Chapter 961: All Passed

After an unknown period, Zhang Qingshan finally returned looking disheveled, his face bruised and arms swollen. Gone was his former high-spirited demeanor as the top student.

He had witnessed Chu Jian's strength yesterday. While his combat skills weren't weak, his true energy and physical strength were significantly lacking. Under normal circumstances, a boxing match against him, even using only half his strength, would have been an easy win.

Yet, he had been sent flying by a single punch, despite using all his strength... and the crucial point was, the other party hadn't even used their full power.

The more he thought about it, the more disheartened he felt. He then looked up at Dean Zhang, who was not far away and even younger than him, and a deep sense of admiration appeared on his face.

Such a dramatic change must be related to last night's lecture. It was as if a person had been completely transformed overnight... How profound must that course be?

He wasn't the only one who realized this; others did too, looking at the students of Hongyuan Academy with envy.

They used to be proud of gaining admission to the three major academies — Yunxu, Luoqing, and Qingzhu — believing them to be far superior to Hongyuan Academy. Now, however, they all felt that Hongyuan's students were the luckiest.

With such an exceptional dean, and the opportunity to attend his personal lectures, their future achievements would undoubtedly be limitless.

"Fortunately, our three major academies are very far apart," Wu Tianqiong said with a bitter smile, observing the expressions of the crowd. "Otherwise, I fear it wouldn't be long before all our students ran off to join his academy..."

"Indeed," Shen Pingchao added with a helpless look. "I used to believe that the rise and fall of an academy depended not on an individual, but on the collective strength of its students and the tireless efforts of numerous teachers... Only after seeing him did I realize that the efforts of many teachers amount to nothing; he alone is enough..."

"Back when humanity was ruled by the Spirit Faction and lived in misery," Wu Ran nodded, "Master Kong, with just one book, established the current human order... We thought that with more people and more teachers, the education would be better... Yet, he alone accomplished everything that needed to be done. This is probably the difference between a genius and a mediocrity!"

Regardless of whether this person's teaching had truly terrifying power that allowed for rapid strength improvement, it was undeniable that students like Chu Jian had undergone a transformation after attending his class. Countless observers admired Dean Zhang immensely.

The consequence of this was that if he gave the command, students from their own academies would very likely drop out en masse to join his institution.

For the three proud and prestigious academies to have fallen to such a state was truly disheartening to consider.

"The Combat Master Hall people are here..."

As the three deans were lamenting, they heard a hushed voice from the crowd. Turning to look, they indeed saw Zhuo Qingfeng and his group approaching.

After a night of recovery and treatment, although the injuries inflicted by Zheng Yang were completely healed, the combat masters' morale and demeanor were entirely different from when they first arrived yesterday.

Yesterday, they arrived with their heads held high, gazes unwavering, exuding immense arrogance, as if believing themselves unrivaled heroes under heaven.

Today, however, they all hung their heads, their faces full of shame, seemingly too embarrassed to face anyone.

It was no wonder. The Combat Master Hall was reputed to possess the continent's strongest fighting force, and those who could join were almost always geniuses among geniuses, the most powerful among master teachers.

They had initially thought their visit here was merely a formality, an opportunity to display their combat prowess, intimidate the students, and perhaps attract the secret admiration of female students. Instead, they failed to intimidate anyone and were repeatedly battered themselves, each spitting out several jin of blood—enough to circle the academy.

In the past, when the Combat Master Hall sent people to academies, it was always a show of force; but they, instead, found themselves in a "beaten-up" mode, and one without any resistance at that. The thought of it was deeply disheartening.

Sometimes they even wondered if they had come to the wrong place—they were from a Master Teacher Academy, but it seemed the others were the true combat masters.

"Everyone, there's no need to be discouraged," Zhuo Qingfeng said, seeing their low spirits as he took his seat. "True combat strength comes from daily cultivation and accumulation! While Hongyuan Academy's students are strong in combat techniques, they surely can't win against true masters with formidable power! With brute force, one can overcome all methods; as long as your power is strong, all techniques are in vain. If you can't defeat the opponent, it only means you haven't cultivated hard enough or your power isn't sufficient. You need to redouble your training when you return!"

"Yes!"

Hearing his words of comfort, everyone finally recovered from their internal gloom.

Indeed, with brute force, one could overcome all methods. As long as the power was sufficient, any technique was meaningless!

After a while, seeing that their spirits had lifted considerably, Zhuo Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at Zhang Xuan, who was not far away, and said, "Dean Zhang, shall the assessment begin now?"

With that, he took out the True Breath Stone and placed it on the elevated platform.

"Very well!" Zhang Xuan nodded, then asked again, "You said yesterday that if my students could achieve a 'two,' they would pass... Is that correct?"

"Correct!" Zhuo Qingfeng nodded.

Although a normal combat master assessment required a 'four' to pass, Hongyuan Academy's students had an exceptionally strong grasp of combat. Even with a 'two,' they could exhibit formidable combat power, meeting the standard for exceptional admission.

