Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove

Top-notch blacksmiths were invited to create the puppets in the Puppet Hall and infuse spirit into them. The moves and cultivation technique of the two puppets were calibrated to the same level, making it difficult for one to defeat the other in battle.

Under usual circumstances, the examinees are only able to grant a slight advantage to one of the puppets so that it can defeat the other.

Yet, this fellow got the puppet to bash the other puppet's head out... How in the world did he do it?

Wu shi, Mo Hongyi, and a few other master teachers walked to the door in a hurry and peered inside. Their eyes narrowed immediately, and they nearly fainted.

They saw the blue puppet lying on the floor with its head was lying a great distance from its body.

For the red puppet to smash through the blue puppet's head, they thought that it should have suffered some kind of severe injury in exchange for this fatal blow. However, after glancing at the red puppet, they realized that they were wrong.

The red puppet stood motionless on the spot, and there wasn't a single scratch on it.

Without incurring the slightest injury, it was able to knock the other puppet's head off...

The heck!

How in the world did it happen?

In a normal battle, such a situation was only possible if a person's cultivation was way above the other’s.

With just a simple guidance, he was able to raise the red puppet's strength exponentially to subdue the other puppet so overwhelmingly?

Why does it feel like a dream?

"You said that you took a long time trying to fix it... How many blows did the red puppet take before defeating the blue puppet?" Mo Hongyi asked.

It was the matter he was most concerned about.

Hearing his words, everyone pricked their ears up immediately, afraid that they might miss a single word he was about to say.

"How many moves? Given the immense strength of the red puppet, a single blow was more than enough. If it were to execute a few more moves, the blue puppet would have become a meat paste by now..." Zhang Xuan was speechless.

What do you mean by how many blows? The blue puppet didn't even manage to survive the first blow. If the red puppet were to release any more blows, wouldn't it become completely wrecked?

"One blow..."

Mo Hongyi, Jiang Chen, and the others' vision went gray, and their bodies swayed violently.

They thought that their feats of seventeen blows and twenty-five blows were incredible, but to think that this fellow required only a single blow...

With a single blow, not only did he allow one of the two equally powerful puppets to subdue the other, he even managed to knock off the other puppet’s head... Is he still a human?

More importantly... What is with your look of disdain?

Under guidance from other examinees, the puppets usually had to exchange numerous blows before the battle could come to an end. Yet, with your advice, the red puppet crippled the blue with a single strike...

"This... Pardon me, but for the red puppet to destroy the blue with a single blow... how did you do it?"

Wu shi couldn't hold it back any longer, and he asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Every single master teacher here had been through this Puppet Hall test, and they knew that the two puppets were of absolutely equal strength. In a normal battle, it would already be considered an incredible feat for one side to defeat the other in just a dozen blows, needless to say, in a single blow.

This was precisely the reason why he couldn't understand how this was possible.

Mo Yu looked at him in doubt as well. She had just taken the examination a few days ago, and it took her twenty-two blows before she succeeded. Thus, she was also curious to know what method Zhang laoshi utilized.

Hearing the question, Zhang Xuan was stunned for a short moment before he replied casually, "It's simple! The red puppet possesses extraordinary strength whereas the blue puppet is exceptionally swift. In a normal battle, it would be difficult for either side to defeat the other. However, it becomes a simple matter once you realize the flaw in the blue puppet's movement. No matter how fast it is, it can't possibly remain in a state of constant motion! By predicting the location it would stop at and then instructing the red on where to land its strike, the latter would be able to subdue the former easily..."

"Predicting?"

"Foresee the other party's location?"

Everyone present trembled

Zhang Xuan's theory sounded simple, but it was extremely difficult to carry out in practice.

Everyone knew that with a 10000 ding strength, even a Zongshi can be defeated with a single blow. However... even though everyone knew that it was true, it would be useless if one isn’t able to exert that strength.

