Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"That's true." Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

Without undergoing the experience and fear from a life-and-death situation, it was difficult for one to sharpen their state of mind and maximize their fighting potential.

Zhang Xuan might not have cultivated for long, but a crucial reason why he was able to attain the fighting prowess he currently possessed was due to the numerous life-and-death situations he had been in. There was no expert who had become strong without paying the corresponding price for it.

Most master teachers were already skilled fighters themselves, and becoming a combat master meant being the cream of the crop among the master teachers. To be able to surpass the already powerful master teachers, it went without saying that one would have to put in much more effort than the others.

Just taking Zhang Xuan for example, in order to attempt to cultivate a higher-grade Origin Core, he had spent two whole months only to cultivate from Half-Saint primary stage to Half-Saint pinnacle. If it had been an ordinary Heaven's Path Divine Art, he would have already been a Saint realm expert by now.

This was the amount of effort and hard work that one would have to put in!

"May I know what form the Combat Master Selection will take? Have you heard any news about it?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"I am not too sure about the details, but the norm is to conduct an elimination tournament among the candidates; the top fifty will be selected to join the Combat Master Hall."

The rules of the selection might change each and every time, but the fundamental prerequisite to becoming a combat master would never change, and that was to possess fighting prowess superior to the other competitors!

Regardless of how, under the circumstances that one didn't utilize any special artifact or tamed beast, as long as one was able to defeat the other competitors of the same grade, one would be the ultimate victor.

"An elimination tournament…" Zhang Xuan nodded.

That was indeed the most straightforward and fairest way to sieve out the strongest ones among the candidates, but its flaw was also apparent as well—the lives of the candidates could potentially be put at risk.

In an important selection like this, there was no room for holding back. Candidates would be forced to use their full strength, and casualties were inevitable under such circumstances.

At this moment, Wo Tianqiong suddenly proposed with a smile, "Right, since the representatives from the Combat Master Hall have not arrived yet, why don't we have our candidates display their prowess so that they can prepare themselves for what is to come? This way, they should be able to keep their nerve in the selection later on and exert their greatest fighting prowess!"

"Indeed. This will also give them a glimpse into the strength of their competitors as well."

"It is important for master teachers to interact more with one another so that they can improve. If a person just keeps to themself, their worldly view will only be narrowed, thus limiting their growth!"

Shen Pingchao and Wu Ran nodded in agreement.

"That sounds good." With three of the principals expressing their approval for the matter, it wouldn't be good for Zhang Xuan to disagree.

Besides, this would be good for Hongyuan's candidates as well. They would be able to prepare themselves mentally for what was to come.

Having received unanimous approval regarding the display of power, the principals swiftly issued several instructions to their teachers, and before long, hundreds of students with cultivation ranging from Consonant Spirit realm to Chrysalis realm emerged from the flying ship.

Just like the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, the other Master Teacher Academies had also selected twenty men for each of the five grades, meaning that there were a hundred candidates from each academy.

The emergence of the three hundred geniuses from the three other Master Teacher Academies put a huge amount of pressure on the students of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.

Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan began assessing them carefully.

Each of them had compact muscles, and their zhenqi was rich and condensed. They were definitely qualified to be considered experts among those of their cultivation realm.

"School Head Mo, bring our candidates over," Zhang Xuan instructed.

School Head Mo nodded, and not too long later, the hundred candidates the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy had chosen appeared in the training grounds.

This was the first time Zhang Xuan had seen the candidates of his academy, and comparing them to the candidates from the other academies, he couldn't help but shake his head.

The candidates from Hongyuan were of the same age range and cultivation realms as the other candidates, but in terms of disposition and richness of zhenqi, it was clear that they were lacking.

If they were to really fight in an elimination tournament, it was highly likely that only a pitifully small number of them would be able to clear the selection.

It was no wonder even the Ten Great Master Teachers themselves had forgotten about a matter as major as the Combat Master Selection before, needing the reminder of the Golden Origin Cauldron. It seemed like the Combat Master Selection was indeed nothing much to the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, and on the contrary, it could even be considered a source of shame that no one was willing to speak about.

