Hualala!
In the quiet room, the sound of flowing tea could be heard, reminiscent of a clear spring in the mountains, nourishing all living beings.
Hall Master Xing placed the teapot down and filled it with water.
"Good tea! It's no wonder why it can be sold at such a high price!"
Taking a sip, Elder Qi nodded.
He had bought this Cloudmist Tea back from Hongyuan Empire, and he had thought that it was expensive back then. However, only after tasting it did he realize that it was a bargain.
"It's indeed not bad."
Hall Master Xing nodded in agreement.
After three days of consolidation, his cultivation had become even more powerful. Be it his state of mind or his Primordial Spirit, they had all improved tremendously.
From the looks of it, he would be able to face his lightning tribulation soon.
"Elder Qi, how has your cultivation been going?"
Hall Master Xing looked at the elder before him and asked.
"The cultivation formations of the Combat Master Hall are indeed formidable. In just three short days, I have managed to reinforce my Half-Leaving Aperture realm cultivation."
Elder Qi stroked his beard.
He had to admit that the cultivation facilities of the Combat Master Hall were indeed superior. If it had been anywhere else, it would have taken him several months to reinforce his Half-Leaving Aperture realm. Yet, in the Combat Master Hall, he had managed to do so in just three days.
Even though he was still some way off from reinforcing his cultivation, he had already gotten used to the strength he wielded.
"Elder Qi sure has a deep foundation. No matter how good the formation is, it would still be useless against him." Hall Master Xing nodded.
The formation was only a supporting factor in one's cultivation. What was more important was the individual.
Having been through life and death, Elder Qi's Soul Depth had reached an even higher level. In fact, Hall Master Xing even suspected that he would be able to clear the Soul Depth Trial easily.
"How is Sun shi doing?"
Elder Qi asked, not wanting to continue on this topic.
Over the past three days, he had been wanting to express his gratitude to his benefactor, but to his dismay, he realized that the other party had been cultivating even harder than him.
"Sun shi is indeed a genius!"
Hearing the question, Hall Master Xing recalled the reports he had received over the past two days, and his eyes lit up in excitement.
"Genius?"
"Un. He went to the Fist Division first, and there's a Fist Strength Measuring Rock there. I believe you should have heard of it before," Hall Master Xing said.
Elder Qi nodded.
The Fist Strength Measuring Rock was no secret in the Qingyuan Empire, and many people who wished to test their fist strength would head there to borrow it.
It was a Sanctuary-level treasure that could accurately test a person's understanding and strength of fist techniques.
"On the Strength Measuring Rock, the record for Saint 2-dan was left behind by Combat Master Wang Ce eight thousand years ago. He was born with incredible strength, and he cultivated the Art of Collapsing Oceans as well as the strongest defensive secret art in the world. Both his zhenqi and physical body were unbelievably powerful, and he had tempered his fist strength over and over again. Yet, even so, he was only able to score 18 points. On the other hand, Sun shi only cultivated for two hours and broke the record, achieving 88 points... "
With a bitter smile on his face, Hall Master Xing felt as if he had seen a monster.
Other people broke the record by one or two minutes at most, but this person broke the record by several times …
This was forcing others into a dead end.
"88 points?"
The corner of Old Qi's mouth twitched.
"Yes, seeing such a high score, I went to ask him if he had used all his strength … He said, he said …"
Hall Master Xing shook his head.
"What did he say?"
"He said that a score of 88 would be the best, and he felt that it was an auspicious number. He has been a little poor recently, so he wanted to make things easier for himself in the future," Hall Master Xing said.
"…" Elder Qi.
"After leaving the Fist Division, he went to the Palm Division!"
After a long moment of silence, Hall Master Xing continued, "There are a total of eighteen palm arts in the Combat Master Hall. They are either yin, soft, hard, or ferocious. If one comprehended a palm art and faced a puppet, the entire passageway was guarded by eighteen puppets, making it nigh impossible for one to pass. After entering the passageway, he opened all of the seals and used a single palm strike to subdue all eighteen puppets. In total, it took him less than ten breaths!"
"A single palm strike?"
Elder Qi widened his eyes in shock.
"Indeed. More importantly, the palm arts he used corresponded perfectly with the puppets, without the slightest deviation. In other words, in just ten breaths, he managed to change eighteen different palm arts!"
Hall Master Xing said.
"H-how is this possible?" Elder Qi's body trembled.
The palm was the most agile part of the human body, and as such, it was one of the most complicated techniques one could employ in a battle. Forceful and soft were two different types of energy, and if one were to forcefully change between them, one could easily be injured. Yet, the other party was able to change eighteen different palm arts in a single breath, and in just ten breaths at that … How in the world did he do it?
Was his body made of metal, such that he was immune to the backlash of his strength?
If he had been in Elder Qi's shoes, his meridians would have long been torn apart.
"That's even more unlikely. You should know of the Defense Division, right?" Hall Master Xing asked.
"Of course I do. The Defense Division is known as the Copper Hammer of Heavenly Smiths. It's capable of analyzing the weaknesses of one's body and tempering it. By striking the 1296 acupoints of one's body, one will be able to strengthen one's defense.
Elder Qi nodded.
In the Combat Master Hall, the Weapon Division was known as the spear to kill while the Defense Division was known as the meat shield.
Those who had cultivated the Copper Hammer of Heavenly Smiths were known as the vanguard of the Combat Master Hall. Putting aside arrows, even Saint-tier weapons would not be able to leave a mark on them. They were practically unkillable cockroaches.