Similarly, the method that Zhang Xuan spoke of sounded simple, but a battle changes every single moment. A lapse of judgment in a tenth or even a hundredth of a breath could very well spell failure, and if things go wrong, the other party might even be able to make use of this lapse in judgment to retaliate.

Predicting the other party's location so that the red puppet could strike off the blue's head with a single punch...

To do this, not only must one possess absolute grasp over the flow of the battle, one must know about the strength, physical condition, speed of the movements and punches of the two puppets, so on and so forth!

Only after knowing all of these can one issue a precise command to achieve such a feat...

The heck!

Brother, are you actually a 3-star master teacher feigning as a 1-star master teacher candidate to play with us?

Ling Xiaoxiao's slender body trembled so violently that it seemed as if she was about to fall to the ground convulsing.

When she met the other party a day ago, she thought that he was an ignorant apprentice. Only at this moment did she realize that he was actually a hidden monster!

Despite being so ignorant, you are able to fare so well in the examination... You monster... Where in the world did you pop out from?

She felt an extremely stifling sensation in her chest. If not for her holding herself back, she would have long spurted blood all over the room.

"About this... I shouldn't need to pay, right?"

After explaining himself, everyone in the room fell dead silent. Zhang Xuan nervously pointed to the puppet on the floor.

"The Puppet Hall possesses the ability of self-recovery. After a few days of rest, the puppet will become as good as new!"

Snapping back to reality from his shock, Wu shi nodded.

"That's good..." Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. "Then... Is this considered as a pass?"

"Of course!" Wu shi smiled bitterly.

The others rolled their eyes as well.

With your guidance, the red puppet wrecked the blue puppet with a single move. If you do not pass, who else can?

The next test is Cultivation Technique Ocean!"

Holding back his dismal, Wu shi started to explain the content of the next examination. "The Cultivation Technique Ocean possesses countless cultivation techniques, and a book is chosen at random and one has to conduct a lecture on its contents. During the lecture, one will not only be judged by numerous master teachers, but by the Whilom Sage Bell as well!"

"The Whilom Sage Bell is a spiritual treasure which has the comprehension, that past sages had over cultivation techniques, imprinted within. If the examinee is unable to satisfy its requirements, it will not chime, and he will be considered to have failed! The more chimes there are, the more accurate and precise one's lecture is indicated to be."

Zhang Xuan nodded his head.

"Alright, you may enter now. Master teachers, please follow me in. As for the others, I will have to request you to remain outside!"

Surveying the surroundings, Wu shi said.

The fourth test, Cultivation Technique Ocean, requires master teachers to be present to serve as examiners. Outsiders do not possess the qualifications to participate in the test.

"Yes!" Everyone answered simultaneously.

Pushing the door open, Zhang Xuan walked into the room.

The Cultivation Technique Ocean was similar to an ordinary classroom, and the primary objective of the test was to assess a master teacher's ability to conduct lessons.

No matter how incredible a master teacher is and how good his pointers are, if he is inept at lecturing, he would only serve a good private tutor, and would not be considered a good teacher.

An excellent teacher should have students all over the world, and every student under his tutelage should be an expert.

It isn't anything impressive to produce just one or two good students.

Surveying the interior of the room, there were two rows of large, magnificent bells hung on the two sides of the room. Every single one of these bells was around the height of a human, and there were unique and profound inscriptions on them.

There were tables and chairs in the center, and they were arranged neatly like in an ordinary classroom.

More than ten master teachers walked entered and took their seats.

At this moment, they were just students, and there was only one teacher, Zhang Xuan.

Once the crowd sat down, the doors closed and the room became quiet immediately.

Hu!

The lecture table trembled for a moment and a book slowly appeared.

"This is the secret manual taken at random from the library. You have an incense stick’s worth of time to read through it before conducting a lesson! The Whilom Sage Bell will analyze the content of your lecture, and we will make our own judgment as well. The final verdict of whether you pass or not will be based on both the input from us and the Whilom Sage Bell."

