Chapter 607: Zhao Feiwu's Analysis

“Teacher Zhang…”

Approaching, Young Master Ruohuan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. “I have a favor to ask!”

“Please speak!”

Seeing the most arrogant young master in Myriad Kingdoms City actually come to him, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

The two had some misunderstandings at first, but they had resolved them during their trip to Ice Plain Palace. Moreover, as fellow participants from the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, if he could help, he certainly wouldn’t refuse.

“Originally, I had no hope of making it into the top ten, but… I’ve already reached the top sixteen. If I don’t at least try, I’ll truly be unwilling to accept it…” Young Master Ruohuan’s face flushed.

He had drawn "Group A, Number One," automatically getting a bye. This meant that from the start of the combat competition until now, he hadn't undergone a single test yet had reached the top sixteen. It was understandable. If he had stopped earlier, he wouldn't have been so conflicted. But now that he was in the top sixteen, just one more victory would put him in the top ten. Anyone would be tempted by such a prospect.

“…The one I’m up against is Qin Lei from Baiyang Sect!”After explaining the situation, Young Master Ruohuan looked worried. “I’m not confident I can win!”

“Qin Lei? The one ranked third on the Potential Rankings?” Zhang Xuan looked at him.

His name was on the roster Master Hall Kang had given him earlier. He was a super genius from Baiyang Sect, a peak 4-star master teacher and a peak Leaving Aperture Realm expert. His ranking on the Potential Rankings was only behind Luo Xuan of Flowing Cloud Sect and Liao Wuzhi of Frigid Qi Sect, making him an extremely famous favorite to win the entire competition.

“Yes!” Young Master Ruohuan nodded.

“If it’s him, winning might not be easy!” Zhang Xuan frowned.

Although Young Master Ruohuan had made significant progress recently and his strength had reached peak Leaving Aperture Realm, he was still far behind a sect disciple like Qin Lei. The gap in their foundations was substantial and couldn’t be made up by a month or two of last-minute effort.

“So, I would like to ask for Teacher Zhang’s guidance… Regardless of whether I win or not, I will be eternally grateful!” Young Master Ruohuan said hastily.

Teacher Zhang had been truly dazzling in this grand competition, even overshadowing popular figures like Luo Xuan and Liao Wuzhi. If anyone could bring him closer to success, it certainly wasn’t his teacher, Master Hall Kang, but the young man before him.

“Guidance is fine, but…”Zhang Xuan didn’t expect him to have this idea. He shook his head. “But… you don’t even know what the competition content will be. How can I guide you?”

The Master Teacher Tournament featured a wide variety of competition contents. As the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance had ranked last in the previous competition, they had no right to choose and could only passively accept. Since they didn’t know what kind of test their opponent would pick, how could he offer guidance? Even if they truly wanted to win, they first needed to know what cards the opponent would play. Without knowing the cards, let alone himself, even a true 6-star or 7-star master teacher would be powerless. Even if he wanted to help, he couldn’t.

“In the previous round, his opponent was Wu Qing from True Qi Sect. The two were quite similar in all aspects, which is why he proposed a teaching and nurturing competition and won with it. Against me… I don’t think he’ll go through that much trouble. He might directly choose a combat test!” Young Master Ruohuan said with a hint of hesitation.

Wu Qing was also a master teacher ranked in the top ten of the Potential Rankings, but he was unlucky enough to encounter Qin Lei and was eliminated in the first round. Their strengths were comparable, and their other methods were also similar, so Qin Lei proposed a teaching and nurturing competition. However, against Young Master Ruohuan, he certainly wouldn’t go to such great lengths. It was highly likely he would propose a combat test. Although both were at the peak of the Leaving Aperture Realm, Young Master Ruohuan had just broken through, while Qin Lei had been immersed in that realm for an unknown period. Furthermore, Baiyang Sect's martial arts techniques and control over their strength were far more profound. Winning against Young Master Ruohuan would be quite simple for him. Therefore, his guess was correct: Qin Lei would likely choose to crush him directly.

