Chapter 598: Compare reading books?

"He committed suicide?"

"Master Zhang actually said... this Otherworldly Demon committed suicide?"

A hush fell over the audience.

The Otherworldly Demons, archenemies of master teachers, were terrifying! The one before them was an expert at the Soul Harmonization realm, almost unbeatable by anyone present except Master Hong. Yet... after Master Zhang spoke a few words, it struck itself on the forehead with a palm and died by suicide.

Was this too fantastical? It couldn't be real, could it?

"It's... Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will!"

"Isn't that an ability only usable during lectures?"

"As long as the content spoken is correct and flawless, coupled with a high State of Mind, it can mislead a person, influencing their body through language to do things they cannot control! It seems everything Master Zhang said was true; this Otherworldly Demon, in a fit of agitation, struck itself dead!"

"Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will can make someone commit suicide? Doesn't that mean... as long as they find the right 'event,' a master teacher can kill people at will?"

"It's not that easy. Not only must the content spoken be correct, but it must also resonate with the listener's inner self for them to be affected; otherwise, it's useless! It's like if you are eager to cultivate, Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will can trigger your internal energy to circulate automatically, as your subconscious won't resist! Although this Otherworldly Demon was inherently brutal, it was raised by humans, understood human customs and etiquette, and was filled with remorse after its bloodline rampage led to so many deaths. That's why Master Zhang could use words to make it commit suicide!"

"So that's how it is..."

"But to mislead an Otherworldly Demon at the Soul Harmonization realm, even a peak 4-star State of Mind wouldn't be enough! Then... what level has Master Zhang's State of Mind reached? 15.0? 16.0?"

Moments later, the audience understood and burst into an uproar. This Otherworldly Demon, willing to commit suicide and die before everyone, had clearly fallen victim to Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will. However... the limit for a 4-star master teacher was to mislead experts at the Fourth Realm of Mortal Transcendence; influencing those at the Fifth Realm was almost impossible. This Otherworldly Demon's soul was inherently powerful, yet it was still misled by him. So... what level had Master Zhang's State of Mind truly reached? Wasn't that just too terrifying?!

"He literally talked... it to death?"

Upon seeing this, Hall Master Kang and the others were in tears. They had initially thought Zhang Xuan was just standing there in a daze, causing trouble and making a mess. Now, it seemed they were too naive! Passing two stages, destroying two stages, leaving no path for others... this was his true objective, this was *truly* causing trouble!

The audience was shocked, and Young Master Ruohuan, Luo Xuan, and others on stage were also speechless. They had witnessed firsthand the terror of this massive creature; facing such horrifying killing intent, they couldn't even resist. Yet this guy was not only unharmed but had literally talked the creature to death.

"Are you sure this guy is really ten years younger than us and on the same level? And not some 6-star or 7-star master teacher pretending to be someone else?" Even Liao Wuzhi, who had previously looked down on Zhang Xuan, was now trembling with fear and dared not utter another word of nonsense.

Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the massive corpse lying on the ground. The reason he had been "in a daze" earlier was that these evil deeds were truly shocking. He was already furious, and seeing that this creature showed no remorse, even coming over to insult humans, he could no longer hold back and used Teacher's Impartation of Heaven's Will to kill it! His current State of Mind had already reached 16.1, stronger than some 5-star master teachers. Even so, misleading an Otherworldly Demon and making it commit suicide was extremely taxing; had his mental fortitude not been immense, he might not have been able to sustain it.

Still, fortunately, he succeeded. Taking a few deep breaths to compose himself, he turned to Master Hong, the most prominent master teacher in the crowd, whose mouth was twitching as if he were about to cry.

Master Hong's mind was indeed in turmoil. The illusory ghost city from before was practically his entire fortune, and its destruction was bad enough... He had thought that by bringing this Otherworldly Demon back to headquarters, the generous rewards would surely compensate him. But now... in the blink of an eye, it was talked to death!

"Big brother, are you even letting people live? Are you here for the Master Teacher Tournament, or just to cause trouble? Moreover... my Courage Assessment was only halfway through when it was cut short. How can the rest of it proceed? The first stage was like this, and perhaps the impact wouldn't be too significant with the remaining three stages. But the second stage is also like this... you want this Master Teacher Tournament to be completely derailed!"

"Master Hong, what should we do with this corpse?" As he was feeling depressed, wondering whether to disqualify this guy and stop him from competing, he heard the other party's question.

"Otherworldly Demons are vicious, brutal, and devoid of humanity. Killing one is a great merit. If it's dead, it's dead, no big deal!" His heart was bleeding, but he forced an awkward smile. There was no other way to put it; the creature was dead, so what was the point of pursuing it further? Worse, it might make many master teachers think he was protecting the Otherworldly Demons.

