Chapter 601: Spirit Reading Method

Under Zhang Xuan's gaze, the Book of Flowing River lay motionless, as if untouched.

"Why is there no reaction? Could it be... he didn't pass?"

"No way... if that's the case, it'll be disastrous..."

"Indeed, but... Master Zhang is so capable, how could he fail to remember even 800 books?"

After waiting a moment, seeing the Book of Flowing River remain entirely unresponsive, everyone was stunned. The absence of light indicated that the content he had just memorized was fewer than 800 books! Falling short of this benchmark meant only one outcome... elimination!

This meant that even if his performance in the previous two rounds had been exceptional, he would not qualify for the next trial.

This couldn't be happening!

"What a pity! I had assumed Master Zhang was so formidable that he would go all the way, perhaps even making it into the top ten. I never expected... him to falter here!"

"It's genuinely surprising that he didn't even reach eight hundred books!"

"He was daydreaming while reading; this outcome should have been anticipated..."

A commotion erupted, with some expressing regret and others displaying schadenfreude. Based on his extraordinary performance in the first two rounds, Master Zhang was highly likely to reach the top ranks. No one had anticipated his unfortunate elimination in this round.

"This..." Hall Master Kang, Master Su, and the others felt their minds reel, almost on the verge of tears. They had originally worried Master Zhang would continue to cause a stir, but the result was... he failed to pass! Didn't this mean all their previous hopes were dashed?

With a grim expression, it took Hall Master Kang a long time to compose himself before he finally shook his head. "Ultimately, Master Zhang... is still too young!" Despite having a formidable teacher and immense talent, he couldn't maintain his composure during the actual assessment! He sighed, his expression forlorn, as if he had aged ten years in a single moment. He had poured countless efforts into this grand competition, believing that Zhang Xuan's sudden emergence could overturn the stagnant situation of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance. Yet, in the end... it was merely a pipe dream, just as before!

The crowd displayed varied expressions, and Master Hong himself reeled, feeling somewhat distraught. Who was this individual? Master Yang's student! While the assessments in the first two rounds had left him quite flustered and disoriented, he had also considered it perfectly natural. As a direct disciple of an 8-star master teacher, if he blended in with everyone else, how could he be worthy of his teacher?

Now, however, he had been eliminated...

Hall Master Mo's earlier intention in leaving behind high-grade spirit stones was for Master Zhang to achieve first place, securing him a reward and, incidentally, a favor... Now, not only had he failed to become champion, but he hadn't even passed the selection and was out. When he arrived at the Hongyuan Empire, would Hall Master Mo, in a fit of rage, simply swat him dead? And... even if Master Yang didn't hold it against him, allowing such a situation to occur was still a dereliction of his own duty!

Tears welled in his eyes; he was on the verge of crying. If he passed, he suffered; if he didn't pass, he suffered even more! To be the host of the esteemed Master Teacher Grand Competition and end up in such a predicament, he was surely the first in history.

However, since the result was already known, further discussion was futile; otherwise, the selection process itself would lose its meaning. Master Hong had no choice but to grit his teeth. "The Book of Flowing River did not flash, indicating that Master Zhang has not passed. Now, let's discuss the content of the fourth round..."

No sooner had he finished the announcement and was about to explain the rules for the next round, than he noticed everyone in the audience staring wide-eyed, aghast as if they had seen a ghost.

"What's happening?"

Filled with confusion, he turned to look, and what he saw caused him to freeze on the spot as well. He saw that the Book of Flowing River, not far away, had somehow levitated into the air, its entire body glowing with a red light. Just as he wondered why the red glow was different from what others produced, he saw the light shift to orange, then yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... In an instant, it was as if a kaleidoscope had opened before their eyes, or like the most spectacular fireworks, flashing incessantly.

"Seven... colors?"

Frozen in place, Master Hong was utterly bewildered. He had seen red, orange, yellow, and green flashes, but... seven colors cycling through? What on earth? Could the Book of Flowing River have gotten so excited during the test that it decided to display a few celebratory colors? Or perhaps, like a person, it simply had a brain cramp and crashed?

But... there's never been a precedent for this!

"Could it be that Master Zhang finished the test, and the Book of Flowing River spent ages analyzing... only now reacting?" Someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

"It took half a day to react? Is that even possible?"

"No way, for the Book of Flowing River to take that long to react, how many books did he memorize?"

Upon hearing this, a commotion erupted among the crowd. However, if anyone else were in this situation, people would certainly dismiss it as absurd. But for Master Zhang... it just might be possible. This man could even collapse the Ghost Domain Illusion City and talk the Otherworldly Demons into suicide. Making the Book of Flowing River burst into fireworks and twitch uncontrollably isn't beyond his capabilities...

CRACK!

Amidst their animated discussions, a crisp sound echoed from the stage. The Book of Flowing River, which had been flashing continuously, suddenly trembled, developed cracks, then dropped from the air to the ground, splitting into two halves.

"Ah..."

Witnessing the precious Book of Flowing River shatter, everyone was initially surprised, then a look of sudden understanding dawned on them.

"Now, I can confirm that what was said earlier was indeed true!"