"Indeed. The Copper Hammer of Heavenly Smiths is a Saint intermediate-tier artifact, and it's extremely effective in tempering one's physical body. Ordinary combat masters wouldn't even be able to withstand it for a minute, and even I couldn't withstand it for more than five minutes. Sun shi entered the Copper Hammer of Heavenly Smiths and was struck by it.
"He … fell asleep!" Hall Master Xing slapped his forehead.
"Fell asleep?" Elder Qi nearly spurted blood.
"That's right … I felt that the strikes were simply too comfortable, so I fell into a deep sleep. If not for the fact that I was worried that he would be in danger, I forcefully pulled him out of the Copper Hammer of Heavenly Smiths.
Hall Master Xing shook his head helplessly.
Back then, when he saw the other party drooling in his sleep, he nearly fainted from fright.
Yet, the other party actually treated the strikes as a massage and completely relaxed his body … Just the thought of it left him spurting blood.
"After he woke up, he headed to the Footwork Division. There are a total of 122 hidden stakes in the Movement Technique Passageway. As long as one steps into one of them, one will be triggered, and a dense barrage of attacks will be shot out, making it difficult for one to dodge them. The further one advances, the more complicated and difficult the attacks become! "
Hall Master Xing said.
Elder Qi nodded.
He had heard of the matter regarding the Footwork Division as well.
The Ten Combat Master Halls were existences that struck fear in the hearts of all in Qingyuan City.
This was especially so for the Footwork Division, where one's reflexes, speed, and awareness were crucial. As long as one failed to meet any of the requirements, one could very well be eliminated on the spot.
"Before entering the Footwork Division, I warned Sun shi about the difficulty of the Footwork Division, but he didn't touch any of the hidden pillars at all. Left with no choice, I activated the hidden pillars, and the entire passageway was filled with hidden weapons. Even after two more rounds, he still didn't touch a single one …"
Hall Master Xing slapped his forehead. "Only then did I realize that he was simply too fast. He was so fast that the hidden pillars couldn't even react in time."
"Even the hidden pillars couldn't react in time?"
Elder Qi staggered.
The hidden pillars were controlled by a formation, and they would be activated as soon as they were touched. Yet, to be unable to react in time … just how fast could he be?
If he were to make a move at such speed, even with his current strength, he would probably be killed without even realizing it!
"Indeed!"
The more Hall Master Xing spoke, the more bitter his smile became.
As the head of the Combat Master Hall, he had always thought that he was a genius. As long as he worked hard, he would surely be able to achieve unimaginable feats.
But after meeting Sun shi, he realized that he was nothing more than a weakling.
He couldn't even be considered as trash.
The other party had spent less than four hours in each of the divisions, and yet, the accomplishments he had achieved were something that no one in the history of the Combat Master Hall had been able to match up to.
It was no longer possible to describe him with just the word 'genius'. Even the word 'monster' was no longer befitting of him.
After hearing the other party's introduction, Elder Qi's mouth widened in shock.
He had thought that even if Sun shi had made any progress, it would be insignificant. Who could have thought that he would cause such a huge uproar?
"It seems like you have chosen the right person. It shouldn't be too much of a problem for you to deal with that huge trouble …"
Elder Qi remarked after a long moment of silence.
In the past few days, he had come to understand what the other party meant by 'huge trouble'. To think that a student organization from a Tier-1 Empire would be able to force their Combat Master Hall into such a state. It had to be said that Zhang Xuan did have some means up his sleeves.
Even though he hadn't met the other party before, he knew that the other party's strength wasn't to be underestimated.
"Indeed. I was still doubting whether Sun shi would be able to defeat that Zhang Xuan, but from the looks of it now, even if Zhang Xuan was twice as powerful, he still wouldn't be a match for Sun shi."
After venting the shock in his heart, Hall Master Xing felt much better, and he chuckled softly.
He had still been a little worried previously, but after witnessing Sun shi's incredible prowess, all of his worries had vanished.
If he couldn't even defeat a 6-star master teacher from a Tier-1 Empire, there was really no need for the Combat Master Hall to exist anymore.
"That's good. I would also like to see Sun shi display his might and defeat the invincible legend of the Hongyuan Empire! "
Elder Qi nodded with a smile.
"Looking at the time, it should be about time for the members of the Xuanxuan Faction to arrive. I'll invite Sun shi over right now."
Hall Master Xing took a look at the surroundings before standing up.
It had been three days since the duel, and it was about time for the other party to arrive at the Combat Master Hall.
Even though the Xuanxuan Faction was a little troublesome to deal with, they wouldn't be afraid of challenging them.
"Alright, I'll go with you."
Elder Qi stood up as well, and the two of them walked out of the room.
Shortly after they walked out of the room, Division Head Liao walked up to them.
"Where's Sun shi?"
Seeing Division Head Liao walking over alone, Hall Master Xing frowned.
"He … said that it's still early, so he left for the Soul Division!"
Division Head Liao said.
"Soul Division?" Hall Master Xing's face warped in horror. "The one in charge of the Soul Division is the Saint 4-dan Chrysoprase Soul Beast that the Combat Master Hall invited over at a hefty price!"
"Chrysoprase Soul Beast?" Elder Qi was taken aback. "That fellow's soul is innately powerful, and it's very easy for him to knock one unconscious. Are you worried that Sun shi might be attacked by the Chrysoprase Soul Beast?"
"That's not it. I'm worried that he might have tamed the Chrysoprase Soul Beast," Hall Master Xing replied anxiously.
"…" Elder Qi.
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