"Alright, with the death of this Otherworldly Demon, the Courage Assessment cannot continue. Excluding the three who couldn't withstand the pressure and fled, we have 53 master teachers remaining on stage. These individuals will proceed to the next assessment!" Knowing it was useless to dwell further, Master Hong forced a smile and continued the competition.

"Yes!" Hearing this, all the master teachers who had been sprawled or lying on the ground, looking disheveled, stood up. They secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Master Zhang not far away, filled with gratitude. If it weren't for Master Zhang, at least a dozen of them would likely have failed the assessment. But now, with the death of the Otherworldly Demon, the danger had vanished.

"The third stage of the selection is to test your wisdom!" Ignoring everyone's thoughts, Master Hong began. "Wisdom is the capital for cultivators to learn new knowledge. The higher your wisdom, the stronger your learning ability, and thus the greater your potential as a master teacher! Rest assured, this test isn't as dangerous as the previous one. It's simply... reading books!"

"Reading books?" Everyone was taken aback.

"Yes, there are 56 bookshelves here, each containing five thousand books. These are unique copies from my private collection, with identical content, and I can guarantee none of you have read them. They cover cultivation techniques, combat skills, spirit beast rearing, and my insights into cultivation, among other things. You will have one hour to browse, memorize, and comprehend them!" With a wave of his hand, the mist in the center of the circular platform vanished, revealing rows of bookshelves before them. The bookshelves were filled with books, each holding as many as five thousand volumes.

"This assessment is very simple: you may freely read these books. After one hour, I will test you in a special way. The more content you remember and understand, the higher your wisdom is deemed to be!" Master Hong stated.

"Assessing *this*?" Upon understanding the rules, Zhang Xuan scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He wasn't confident in other areas, but when it came to reading books... he could definitely leave everyone present far, far behind. Even a true 8-star master teacher would have to kneel! If this was the test... wouldn't it be too unfair?

"Never mind. If it comes down to it, when I answer later... I'll just deliberately get a few wrong. My goal is just to pass, and this time... I absolutely cannot break anything of theirs again!" Zhang Xuan made his decision. Having messed up two consecutive stages to the point where further assessment was impossible, he felt quite helpless. In the first stage, the illusory ghost city, he only wanted to stop the formation. Who knew... his clone, that idiot, used too much force. He really didn't mean it. As for the second stage, seeing the Otherworldly Demon commit so many evil deeds, anyone would have lost control. Just talking it to death was a mild outcome; had it not been for the Master Teacher Tournament, he might even have personally intervened... Of course, if he had personally intervened, he might not have been its match and could have been utterly crushed. The first two stages created awkward situations, so he definitely had to be careful in the third stage. At worst, he could read fewer books later, or... deliberately answer a few questions incorrectly, just enough to ensure he passed.

Low-key! The goal was still to be low-key; he couldn't be too flashy! If others knew what he was thinking, they would surely cry themselves to death on the spot. This is called low-key? Look at Master Hong, he's almost driven mad. If *this* is low-key, then everyone else who is high-key doesn't even need to exist.

"Alright, everyone choose a bookshelf. Time... starts now!" With a wave of his large hand, Master Hong shouted loudly.

"Hurry!"

"Memorize five thousand books? In one hour? How is that even possible!"

"Are you stupid? You don't need to finish them all. Just remember as many as you can. It didn't say you had to memorize everything..."

"You're right. Even though a 4-star master teacher can achieve eidetic memory, remembering a few hundred books in an hour would be impressive. Five thousand books? Even a 6-star master teacher couldn't do that!" Hearing the competition begin, everyone forgot about everything else and rushed straight towards the bookshelves.

Zhang Xuan also picked a random one and approached it. The books on the shelf were brand new, seemingly copied recently, and their titles were odd and unfamiliar. Indeed, he had never seen any of them before. He had accumulated knowledge from numerous libraries, and his mental repository of information, if not more extensive than everyone else's combined, was at least very close! With such a vast knowledge base, he hadn't seen a single one of these books. It seemed Master Hong had truly put a lot of thought and effort into this tournament.

His finger lightly traced over the books, absorbing them all into his mind before he began to examine their content.

"Huh? There are so many cultivation techniques for the Fourth Realm of Mortal Transcendence?"

He had absorbed the books unconsciously before, but now, upon closer inspection, his eyes immediately lit up. Among the books displayed on the shelf, there were actually hundreds of cultivation techniques for the Fourth Realm of Mortal Transcendence! He hadn't fully collected the Heaven's Path cultivation techniques for this realm yet. With so many books, he might be able to form a complete Heaven's Path cultivation technique for the Turbid-Clear Realm, thereby significantly increasing his strength and making another great leap forward.

"Synthesize!" He casually picked up a book, pretending to flip through it, but his mind was focused internally as he whispered. The library shook slightly, and the Fourth Realm of Mortal Transcendence cultivation techniques he had previously collected, along with the newly acquired batch, began to change. A brand-new book appeared before him.