“This…”Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

If it were a combat test, it would be easier. With his guidance, it wasn't impossible to help Young Master Ruohuan improve significantly within half an hour. However… what if the competition wasn't about combat? Wouldn't all their preparations be in vain?

“Teacher Zhang, Ruohuan, come down and eat something to regain your strength!”Just as he was about to say something, Master Hall Kang’s voice rang out.

He turned his head and realized that after a full day of competition, many people were exhausted. They were descending from the circular platform, some resting, others eating and drinking.

“Let’s go down first!”Knowing that discussing it further would be useless without knowing the opponent’s challenge, the two descended from the platform.

The Alliance Lord’s residence had prepared a lavish spread of food, including plenty of spiritual beast meat, which could significantly replenish their energy.

He had to admit, seeing all that food, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt extremely hungry.

“What were you two discussing just now?”Zhao Feiwu looked over with a smile.

“Oh, Young Master Ruohuan is going up against Qin Lei from Baiyang Sect next, and he wants my guidance. But we don’t know what kind of competition he’ll choose!” Zhang Xuan said while eating.

“What kind?” Zhao Feiwu propped her chin on her hands, sitting to one side. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “I think… it will likely be about the understanding of cultivation!”

“Understanding of cultivation?” Zhang Xuan, Young Master Ruohuan, and the others all looked over. They had just guessed a combat test, so why was her guess completely different?

“Understanding of cultivation? That’s quite complex and difficult to judge. Few people choose that kind of competition, right?” Master Su asked.

Understanding of cultivation could be interpreted in several ways, such as explaining the same martial art technique or the same cultivation technique… However, any of these would be time-consuming and exhausting. Most crucially, everyone would have their own valid arguments, making it difficult to judge a winner unless one's explanation was exceptionally brilliant and far surpassed the others. They were all peak 4-star master teachers, and their understanding of cultivation techniques wouldn’t differ significantly. No one would likely want to choose such a troublesome competition!

“Tell us!”Knowing that this princess, despite her relatively low cultivation, had read extensively since childhood, possessed vast knowledge, and had many clever ideas, Zhang Xuan asked.

“Oh, it’s simple. It’s about what he wants most from this grand competition!” Zhao Feiwu smiled.

“Get what?” Young Master Ruohuan was stunned. “Participating in the competition, naturally, he wants the championship…”

Since it was the Master Teacher Tournament, who wouldn’t want to be champion? Qin Lei, as a hot favorite, certainly would.

“Exactly. And now, what is the biggest obstacle on the path to the championship?” Zhao Feiwu’s eyes curved into crescent moons, and her fair face turned towards the young man not far from them.

“Of course, it’s… Teacher Zhang!”Young Master Ruohuan didn’t even need to say it; everyone knew.

Zhang Xuan’s performance in the preliminary rounds could be described as overwhelming; it was simply extraordinary. After the combat competition began, his cultivation, which many had initially considered weak, also shone brightly. He had already become the top favorite to win this grand competition, even outshining Luo Xuan and the others. Indeed, the biggest obstacle for Qin Lei in winning the championship was undoubtedly Zhang Xuan.

“Exactly. Since it’s Teacher Zhang, you’re naturally not his target. In other words… he doesn’t consider you to be on the same level at all!” Zhao Feiwu said.

Young Master Ruohuan’s face flushed. Although the words were a bit disheartening, he knew they were true. Given Qin Lei’s strength, he indeed lacked the capital to win and wasn’t at a level where he could inspire fear.

“You also come from the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance, and his goal is to defeat Teacher Zhang and win the championship… So, he will definitely use a method Teacher Zhang excels at to defeat you, as a form of provocation,” Zhao Feiwu continued.

“What I’m best at?” Zhang Xuan was surprised.

“Well, in the preliminary rounds, although you showed astonishing performance in temperament, wisdom, and other aspects, if we were to summarize the most astonishing ones, it would definitely be your comprehension and the Impartation of Heaven’s Will!”“Indeed!” Master Hall Kang nodded.