Upon seeing the book appear, Wu shi explained.

The Whilom Sage Bell was left behind by a 4-star master teacher, and contained within was his understanding toward cultivation techniques, battle techniques, as well as their merits and demerits. As long as the content of one's lesson was aligned with the concepts infused within it, one would gain the recognition of the Whilom Sage Bell. On the other hand, if one's lecture turned out to be full of mistakes, the bell wouldn't chime.

Even though it sounded complicated, it was actually similar to the Supporting Occupation Pavilion test.

In the Supporting Occupation Pavilion, the accuracy of the examinees' guidance was reflected in their score whereas over here, it was reflected through the chiming of bells.

"Un!" After hearing Wu shi's explanation, Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand and picked up the book before him.

"Undulating Water Ripple Palm?" Numerous eyes fell on the cover of the book.

It was a battle technique.

"Undulating Water Ripple Palm? Seems like his luck isn't good. This is one of the most profound battle techniques in the Master Teacher Pavilion used for the purpose of this test!"

"That's right. The more profound the technique is, the more difficult it is to decipher and explain. In the several millennia that the kingdom's Master Teacher Pavilion has been established, there were eight examinees who had managed to pick this book, and out of them, seven left disappointed. The remaining one had also managed to only touch on the surface of the battle technique and barely passed!"

"Even if he were to pass this test by luck, it is unlikely that his results would be as good as those before..."

...

Upon seeing the name on the book, the master teachers seated below shook their heads, and looks of pity flashed across their faces.

The Cultivation Technique Ocean picked cultivation techniques and battle techniques at random, so luck played a part as well.

If one is lucky, he would manage to pick an easy book or a technique that he has seen before. If so, it would be much easy to explain and decipher. However, if one were to pick a difficult technique which he finds hard to even practice, how can he possibly give a lecture about it?

It was apparent that this Zhang Xuan's luck wasn't too good.

This Undulating Water Ripple Palm might not be the toughest battle technique to learn in the entire Master Teacher Pavilion, but it wasn't too far from it.

Innumerable cultivators had tried learning it and they put in great effort, only to end in failure. It was nigh impossible to obtain a sufficient understanding of the entire technique in just an incense's time.

Oblivious to the thoughts in the crowd below, Zhang Xuan flipped open the book casually, browsed through it briefly, and nodded his head.

Even though this secret art seemed to be profound, it was nonetheless within the scope of a Tongxuan realm cultivation.

Having cultivated the Heaven's Path Spear Art, Heaven's Path Movement Art, and such, he had gained a deep understanding of battle techniques. As long as it was within his level, no matter how profound or difficult it was, he would be able to see through the intentions the creator had in mind when creating the technique and from there, identify the correct cultivation method.

Having been trained by the Library of Heaven's Path, Zhang Xuan's eyes became extraordinarily sharp. Many times, even without resorting to the Library of Heaven's Path, he was able to discern a thing or two in a person's cultivation technique and enlighten them.

It was just like after coming into contact with a genuine money note, even if one hadn't seen a fake money note, with a single touch, one would still able to discern whether it was real.

Heaven's Path Divine Art and the various battle techniques borne from the Library of Heaven's Path stood at the very pinnacle of cultivation. Standing right at the peak, it was extremely easy for Zhang Xuan to look down and pinpoint the problems in other techniques.

"Alright, I'll start my lecture..." Several dozen of breaths later, Zhang Xuan was done browsing through the secret manual and he placed it on the table casually.

"Zhang laoshi, there's no need for you to rush. You have an incense's time to analyze it carefully..." Seeing that Zhang Xuan was about to start the lecture after browsing through the book once, Wu shi couldn't help but advise him.

"There's no need for it!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It was instead a waste of time for him to browse through such a simple battle technique once more.

