Chapter 650: Closed-Eye Fighting

Silence.

Everyone rubbed their eyes vigorously, wondering if they were seeing things.

This was a super-expert at the late stage of the Humanoid Five-fold Soul-Fusion realm, yet his full-force punch was met with a gentle flick, sending him flying backward...

How much power did that single finger-flick contain?

"This is a Soul-Fusion realm expert, whose spirit and body are united, and whose True Qi is like a pillar! Yet he was sent flying by a single finger-flick..."

Master Hong's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.

That flick just now required a complete understanding of the opponent's strength and attacks. Even he couldn't have done it so effortlessly!

Yet, the other person did it so casually... Could it be that he isn't in the Muddy Clarity realm at all? Is he in the Bridge-to-Heaven realm, like me?

No, that's impossible. He was right there when this guy broke through. How could he have reached the Bridge-to-Heaven realm from the peak of the Muddy Clarity realm in just a single month?

"It seems... he wasn't even trying when he sparred with me. It's laughable that I thought I could surpass him just by working hard..."

On one side, Bi Jianghai's eyes were wide, and he was almost in tears.

He had previously thought this guy was just lucky, winning against him by a move or two, and that with diligent cultivation, he could surely catch up quickly. Only now did he realize... that wasn't the case at all.

When they sparred, he probably didn't even use a tenth of his strength!

Forget everything else, with just that one move just now, ten of him wouldn't be a match!

Luo Xuan's throat went dry.

She had boasted to her teacher, Luo Huang, that Master Zhang was nothing special. Yet, when he taught, he could gather spiritual energy to create a ten-mile vacuum. And now, with a single finger, he defeated a late-stage Humanoid Five-fold Soul-Fusion realm expert...

How could anyone compare?

They weren't even on the same level!

"How... how did this guy do it?"

Crown Prince Ye Qian also couldn't believe it.

"That finger-flick from Master Zhang... must have contained five million ding of strength!" Wu Zhen's fists tightened, and his eyes narrowed.

"Five million ding? But... isn't he only at the peak of the Muddy Clarity realm?"

Ye Qian swayed.

Muddy Clarity realm cultivators generally only possess 1.6 million ding of strength, and even Soul-Fusion realm cultivators only reach 3.2 million ding. Five million ding can already rival a mid-stage Bridge-to-Heaven realm expert. How could a guy at the peak of the Humanoid Fourth-fold realm possibly achieve that?

"I don't know either. However, the Master Teacher Continent is vast, and there are many with special physiques. As far as I know, some individuals with an immense strength talent can possess power far beyond their cultivation realm, even if their cultivation isn't high!"

Wu Zhen stated.

"Senior, are you saying he's highly likely to have an immense strength talent? Could he be like... that person?" Ye Qian suddenly remembered something and was startled.

"Indeed, I'm afraid he's just like that senior!"

Wu Zhen nodded, then turned to look at him: "Your Phantasm Feather Empire is likely to produce a truly remarkable individual!"

"If he truly possesses that kind of talent, then... yes!" Remembering the terrifying and miraculous aspects of "that person," Ye Qian's eyes burned with excitement.

In any case, this Master Zhang originated from within their empire. If he truly achieves astonishing success, the Phantasm Feather Empire will also benefit from the glory.

"Whether he is or not, one move isn't enough to analyze it. Let's keep watching!"

Ignoring his excitement, Wu Zhen said.

"Mm!" Ye Qian also responded, quickly looking forward.

In the arena, Zhang Xuan's single finger-flick defeated Young Master Xiu Lian, shocking everyone. Master Luo and the others also stood with their mouths agape, unable to speak.

"This guy is peculiar. All of you, attack together!"

After a long moment, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and roar.

Since it concerned all the ten-year quotas for the vassal states, even if attacking together meant disregarding martial ethics, it couldn't be helped now!

Hearing the command, the other eight couldn't hold back either. They took a few steps to the center and surrounded Zhang Xuan.

"Excellent!"

Stretching, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, and his abdomen immediately swelled.

While guiding Master Hong in combat earlier, he had a doubt he wanted to verify, and this group coming at him together was simply perfect.

His body flickered, and he was already in front of the person directly ahead. He flipped his palm, and without any fancy moves, pressed directly forward.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this guy attack him first, the young man opposite him changed expression. With a roar, his muscles tensed, and he hammered down.

Just as their fist and palm were about to meet, Master Zhang suddenly swayed, lowered his body, and a foot appeared from nowhere, kicking towards the young man's abdomen.

"Oh, hell!"

His eyeballs almost popped out. The young man didn't even have time to let out a cry before he was sent flying backward, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood, and simultaneously on the verge of tears.

How devious! That palm strike just now clearly used full strength, but it turned out to be just a feint... The true killing blow was below, impossible to guard against!

Kicking one person flying, Zhang Xuan retreated a step, perfectly positioning himself in front of a Master Teacher who was planning to ambush him. His arm vibrated, striking the opponent's chin.

This Master Teacher's vision went black, and he followed in the footsteps of the first, also flying into the air.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eliminating two with one move, Zhang Xuan's figure moved like a ghost, weaving through the crowd as if he knew exactly where others would attack and the weaknesses in their coordination. Every time he struck, someone would inevitably scream and fly into the air.

"Just as expected!"

Everyone was being beaten to the verge of collapse, but Zhang Xuan's eyes, however, grew brighter and brighter.