As time passed, everyone had eventually forgotten about the matter.

"I am a Grade-1 student from the Yunxu Master Teacher Academy, Wei Chang!"

As the four hundred students participating in the Combat Master Selection settled down before a dueling platform, a student from the Yunxu Master Teacher Academy leaped onto the stage, and with a jerk of his arm, a powerful aura burst into the air. Perhaps due to the immense amount of zhenqi gushing through his acupoints, a whistling sound could be heard from his body.

Despite only possessing the cultivation of Consonant Spirit realm, he commanded an aura that felt as though he could pierce through the heaven.

"Powerful!"

"Indeed! With such strength, there are probably very few Grade-2 students who can rival him…"

"I definitely wouldn't be a match for him at all…"

"Formidable! As expected of Yunxu, which is ranked first among the Four Great Master Teacher Academies, their students are indeed extraordinary!"

…

Seeing Wei Chang's display of power, the Grade-1 students beneath the dueling platform couldn't help but show grim expressions.

Despite being at Consonant Spirit realm too, the other party's strength was clearly far beyond theirs. Putting aside Grade-1 students like them, even Grade-2 students, Cosmos Bridge realm cultivators, would struggle to be a match for him.

Just that single move had managed to strike fear in their hearts.

Seeing this sight, Zhang Xuan frowned.

There seemed to be nothing wrong with the display of power, but this could easily create undue mental pressure on the relatively weaker Hongyuan candidates.

It seemed like the other principals were trying to vie back some dignity after the fall.

"I am a Grade-1 student from the Luoqing Master Teacher Academy, Zhang Lin…"

"I am a Grade-1 student from the Qingzhu Master Teacher Academy…"

…

Soon, all of the Grade-1 students of the other three Master Teacher Academies had made their round on the dueling platform. Even though their cultivation was only at Consonant Spirit realm, the aura and disposition they exuded revealed a hint of the immense fighting prowess they could potentially display.

There were a couple who possessed unique constitutions, which easily granted them a might far greater than their peers when activated. They weren't lacking even when compared to Wang Ying and the others when they had still been at Consonant Spirit realm.

On the other hand, the candidates from Hongyuan were truly unimpressive in comparison. Not only were their physical conditions beneath that of their opponents, even their comprehension of battle techniques was vastly inferior as well. If they were to fight the other candidates in a duel, it wouldn't matter much if they lost, but if things went wrong, they could stand to be severely injured.

Of the twenty Grade-1 students selected, there were only one or two who could still stand their ground against the others. The rest stood no chance at all.

But that was to be expected. It must have been at least three months since the other academies selected their candidates, and on the long journey to Hongyuan, they would have received the personal guidance from a 7-star master teacher as well. It would have been difficult for them to not have raised their fighting prowess in such a situation.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan had only returned from Xuanyuan Kingdom not too long ago, and this was his first time meeting Hongyuan's candidates, leaving him no chance to offer them his guidance. Given so, how could Hongyuan's candidates possibly match up to the others?

Even if School Head Zhao, School Head Mo, and the others had guided them personally, limited by their eye of discernment and knowledge, their impartation would still be unable to match up to a 7-star master teacher.

This… How can we win this? Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples in distress.

Even before the selection had begun, the confidence of Hongyuan's candidates had already been shattered to bits. Given their current state, they probably wouldn't last several blows from their opponents in the duel later on.

After which, the Grade-2, Grade-3, Grade-4, and Grade-5 candidates headed up to display their strength, and the fighting prowess that Hongyuan's candidates displayed was truly unsatisfactory.

Of the Four Great Master Teacher Academies, the candidates from Yunxu were the strongest. Each and every one of them was capable of challenging opponents beyond their cultivation, making them difficult adversaries to face.

If only Xue Zhenyang, Long Cangyue, and the others hadn't achieved a breakthrough.

He had offered his personal guidance to them, and after the duel they had with Wu Xu, their fighting prowess had soared significantly. If they were to be participate in the Combat Master Selection as well, there was a very good chance that they would have been able to win some slots for the Grade-5 class. However, it was a pity that they had already achieved a breakthrough to Half-Saint, thus losing the qualification to do so.