Although Teacher Zhang’s performance earlier was varied, the most impressive aspects were definitely those two. The Impartation of Heaven’s Will that lured the Otherworldly Demon to suicide; and his high comprehension, which led to the Heavenly Stellar Chess puppet collapsing in defeat after he merely glanced at it. As for memorizing over twenty thousand books, that was due to his fortunate background and acquisition of the Spiritual Reading Method, which was less shocking than the other two feats.

“The Impartation of Heaven’s Will involves the soul force scale. Even if he thinks he can win using it, it wouldn’t be honorable and wouldn’t create a stir. But… comprehension is different! High comprehension means a high understanding of cultivation. A competition based on this would not only allow him to defeat Young Master Ruohuan but also overshadow Teacher Zhang’s brilliance. How could he not choose such a great opportunity to show off?” Zhao Feiwu smiled slightly, laying out her entire analysis. “As for the combat test you mentioned, I think that would be a lesser choice. For a dignified master teacher, fighting and killing, even if he wins, isn’t honorable!”

“That’s right!”Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Zhao Feiwu had seen through the opponent’s psychology and her analysis was clear, accurate, and logical, far more reliable than Young Master Ruohuan’s previous words.

“This analysis is good, but does it mean I have to find a cultivation technique or secret manual and analyze its content?” Young Master Ruohuan looked conflicted. The most direct way to test understanding of cultivation was to explain the same secret manual. But… where would he find such a book? Using anyone’s wouldn’t be fair, would it?

“Understanding cultivation isn’t just about analyzing secret manuals. If I remember correctly… there’s also a competition format called ‘Pointing Out Flaws’!” Zhao Feiwu smiled.

“Pointing Out Flaws? Are you talking about… a competition where both participants demonstrate a martial art technique, and then the other person critiques and points out flaws, and whoever identifies more issues wins?”Young Master Ruohuan was stunned. “But this… requires extremely keen insight and vast knowledge. A higher-ranked person pointing out flaws for a lower-ranked person is fine, but for him to point out flaws in my technique…”Although he didn't finish his sentence, his meaning was clear. For someone of the same rank to point out his flaws, wasn’t that a bit too arrogant?

“Precisely, that’s one of the competition types for understanding cultivation. Don’t worry, since Qin Lei wants to show off, make you concede defeat wholeheartedly, and incidentally overshadow Teacher Zhang’s brilliance, he will definitely choose this!” Zhao Feiwu smiled.

Since Qin Lei wanted to be champion, he had to break the pressure Zhang Xuan exerted on him. And Young Master Ruohuan, who came from the same place as Zhang Xuan, was the perfect stepping stone. Only by trampling him down in the most conspicuous way could Qin Lei emphasize his own strength and not be outmatched by Teacher Zhang in terms of presence.

Young Master Ruohuan’s face crumpled like a bitter gourd. What kind of situation was this? He had thought that with his strength, he could command some respect, but it turned out he was just a tool for others to step on casually.

“Damn it, I’ll beat him to death!”The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Gritting his teeth, he turned to Zhang Xuan, who was not far away. “If the competition is truly like this, Teacher Zhang, do you have any good way for me to win?”Competing on the spot and then pointing out flaws in an expert of the same level… that would indeed be astonishing. If it really came down to that, he certainly couldn’t win against Qin Lei. He could only place his hopes on the young man before him, who created miracles.

“What to do?” Zhang Xuan also frowned, pondering for a moment. His eyes lit up, and a strange expression appeared on his face. “There is a way, but it’s not very convenient to do!”

“Oh? As long as I can win against him, I’ll do it no matter how difficult!”Hearing that there was a way, Young Master Ruohuan’s eyes lit up. He quickly looked over, his gaze sincere. “Please, Teacher Zhang, impart your wisdom…”

“Uh… alright then!”Zhang Xuan casually picked up the half-finished bowl of meat broth. “Take this over and splash it in his face!”

“Gah? Splash it in his face…”Young Master Ruohuan’s eyes widened.