When he had previously guided Master Hong, Master Luo, and the others in combat, he had relied on his ability. He had originally thought the book that appeared would list the flaws of each individual — Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue — but unexpectedly, it was only one book.

It detailed the flaws in the trio's combined attack.

This meant the Library had treated their combined efforts as a single entity and provided a decisive analysis.

Attacking according to these flaws not only disrupted the opponents' rhythm but also allowed him to preempt them and defeat everyone in one fell swoop!

One could say that with this ability, no matter how many opponents there were, they were useless against him.

It was precisely because of this that he wanted to challenge so many people, to test its effectiveness.

Upon trying it, it indeed worked perfectly. Fighting against eight individuals stronger than him, he felt no pressure at all.

"Hmm, this flaw here. Shift three feet to the left, then a mid-air backward kick..."

His mind soared through the Library, while his body evaded and attacked according to the flaws described within the books.

"This group's combined attack ability is truly poor. There are flaws everywhere; I don't even know which one to choose... It's vexing!"

Kicking another one flying, Zhang Xuan rubbed his brow, a look of worry on his face.

The temporarily formed team had simply too many weaknesses; a quick glance revealed hundreds. Fortunately, he didn't suffer from decision fatigue, otherwise, just choosing would exhaust him, let alone fighting!

Even so, choosing which flaw to exploit and which move to use still gave him a massive headache.

He didn't get tired from fighting; instead, he got tired from choosing which of the opponents' flaws to exploit. If others knew this, they would surely weep themselves to death.

"Forget it, I'll just pick randomly!"

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan randomly pointed at the books, and a flaw immediately appeared in his mind.

"All right, this is it!"

Having identified the flaw, he quickly analyzed the counter-method. His body swayed, and he re-entered the fray.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another round of pained screams.

In the Imperial Palace, not far from the Crown Prince's residence.

His Majesty Ye Wentian sat upright on his high throne.

In front of him was an old man in green robes with a snow-white beard, who appeared extraordinary in demeanor.

If Master Hong were here, he would surely recognize him as his own teacher, Wei Jiang, the Hall Master of the Phantasm Feather Empire's Master Teacher Pavilion, and a five-star peak Master Teacher!

"The Clarity Transformation Pool opens tomorrow. I wonder how the quota allocation on Crown Prince Ye Qian's side is coming along!" Ye Wentian frowned.

Making connections with the Six Princesses and others was Ye Qian's request, and His Majesty found it inconvenient to appear personally, so he could only let Ye Qian handle it himself. The banquet had been going on for quite some time now, and he wondered if it was all sorted out.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured. The Crown Prince has always been steady and is a top student from the Master Teacher Academy. This small matter should be quite simple for him!"

Wei Jiang smiled, "Besides, haven't you also sent someone to investigate? Once there's news, they should return and report quickly."

"Indeed!" Ye Wentian chuckled, "Perhaps I'm getting old; my temperament isn't what it used to be..."

He sighed, and before his words even finished, a guard walked over, looking bewildered.

"How is it? Have the quotas been decided over there?"

Ye Wentian asked with a smile.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, they have been confirmed..." the guard said, cupping his fist.

"Oh? How were they decided? Tell me!" Seeing the quotas decided so quickly, Ye Wentian was somewhat curious.

"The quotas for entering the Clarity Transformation Pool were decided by a martial arts competition among the four vassal states..."

The guard replied.

"A competition? That's right, these top three should indeed compete with the other vassal states..."

Ye Wentian chuckled.

"No, it wasn't... these geniuses competing. It was... Master Hong from the Hongfeng Empire, who fought alone against Master Luo, Master Feng, and Master Chen, and furthermore..."

The guard hesitated, seemingly still unable to believe it: "He defeated all three of them... and handed the three vacant quotas to the Fengyuan, Qianfeng, and Zhuyue Empires!"

"You mean... Hong Qian, alone, defeated Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and Chen Yue?" Wei Jiang's eyes widened. "Tell me in detail what happened?"

"Yes!" The guard hurriedly recounted everything he had just witnessed in detail.

"This... how is this possible?" After hearing the explanation, both Wei Jiang and Ye Wentian's bodies swayed simultaneously.

They knew very well how strong Hong Qian was, but for one person to utterly defeat three others of the same level... it was simply unbelievable.

"One person against three, and he won them all... If the quotas were decided this way, then... how were the five 'pool eyes' divided among them?"

After being stunned for a long moment, Ye Wentian couldn't help but ask.

As the Emperor, he naturally knew that while quotas were easy to distribute, the pool eyes were the most difficult to allocate.

"The Hongfeng Empire... the Master Zhang I just mentioned, he simultaneously challenged nine Master Teachers from the Fengyuan, Qianfeng, and Zhuyue Empires... If he won, he would get all the quotas; if he lost, he wouldn't even want theirs..." the guard reported.

"Challenging them all at once again? Didn't you just say that Master Zhang was only at the peak of the Muddy Clarity realm and was the weakest?"

Ye Wentian couldn't help but ask, "All nine individuals were stronger than him. How did he fight?"

Peak Muddy Clarity realm, one person challenging nine Soul-Fusion realm cultivators? How could he possibly win? How did he fight? What moves and methods did he use?

"He... he..."

The guard swallowed hard, his face distorted, "He fought with his eyes closed..."