Scanning the crowd, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to dawdle any longer and began immediately. "Undulating Water Ripple Palm may sound like a water attribute palm technique, and many perceive the technique as such when practicing it. However... this is wrong!"

"Wrong?" The crowd was taken aback.

Zhang Xuan continued, "Actually, what the name, Undulating Water Ripple Palm, means is that after mastering the technique, one's attack will be just like ripples, striking one after another ceaselessly! This technique has nothing to do with the water attribute..."

Zhang Xuan offhandedly raised the common problems that a cultivator would face with the technique, as well as the correct training method.

"This..."

"To think that this would be the case, I didn't expect it at all..."

"So that's the case! I am enlightened!"

...

His explanations left everyone flushed and trembling in agitation

Those present were all master teachers, and naturally, they possessed the capability to deduce whether his explanations were correct or erroneous. Initially, all of them assumed that this palm technique was a water attribute technique. Never in their dreams did they expect themselves to be so sorely mistaken.

After analyzing the technique from another angle, the incredibly technique from before seemed to be just like a beautiful lady who was fully stripped; demystified.

"There is indeed a great difference between us..."

After hearing the explanation, Mo Yu glanced at the young man on the stage with a complex gaze.

She had seen this Undulating Water Ripple Palm before, and her understanding of the technique was no different from what the others believed. She never thought that the technique could also be interpreted in such a manner.

After hearing the other party's explanation, she felt that her understanding of battle techniques had been too shallow.

"Incredible..."

Mo Hongyi clenched his fists tightly.

Even though he didn't want to admit it, he felt that the other party's explanation was flawless.

"This person will probably be my greatest rival..." Narrowing his eyes, a strong fighting spirit had been ignited within Mo Hongyi.

As an unparalleled genius in Tianwu Kingdom, he had never met any equals. To have met a person who was tied with him, or had even surpassed him, had ignited his fighting spirit.

"Looks like it's time for me to take the 2-star master teacher examination!"

Exhaling fully, Mo Hongyi harrumphed coldly.

In actual fact, given his cultivation, he could have taken the 2-star master teacher examination. However, he chose to delay it so that he could improve himself and break all of the records in the Master Teacher Pavilion in a single go. However, after seeing Zhang Xuan's outstanding performance, he felt that if he didn't pick up his pace, he might be soon be overtaken by the other party.

...

Every master teacher present had their own thoughts, but one thing they had in common was that they felt impressed by the young man before them. On the other hand, the crowd outside was anxious to know the results.

"I wonder how his results would be!"

Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes were fixated on the fourth door. If she could, she would have dived right in at this very instant.

"The result of the Cultivation Technique Ocean is closely tied with the chiming of the Whilom Sage Bell. A single chime means a pass, two chimes means good, three chimes means excellent, four chimes means outstanding, five chimes means that there are no flaws in the person's comprehension of the technique, and six chimes mean a perfect score!"

The Zongshi guard behind her said. "The record holder for this test is Mo Hongyi with four chimes. Back then, he astounded many with this feat. If Zhang Xuan wants to outdo him, he must achieve a result of at least five chimes!"

"Five chimes? How can it be that easy? It is too difficult to browse through a battle technique and understand it fully within an incense's time."

"I heard that when Mo Hongyi took the examination, he was lucky enough to pick a battle technique which he happened to have seen before, allowing him to explain the technique in depth. I doubt that this fellow can be as lucky as him!"

Hearing the duo’s conversation, the crowd shook their heads. They didn't think well of Zhang Xuan.

Everyone wants to score well in examinations, but how is it possible that one ace every single subject?

He might have been formidable in the past few stages, but they didn't believe that he could do the same for this stage.

Dang!

Everyone was still immersed in their discussions when the ground suddenly trembled, and a deep and loud chime resounded.

The Whilom Sage Bell rang!

"How many chimes will there be?"

Everyone held their breaths as they gazed at the door in uniformity.