Chapter 954: How to Take the Exam Like This?

His original plan was to assign two combat teachers to each level, which would allow for an easy assessment of everyone. However, during the initial selection process, only two students from Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy stepped forward, yet they managed to incapacitate two of his subordinates. With no one left, how could the assessment continue?

“Alright, Xu Hong, Ye Jun, you two will suppress your cultivation and conduct the first-year assessment!”

After a moment of hesitation, Zhuo Qingfeng waved his hand.

“Understood!”

As he finished speaking, the two men stepped forward.

Both were at the peak of the Bridge Heaven Realm. Their gazes were profound, as if a bridge connected them to heaven and earth, immediately revealing their long immersion at this level and their formidable combat power.

Zhuo Qingfeng extended his hand, and a surge of internal power enveloped the two. In a matter of moments, their power plummeted, suppressed to the peak of the Harmonious Spirit Realm.

“Combat Teacher Zhuo,” Wu Tianqiong interjected, frowning, “allowing experts from the Bridge Heaven Realm to suppress their cultivation and fight those in the Harmonious Spirit Realm effectively increases the difficulty, doesn’t it?”

Even with suppressed cultivation, the reaction speed and understanding of martial arts of a Bridge Heaven Realm expert would surely surpass those of the Harmonious Spirit Realm. Although they appeared to be at the same level, the challenge was actually significantly heightened.

“Don’t worry,” Zhuo Qingfeng nodded, “I’ll make sure they control their strength. As long as they don’t exert their full power, the difficulty will be no different from before.” If these two controlled their power and didn’t unleash their maximum combat prowess, the assessment would be no different from before.

“Alright,” Wu Tianqiong nodded after a brief hesitation. With the two Harmonious Spirit Realm assessors in their current state, continuing the assessment was impossible. Having Bridge Heaven Realm experts suppress their cultivation was the only viable option.

“I am Xu Hong,” the combat teacher announced, leaping onto the platform. He scanned the crowd and declared loudly, “I am now in charge of the Harmonious Spirit Realm assessment. Anyone who can withstand three of my moves will pass!”

“I’ll go!”

A young man from the crowd responded and promptly jumped onto the platform. Zhang Xuan glanced at him and recognized him. He was the top student from Cloud Void Academy, who had demonstrated impressive power and astonishing combat strength earlier.

The two fought in a disciplined manner. As expected of Cloud Void Academy’s top student, despite being pressured by his opponent, he managed to withstand three moves and successfully passed the assessment. Seeing someone succeed, others quickly ascended the platform.

However, they weren’t as fortunate. After five consecutive challengers from Cloud Void, Luo Qing, and Green Bamboo academies all failed, silence descended upon the crowd once more.

“I’ll go!”

Seeing no one else come forward, a young man from Hongyuan Academy stood up.

“That’s Zhao Chuan, ranked second to last.”

“I watched his demonstration; his strength is comparable to Zhu Xi’s!”

“Indeed, in the past, we wouldn’t have thought much of this level of cultivation, but… the students from Hongyuan are a bit peculiar!”

“Exactly, not just a bit, but incredibly peculiar!”

Seeing a student from Hongyuan Academy step onto the platform, a murmur again rippled through the audience. After the earlier demonstrations, they had initially held this academy in low regard. But unexpectedly… each student who stepped up incapacitated a combat teacher. This repeated pattern left them utterly deflated and devoid of confidence.

Zhao Chuan leapt onto the high platform.

“Make your move!”

With a raised eyebrow, Xu Hong delivered a powerful punch. He used no weapon, and naturally, Zhao Chuan, his opponent, also refrained. Zhao Chuan instead lunged forward.

As their fists and feet clashed, Zhao Chuan’s body trembled. He instantly felt a tremendous force, was sent flying backward, and landed heavily on the ground, chest aching and face pale. He couldn’t even withstand a single move and was defeated.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the onlookers as they watched him defeated. It seemed the previous incidents were just isolated cases; not everyone in Hongyuan Academy was so strong after all.

“Zhao Chuan, what did the dean just teach us? Have you forgotten?” From below the platform, Chu Jian urgently shouted.

“Think about the techniques the dean taught, then try again…” Zhu Xi also yelled loudly.

A direct confrontation with his opponent was certainly not feasible; his own True Qi and strength were vastly inferior. Furthermore, his opponent was a Bridge Heaven Realm expert with suppressed cultivation. His only chance was to understand the dean’s lecture and apply it.

“The dean’s explained techniques?”

Struggling to his feet, Zhao Chuan stood rooted, carefully recalling. He then let out a breath and looked forward again, declaring, “Two more moves to go; begin!”

“Seeking death!”

Seeing that this fellow couldn’t even withstand a single punch yet still wished to continue, Xu Hong sneered. His figure flickered, and several illusions instantly appeared on the platform, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake.

“The dean said that when facing techniques that combine illusion and reality, one must break through the falsehoods to find the truth… The connection between illusion and reality is simple; as long as you pinpoint that connection and attack, even the most formidable martial art will crumble…”

As he heard the shouts from below, the dean’s lecture content immediately flooded his mind. Although the dean had only lectured for half an hour, he had explained various combat techniques. The current opponent, Xu Hong, possessed incredibly swift movements and created continuous illusions, clearly employing a formidable martial art. To counter such a technique, one needed to find the relationship between the illusory and the real.

