Chapter 567: Men Not Men, Women Not Women

"Palace Master Wu, Zhang Shi is not a reckless person..." Kang Tangzhu's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he felt on the verge of losing his mind. He couldn't believe that Zhang Shi, with a single remark, had angered the usually composed and unexpressive Palace Master Wu so much that she wanted to dismiss them.

He had spent an immense amount of effort securing those two spots. Yet, this person, with just one sentence, managed to offend everyone.

"See them out!" Palace Master Wu commanded sharply, ignoring his explanation.

With a swish, the white-robed woman who had earlier escorted them in approached, her expression unfriendly. "Gentlemen, if you please," she said.

"Palace Master Wu..." Kang Tangzhu was about to speak further when Zhang Xuan cut him off. "Enough, Kang Tangzhu. Why pay any mind to this gender-ambiguous fellow? If they want us to leave, then we'll simply depart."

A gasp escaped Young Master Ruohuan as he stumbled, nearly falling. Kang Tangzhu, too, was rooted to the spot, utterly petrified.

He had known Palace Master Wu for many years; she was a woman of exceptional beauty and elegance, inspiring self-consciousness in other women. To directly call such a figure "gender-ambiguous"... Even if she hadn't granted an additional slot, two were still acceptable. Even being expelled would have counted as a safe exit, avoiding a complete breakdown of relations. But now, with direct insults, it would be a miracle if this fifth-level Transcendent Mortal expert didn't erupt in fury and kill him on the spot.

Kang Tangzhu moved, circulating his true qi, and positioned himself in front of Zhang Xuan. If Palace Master Wu were to erupt, he would ensure Zhang Xuan's escape, even if it meant sustaining severe injuries himself.

"What did you say?" Just as predicted, Palace Master Wu's face turned ashen with rage, her eyes burning with a fury that seemed ready to tear him to shreds.

"What I said, don't you understand? Do you really want me to spell it out?" Zhang Xuan asked unhurriedly, his gaze calm. "If I'm not mistaken, the hair on certain parts of your body should be growing very quickly and quite long, right?"

"Pfft!" Young Master Ruohuan's vision swam. He simply couldn't hold it in and nearly passed out, almost dying on the spot. "My heavens! Big brother, are you doing this on purpose? Calling her gender-ambiguous was already shameless enough, but now you're asking about her body hair? No matter how long her hair is, it's covered by clothes—what business is it of yours?! Saying this in front of everyone, what is that if not blatant indecency? And even if her hair is long... how did you even notice? What on earth are you using a Master Teacher's keen eyesight for?"

Kang Tangzhu felt much the same as his student, utterly thunderstruck. The true qi he had painstakingly gathered nearly shattered, threatening to break his cultivation. He was the esteemed Head of the Master Teacher Pavilion, one of the most respected and powerful figures in Myriad Kingdoms City, known for his solemn dignity and serious demeanor. Yet here he was, accompanying this fellow in acting like a ruffian and provoking the Palace Master of the Glacial Palace. His face twisted in a conflicted grimace, and for a moment, he wished he could just die.

Nevertheless, Zhang Shi was ultimately his responsibility and part of the Master Teacher Pavilion; no matter how impolite Zhang Shi was, Kang Tangzhu couldn't abandon him. Gritting his teeth, he prepared himself to face the impending storm of the Palace Master's wrath. But then, he saw Palace Master Wu, who had just been seething with murderous anger, look over with a pallid face. "Y-you... how did you know?" she stammered.

"Huh?" Kang Tangzhu's true qi surged again, and his body went limp. Was he right? Zhang Xuan called her gender-ambiguous, then mentioned her long body hair... and she not only wasn't enraged but actually admitted it? Had he misheard, or had Palace Master Wu gone insane?

"It's quite simple. Your body exhibits yin coldness, yet numerous acupoints reveal yang qi. Your movements are as delicate as a maiden's, but your voice is remarkably resonant." As if he had long anticipated her admission, Zhang Xuan's expression remained calm. "If I'm not mistaken, your yin and yang are in conflict, unable to harmonize. This is precisely why you've started growing a man's beard, why your skin pores have enlarged, and why your body hair has lengthened!"

"This..." Palace Master Wu's delicate body trembled. What the other party said was absolutely true. The yin and yang within her were indeed in conflict, unable to harmonize. Especially in the past two years, she had actually started growing a beard, a characteristic typically found only in men! If she hadn't shaved it daily to maintain her dignified appearance, others would have surely discovered it long ago and ridiculed her to death. She had initially believed it was merely an imbalance of her internal yin and yang, something that could be resolved through proper cultivation. But to her dismay, as time passed, the condition only worsened, and even her fine body hairs began to coarsen. This was a private matter, too embarrassing to confide in anyone, and she had never dared seek help. Yet, this person before her had spoken of it in a single breath. How... how had he perceived it?

"The hair you spoke of... you mean my beard?" Palace Master Wu's body trembled with astonishment. Kang Tangzhu and Young Master Ruohuan, on the other hand, stood with their mouths wide open, simultaneously wiping sweat from their foreheads, their faces flushed with shame. When they had heard "long body hair" earlier, their minds had naturally jumped to a different, less innocent conclusion. How could they have possibly imagined a woman would grow a beard?

"You were injured by scorching sword qi and believed that as a woman, you couldn't fully unleash the formidable power of the Grand Linghua Art. Therefore, you switched to cultivating a yin-attribute technique. As a result, you failed to harmonize the internal energies, leading to your current condition. If this blockage isn't cleared in time, while you can still suppress it with sheer force to avoid detection now, it will likely become impossible to conceal within three years," Zhang Xuan stated.