"Yes, Master Zhang must have done it. Otherwise, how could it possibly break?"

If there had been any hesitation or doubt about whether Master Zhang was responsible for the Book of Flowing River turning into fireworks moments ago, it was now absolutely certain; it was 100% his doing! This man had a history of such incidents; if not him... then who else could it be?

It seemed... Master Hong was surely going to cry again. Damaging something borrowed from headquarters while it was in his custody—the gravity of such an offense was obvious. With this thought, they all looked at the old man on stage with expressions of sympathy. Just as they were about to offer words of comfort, they looked again and their eyes widened in surprise. They saw Master Hong, who had just witnessed the Book of Flowing River cracking open, displaying no anxiety or sadness whatsoever. Instead, his eyes were shining with excitement, his face flushed with agitation, as if he were about to leap for joy.

What was going on? Didn't he borrow this from headquarters? Shouldn't he be extremely distressed and upset that it was broken? Why was he, instead, trembling with excitement as if he had taken an aphrodisiac?

"Uh... what's wrong with Master Hong? In the first two rounds, when Master Zhang broke something, he always looked displeased. Why is he so excited this time?" Zhao Feiwu was also filled with confusion.

"Perhaps... perhaps..." Hall Master Kang stammered after a long pause, "He's just gotten used to it!"

"Used to it?"

The greatly excited Master Hong stumbled. People usually get used to positive things, but being accustomed to things breaking? How broad-minded did one have to be for that?

His happiness, naturally, wasn't due to habit, but because... Master Zhang hadn't been eliminated! Although the Book of Flowing River was precious, angering Hall Master Mo by eliminating Master Zhang was undoubtedly the more serious concern. Of two evils, he chose the lesser. Master Zhang was fine, he hadn't offended Hall Master Mo, nor Master Yang, so naturally, he was overjoyed. However... as the host of the Master Teacher Grand Competition, to be happy about his own property being destroyed, he was truly one of a kind.

"A red flash indicates 800 books memorized, orange indicates 1,600, and so on... Just now, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple flashed in succession... Master Zhang, you... exactly how many books did you memorize?"

Suppressing his lingering negative emotions, Master Hong looked at the young man not far away, filled with doubt. According to calculations, one would need to memorize 5,600 books to display purple light. This man not only displayed it but made it look like a fireworks display, and ultimately, even this low-grade Book of Flowing River couldn't withstand the strain and simply burst apart... How many books did you read to cause such an astonishing phenomenon?

Others also thought of this, and all turned to look in unison, their faces alight with curiosity.

"How many books?"

Zhang Xuan rubbed his brow. It's truly a case of "speak of the devil." He had been agonizing over this for half a day, dreading this very situation, yet it ultimately came to pass. If he were to tell the truth—that in one hour, while others memorized roughly a thousand books, he had memorized over two hundred thousand... he wondered if the person before him would be scared to death?

"Cough, cough, I didn't count either. It was probably only ten to twenty thousand books..." He said, full of embarrassment, directly stating about a tenth of the actual number.

"Ten to twenty thousand books?"

Everyone was startled. Seven or eight hundred books was already a lot for others, yet he had multiplied that by more than ten times. Was he even human?

"That's impossible! There are only five thousand books on the shelf in total. I specifically watched during the assessment, and you were just staring blankly, hardly flipping through any books. How could you possibly remember so much content?" A master teacher in the crowd exclaimed.

From the beginning of the reading, this fellow was just staring blankly, like an idiot. He barely flipped through any books at all, so how could he possibly have memorized all the content on the shelf? Furthermore, there are only five thousand books on the shelf in total. Where did he get ten or twenty thousand from?

"Well..."

Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan didn't know how to answer. However, being well-versed, he cleared his throat. "This is a special reading method taught by my teacher... even without opening the books, I can read them! As for the extra ones... after I finished reading all these books, I noticed time hadn't run out, so I also read some books from my storage ring..." When an explanation didn't make sense, he simply attributed it to his teacher. With such a powerful backer, he wasn't afraid of being questioned further.

"He can read without opening the books?"

Everyone was baffled. The words are printed inside the books; to read them without opening implies he has X-ray vision? Such a method exists in the world? Is that true? How come we've never heard of it?

"Could it be... could it be... how is this possible?"

Everyone was filled with wonder and a degree of disbelief, but Master Hong on the stage trembled violently, his face paling, his voice becoming hoarse.

"Master Hong, have you by any chance heard of such a method—one that allows reading without flipping through books?" A master teacher couldn't resist asking. The others also looked over in unison. If one were to say who among them was the most knowledgeable, it would undoubtedly be the man on stage. As a true 5-star master teacher and a formidable expert at Mortal Transcendence 6-dan... neither his cultivation nor his knowledge could be matched by anyone present.

"I have heard of it..."

Upon hearing the question, he recovered from his shock and looked at Zhang Xuan again, seemingly recalling someone, his expression growing more awed and solemn. "I once had the privilege of attending a lecture by Hall Master Mo of the Hongyuan Empire. He mentioned this situation once, and I happened to commit it to memory. If my guess is correct, it should be..."

"It's something only powerhouses at Saint 2-dan can achieve... the Divine Sense Reading Method!"