His eyebrows lifted, and the sensation of listening to the lecture earlier surged through his mind again. Zhao Chuan’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“It’s right here…”

With a low cry, he stomped his foot on the ground, then darted forward. His fist clenched, he immediately slammed it towards one of the illusions. His fist felt like it had slammed into a sandbag. Xu Hong, whose movements were so swift they were hard to follow, instantly became like a chicken whose neck had been seized. Before he could even cry out, he collapsed onto the ground, his vision fading to black as he fell unconscious.

His punch had precisely struck a point where the opponent’s True Qi was difficult to circulate. Under the resulting backlash of power, even a Bridge Heaven Realm expert could not withstand it.

“I won?”

Seeing Xu Hong unconscious, Zhao Chuan’s mouth twitched. He had just taken a punch and knew how formidable his opponent was. Yet, following the dean’s instructions, one move was all it took to knock the opponent out… This felt far too simple, too easy.

Witnessing this scene, Zhuo Qingfeng’s body swayed. *These Harmonious Spirit Realm fellows, you say you’ll knock someone out, and they’re out cold… Even a Bridge Heaven Realm expert with suppressed cultivation can be knocked out… Are you really in the Harmonious Spirit Realm, or are your true cultivations much higher?* The most crucial part was… in the first move, he was beaten like a dog, utterly unable to resist, but in the second move, he was full of vitality and easily crushed his opponent… Did he really have to change so quickly?

“They mentioned the dean’s explained techniques… What exactly is going on?” Suddenly recalling the shouts from the audience after the first move, Zhuo Qingfeng couldn't help but look in their direction. “Earlier, Dean Zhang lectured them for half an hour… Could this be related?”

As he considered this, Wu Tianqiong and Shen Pingchao also realized it, their eyes widening in astonishment. Previously, they had always believed that sharpening one's weapon at the last minute was useless. They never imagined that Dean Zhang's impromptu guidance would not only be effective but also bring about such a drastic transformation. If this weren't the case, how could their strength increase so dramatically simply by recalling the dean’s lecture, to the point where even Xu Hong, a Bridge Heaven Realm expert, was no match and was knocked unconscious on the spot?

“He lectured for half an hour?” Zhuo Qingfeng frowned. While a lecture from a formidable master teacher could certainly refine one’s combat abilities, what kind of effect could half an hour possibly have?

“Ye Jun, you go up and challenge a student from Hongyuan Academy!” Zhuo Qingfeng instructed after a moment of hesitation.

“Understood!”

Ye Jun nodded and leaped onto the high platform. This time, he didn’t challenge anyone else but directly invited a student from Hongyuan Academy to step forward.

“I’ll go!”

A student rose from the crowd.

“During the match, remember the dean’s words,” Chu Jian quickly instructed. “As long as you fight according to the correct method, you won’t lose…”

“Understood!” Having witnessed so many matches, the student also grasped the situation. He nodded and walked up. With prior mental preparation, the fight became much easier for him. In less than two rounds, this student found Ye Jun’s flaws and slapped him to the ground. Ye Jun lay there convulsing, his life hanging in the balance.

“The dean’s lecture was truly amazing…”

Seeing yet another person pass the assessment, become a combat teacher, and even knock out the assessor, the many students of Hongyuan Academy felt their confidence surge. If they had harbored any doubts about the dean’s lecture before, they were now completely and utterly convinced, accepting it wholeheartedly! The strength of Chu Jian, Zhu Xi, Zhao Chuan, and others… as students in the same year, they knew it very well. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't even be a match for the top fifteen students of Cloud Void Academy, let alone defeating a combat teacher. Yet now, one by one, they were excelling, all because they had utilized the techniques explained by the dean… They simply couldn’t deny it.

“What in the world… Did they take some kind of forbidden pill?” Staring at the two combat teachers now lying on the ground, Zhuo Qingfeng felt like he was going crazy. One instance of the weak overcoming the strong could be attributed to talent, ability, or luck… Two could also be explained… But four in a row? That was simply beyond explanation! Their True Qi, strength, agility, reactions, and speed were clearly pitifully weak, yet as soon as they attacked, his combat teachers ended up on the ground… Had these guys been cheating? Could it truly be as they claimed, that listening to a half-hour lecture could produce such astonishing results? If that were true, then this classroom was simply terrifying!

“Dean Zhang, your students…” Unable to restrain himself any longer, Zhuo Qingfeng looked towards Zhang Xuan. Wu Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and Wu Ran also fixed their piercing gazes on him. They were equally bewildered and wanted to know what exactly had happened.

“Oh, earlier I gave them a half-hour lecture involving combat techniques. They might have gained some slight insight…” Zhang Xuan nodded with a look of helplessness. “It’s a pity these fellows only applied it superficially,” he lamented, “which truly pains me!”

He was indeed pained, as his lecture had been far too rushed. It was only half an hour; if he had been given another half hour for them to properly consolidate the knowledge, they wouldn’t have struggled so much, and the results might have been even better.

“Slight insight? Pains you?” Zhuo Qingfeng trembled. *This is just "some insight"?!* If they had fully grasped it, wouldn’t everyone in our Combat Teacher Hall be beaten to death by your people? We’ve assessed four… and four are now lying unconscious. How am I supposed to continue the assessment? *What’s the point of assessing?!* No matter how we assess, we’ll just lose! And the most crucial thing is… “pains me”? What pains you?! My combat teachers are all incapacitated, yet not a single one of your people is injured. What could possibly pain you?! If anyone should be pained, it’s me!