Zhang Xuan couldn't glean more detailed information without her demonstrating a martial art. However, his Eye of Insight allowed for subtle observation, revealing that Palace Master Wu shaved daily, a secret she managed to keep from others but not from his keen vision. Recognizing the yin-yang imbalance and recalling Kang Tangzhu's earlier questions, deducing the cause was straightforward.

The Grand Linghua Art was a fiercely potent, yang-attribute cultivation method, emphasizing sharpness and a powerful surge that quickly waned. When Zhang Xuan first analyzed this problem, he had assumed the practitioner was male and hadn't given it much thought. But learning it was Palace Master Wu made it peculiar. Now, seeing her present condition, everything became clear. She must have cultivated the Grand Linghua Art and then an yin-attribute technique, causing conflicting energies that couldn't be harmonized.

The optimal solution would be to destroy her cultivation foundation and start anew. However, how could a respected Palace Master, the strongest in the Glacial Palace, possibly bring herself to do such a thing? While she could suppress it initially, over time, the recurrences grew more frequent, making control impossible. As for why a dignified woman would cultivate such a fierce, male-oriented technique, he wasn't sure, but it might be related to the Yin-Yang Pond, much like the red-robed woman he had encountered previously, who cultivated fire-attribute, yang-attribute techniques.

Hearing these analyses and remarks, Kang Tangzhu and the others found them somewhat unbelievable, while Palace Master Wu's face instantly turned deathly pale. Everything the other party said was absolutely correct.

After cultivating the Grand Linghua Art, she had suffered severe injuries. Although Kang Tangzhu had healed her, she had lost all her cultivation. Consequently, she had switched to cultivating a feminine, yin-soft technique, both to achieve a breakthrough and to dissolve the scorching sword qi within her. Due to having cultivated it once before, her progress was incredibly swift, and she quickly succeeded, completely dispersing the sword qi and recovering from her injuries. However, it was precisely this course of action that left a lasting problem, leading to her current predicament.

"May I ask... is there a solution?" Knowing that the other party had seen her condition with a single glance and might possess a remedy, Palace Master Wu couldn't help but look at him expectantly.

"There is a solution," Zhang Xuan replied. "The most direct way is to disperse your cultivation, exhaust your power, and become an ordinary person."

"Become an ordinary person... no, that's not possible. My lifespan has already exceeded a hundred years. If I disperse my cultivation, I will surely age rapidly and perish," Palace Master Wu quickly stated. She had considered this method before. However, her current age far surpassed the century mark for ordinary individuals; without cultivation to sustain her, she would inevitably decline swiftly, succumbing within three days. If that were the outcome, what purpose would solving the problem serve? It would be preferable to continue existing in her current state, barely clinging to life.

Zhang Xuan nodded. What she said was indeed true. The lifespan of a Transcendent Mortal was sustained by their cultivation. Without it, how could someone over a hundred years old possibly continue to live?

"Is there any other method?" Palace Master Wu asked, looking at him once more.

"Well... how about this: perform a set of martial arts for me. I can offer some guidance, which might help resolve your underlying issue. However, whether it can be fully resolved is uncertain," Zhang Xuan said, waving his hand. While he could surmise the core of her problem, he wasn't entirely clear on the precise solution without further analyzing its origins and pinpointing specific flaws. Naturally, he couldn't guarantee a complete resolution and thus refrained from making any overly confident statements.

"Very well. Regardless of whether Master Zhang can help me resolve this, I will grant you three assessment slots!" After a brief hesitation, Palace Master Wu nodded. She was already on the verge of madness, tormented by this "gender-ambiguous" state. If the person before her could provide a solution, she would not hesitate to pay any price, let alone just one assessment slot.

"Good!" Zhang Xuan nodded. His entire elaborate discourse had been aimed at securing those slots, and since she had agreed, he would naturally exert his utmost effort to treat her.

"This... that's all it took?" Kang Tangzhu was utterly dumbfounded. Moments ago, Palace Master Wu had been on the verge of murderous fury, yet after just a few sentences, her anger not only vanished but she also agreed to grant the assessment slots. This was simply incredible! Even witnessing it firsthand, he found it hard to believe.

Young Master Ruohuan's astonishment bordered on disbelief. Initially, after losing to Zhang Xuan in the selection competition, he had merely attributed it to bad luck, believing that with diligent cultivation and study, he could turn the tables in two months and reclaim his title as the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance's top genius. But after this incident, he realized that Zhang Xuan's insight and grasp of detail were utterly beyond his comprehension! Perhaps... even his own teacher might be slightly inferior. Could this fellow truly be merely a recently certified four-star Master Teacher?

Unaware of Young Master Ruohuan's inner turmoil, Zhang Xuan simply gestured to Palace Master Wu. "Alright!" she responded.

Nodding, Palace Master Wu's arm vibrated, and a set of martial arts techniques flowed from her palm. Zhang Xuan pretended to observe, while secretly consulting the books in his mind to identify the precise issues and their underlying causes.

Soon, Palace Master Wu stopped and looked over. "Is there any other method to treat my condition?" she asked, her breathing involuntarily quickening. If it couldn't be resolved, she wondered how she would possibly endure the days to come.

"This... it can be resolved!" Zhang Xuan exhaled, but instead of directly answering, he looked at her with a peculiar gaze. "What do you think of our Kang Tangzhu's character?"