Zhang Xuan did conduct lectures for the Xuanxuan Faction from time to time, but as freshmen, their starting point was too low. Compared to the other seniors who had been in the academy for some time, their fighting prowess was still lacking.

This was also the reason none of them had cleared the internal selections.

After watching the power display, Wu Ran remarked with a frown, "Principal Zhang, it doesn't look too good for your candidates."

As a 7-star master teacher, it was apparent to him that the candidates from Hongyuan were considerably weaker than those from the other three academies.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for Hongyuan to obtain a decent number of slots.

"Un." Zhang Xuan shook his head. Turning to Wo Tianqiong and the others, he asked, "Since the representatives from the Combat Master Hall have yet to arrive, may I make use of this time to impart some combats insights to my candidates first?"

"You wish to conduct a lecture for your candidates now?" Hearing his words, Wo Tianqiong and the others were taken aback.

It was not to say that a last-minute impartation would be completely useless, but considering that the representatives of the Combat Master Hall were going to arrive in two hours' time, according to the news they had received, its effectiveness would be minimal at most!

"That's right." Zhang Xuan nodded.

Considering the current condition of Hongyuan's candidates, if he didn't do anything, even if the number of candidates that the Combat Master Hall accepted was increased to two hundred or three hundred, most of their candidates would still be unable to clear the selection.

Thus, the only thing he could do was impart some combat insights to them and hope that it would aid them in the duels to come.

After a moment of hesitation, Wu Ran couldn't help but offer some advice. "Principal Zhang, there is no rule forbidding you from offering pointers to your candidates at this point, but if you lecture them now, I fear that it might confuse them and lower their fighting prowess instead!"

The fact that these students had cleared the internal selection to become candidates for the Combat Master Selection meant that they possessed extraordinary aptitude for battle, and they had already forged their own fighting style.

If Zhang Xuan were to attempt to correct their faults, it could mess up their fighting style, resulting in their moves becoming chaotic, thus lowering their fighting prowess instead.

Knowing that Wu Ran was advising him out of goodwill, Zhang Xuan replied with a smile, "I understand, but I still need to give it a try."

After which, he gathered the hundred candidates from Hongyuan and set up a barrier to isolate the area, preventing anyone from peering in or hearing what was happening inside, before turning to face them.

Gazing intently at the candidates, Zhang Xuan asked, "Are there any of you who are reluctant to become a combat master?"

Being a combat master had its pluses, but there were still quite a number of master teachers whose interests lay not in that direction.

"No!"

The crowd shook their heads.

Since they had participated in the internal selection and cleared it, they would have already long made up their minds.

"Good. Since all of you intend to become combat masters, you are going to have to raise your fighting prowess to greater heights."

Seeing that there was no one who was reluctant to become a combat master, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes and said, "I will teach you a few insights and tricks that can raise your fighting prowess and grasp of battle swiftly. I hope that you can work hard and try to comprehend them."

At this point, it was already too late to reinforce their cultivation further. Since it was impossible to work on their cultivation, the only viable option was to raise their comprehension of battle techniques and grasp of battle.

"Yes!" Upon learning that their principal was going to guide them personally, the eyes of the students couldn't help but light up.

The confidence that had extinguished after witnessing the might of the candidates of the other academies had also reignited.

They could still recall the huge commotion that had arisen from the public lecture their principal had made during his inauguration ceremony. Back then, his lecture had extremely been general so that it was applicable to teachers and students alike in the academy, but even so, it had still had such tremendous effects.

Now that they were receiving the other party's guidance directly, what kind of effects would there be?

Just the thought of it left them trembling in anticipation.

Seeing the passionate eyes on him, Zhang Xuan knew that they were ready to learn. Without any hesitation, he began his lecture.

"The crux of battle techniques lie in refining one's exertion of zhenqi, maximizing the strength one is able to display. As such, if one wishes to further the prowess of their battle technique, they must possess a pure state of mind that will drive them forward courageously…"