"Alright then, go on up!"

Zhang Xuan sighed in relief and waved his hand at the students.

The students nodded and formed a long line, walking towards the True Breath Stone nearby.

Chu Jian was first in line. He had tried it once yesterday and stood at the front today, curious to see if there was any change.

Approaching the True Breath Stone, he gently placed his palm on it, and his internal true energy and physical strength surged forth.

A line of text slowly appeared on the stone: "6.5!"

"This... How is this possible?"

"Wasn't it only 2.1 yesterday?"

"After one night of extra lessons, their true energy and physical strength have more than tripled... This isn't just extra tutoring; it's practically divine intervention!"

Seeing this number, everyone in the audience was stunned.

Yesterday, Chu Jian's score was only 2.1, but this morning it had reached 6.5... It made everyone wonder if they were seeing things.

Many combat masters swayed, almost on the verge of tears, as they all turned to look at Zhuo Qingfeng.

Didn't he just say that brute force could overcome all methods?

Didn't he say cultivation required daily accumulation?

In half an hour, their understanding of combat techniques surpassed what they had immersed themselves in for years; overnight, their true energy and physical strength surpassed what the combat masters had painstakingly cultivated every day...

"Not enough effort..." In front of Dean Zhang, effort meant nothing!

It wasn't even worth half a class...

"This must just be an isolated case. I don't believe everyone can become this powerful..." Zhuo Qingfeng muttered to himself, feeling depressed but trying to reassure himself. He then looked up again.

After Chu Jian completed his test, another student stepped forward, placed a palm on the stone, and a number appeared.

"6.1!"

The next student continued.

"6.3!"

"7.2!"

"5.9!"

"6.7..."

Soon, everyone became numb with shock, utterly bewildered.

They had initially thought Chu Jian was an anomaly, but now they realized... the entire group of students from the Master Teacher Academy had collectively improved.

Previously, the Combat Master Hall members were no match for them just based on their understanding of combat techniques and martial arts. Now, with their physical bodies and true energy even stronger than theirs, another fight would undoubtedly result in them being utterly crushed!

The newfound confidence that had just begun to build in the combat masters' hearts was shattered once again.

"When you're around our dean, you just have to accept the fact that you'll be constantly disheartened. You'll get used to it, you'll get used to it..." Elder Mi couldn't help but offer comfort.

"Indeed," Zhao Bingxu nodded. "Once you get used to it, you'll find that anything the dean does seems perfectly normal and expected!"

"..." Zhuo Qingfeng.

"..." The combat masters.

"..." The three deans.

"Just get used to it..."

What immense psychological pressure the elders and teachers of the Master Teacher Academy must endure! What kind of lives were they living?

After an unknown period of internal adjustment, Zhuo Qingfeng finally let out the frustration in his heart. He looked around and loudly announced, "After the assessment, all one hundred selected candidates from Hongyuan Academy have passed and officially become members of the Combat Master Hall!"

"Excellent!"

"We all passed!"

"One hundred people passing at once—this is absolutely unprecedented..."

Hearing that everyone passed, the audience erupted in an uproar, and the students of Hongyuan Academy were flushed with excitement.

Their academy had always been at the bottom of the combat master selections. In its nearly ten-thousand-year history, only 327 people had successfully passed, a number so meager it felt embarrassing to mention. Yet, this single assessment yielded one hundred successful candidates, more than triple the number from the other three major academies combined—something unimaginable before!

"Dean, we also want to be combat masters. Could you give us some special training?"

"Yes, the top 20 got this opportunity; we want to learn too, to make our combat power stronger, and maybe even try for a combat master assessment just for fun!"

"We beg the dean to give us a lecture..."

"It's just being a combat master, isn't it? As long as the dean lectures us, I believe everyone in our entire academy can pass..."

Before Zhuo Qingfeng could say more after his announcement, a clamor rose from the audience. Innumerable students looked at Zhang Xuan, their faces filled with excitement.

As classmates, they knew very well that the strength of the previous top 20 would normally make it impossible for them to pass the combat master assessment. Yet, after just two lectures from the dean, they had all succeeded...

If the top 20 received such a benefit, would attending a lecture also mean they had a chance to succeed?

One voice cried out, and numerous students could no longer hold back.

Although combat masters were a subdivision of master teachers, strong combat power was something countless cultivators aspired to.

Even if they didn't join the Combat Master Hall, enhancing their combat power to become a "killing weapon" and gaining an extra profession was something no one could refuse.

"This..."

Zhang Xuan was taken aback, not expecting everyone to think this way, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

"My lectures can indeed improve your combat power, but not everyone will achieve such significant progress," he explained. "If you truly want to attend, one class is no problem! However... whether you can pass the combat master assessment and become one of them still depends on Combat Master Zhuo. If he doesn't agree, even the strongest power will be in vain!"