 1-dan's strength, it truly couldn't be dodged! That move seemed to merge with nature itself. Its power was immense, and it struck his vital meridian. Not to mention the opponent's follow-up moves, even with just these two factors, he would lose ten out of ten times if they sparred again, never able to win. He even suspected that even if he suppressed his cultivation to Transcendent Mortal 2-dan, he would still struggle to contend with it! *Didn't they say he was easy to deal with because of his low cultivation? Easy to deal with, my foot...*

"Let's go out!" Fearing that the other party would say something else that would make him spit blood, Elder Bai disregarded his injuries, stood up, and headed for the door, pushing it open and stepping outside. Seeing his urgency, Zhang Xuan followed him out.

Hall Master Kang, in his haste, let out an expletive, drawing everyone's attention. They couldn't help but look towards the newly opened door, and upon seeing what was inside, their eyes widened, and they nearly spat blood themselves. Elder Bai emerged, clutching his chest, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth, and a vivid, strikingly red shoe print clearly visible on his face.

"What happened?"

"Elder Bai... is injured?"

"Wasn't he supposed to be assessing Zhang Xuan?" Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, completely at a loss. Elder Bai went to assess someone's cultivation, yet he looked even worse than Elder Wu from before, beaten to a pulp? *Look at that face, that shoe print, that expression... Oh dear, better not look anymore, or I'll feel like throwing up.*

"Elder Bai, what is this..." Hall Master Kang also looked over with a strange expression.

"I..." Elder Bai wished for a crack in the ground to disappear into.

"I apologize, Hall Master Kang. It's my fault. I should have held back, but I didn't expect... Elder Bai, with his cultivation suppressed, to be so weak... I temporarily lost control of my strength and injured him. My mistake!" Zhang Xuan walked out, his face full of apology.

"Weak?"

"Temporarily lost control of strength?"

"Injured?" The many master teachers on the platform stared at each other, wide-eyed, as if they had seen a ghost. To one side, Fu Xiaochen and Young Master Ruohuan, who had just been smug and excited, now exchanged glances, their bodies trembling as if they were about to faint. They had thought this guy wouldn't even last a single move before being knocked down. It turned out that not lasting a single move was true... but the target had changed to Elder Bai! *Are you kidding me?! This was a peak Transcendent Mortal 4-dan expert, a super powerhouse second only to Hall Master Kang, yet he was kicked in the face and beaten to a pulp... When they had fought Elder Bai earlier, they had used every ounce of their strength and only managed to last about thirty moves. Yet, this guy knocked him out in one move...* The few of them felt their vision blacken, unable to believe this was real.

"This..." Hall Master Kang, Teacher Su, and Teacher Ling also gaped, quickly looking at Elder Bai, wanting to hear the exact news from him. Seeing his helpless nod, they felt as if thunder was striking all around them, and they wished they could die. They had just confidently declared that Teacher Zhang, due to his rapid cultivation advancement, couldn't possibly withstand ten moves. Now they realized... it was Elder Bai who couldn't endure, not even a single move, getting beaten into such a state...

"Alright, since the results are out... let's rearrange the rankings!" Forced to change his statement once again, Hall Master Kang's face flushed red. "First place, Teacher Zhang; second, Fu Xiaochen; third, Young Master Ruohuan; fourth, Feng Mosheng, Du Hu..."

With the results announced, Zhang Xuan once again emerged as the dark horse, taking first place. They couldn't *not* give him first place! Others managed to last a few moves under an elder's attack, but he directly knocked an elder down... The disparity was too great; there was no way to argue against it!

"Alright, now we will proceed with the third assessment round!" Knowing that dwelling further on this matter would make the assessment endless, Hall Master Kang decisively cut to the chase, looking around. "For the first two rounds, we assessed your state of mind and cultivation. While these are important, they are merely the foundation for becoming a master teacher! As an excellent teacher, the most crucial aspect is still giving lectures and educating people! Therefore, the third assessment round is precisely this! A normal assessment would require you to find an academy, hide your true identity, and quietly conduct lectures. After several months or even a year or two, students would compete, and thereby the teacher's instructional ability would be judged... However, the Master Teacher Tournament begins in two months, and we don't have that much time. So... we've devised a faster, better method to test your teaching capabilities! That is... Spirit Imprint Retention!" Hall Master Kang introduced.

"Spirit Imprint Retention? What's that?"

"I'm not sure either. I only know about 'Spiritual Intelligence.' I heard it's an ability only five-star painters and calligraphers possess, allowing figures in their artworks to gain spiritual intelligence, absorb spiritual energy from the air independently, and survive for a long time."

"Now that you mention it, I remember! This is the sixth realm of painting and calligraphy!"

"Indeed! Realism, Vitality, Intent, Fleeting Grace, Spiritualization, and Spiritual Intelligence... To create works of this caliber, one must already be a five-star painter and calligrapher. There isn't a single one in the entire Myriad Kingdom City!"

"Since 'Spiritual Intelligence' is an ability of five-star painters and calligraphers, what then is 'Spirit Imprint Retention'? And how does it assess one's teaching and nurturing abilities?" Below, people quietly discussed, each wearing a puzzled expression. It seemed many didn't understand the meaning of 'Spirit Imprint Retention.'

Even Zhang Xuan frowned. Only Young Master Ruohuan, upon hearing this, brightened, clenching his fists in excitement. As a four-star painter and calligrapher, he would definitely have an advantage in an assessment related to this.