"If I'm not mistaken, the two of them should be combat masters, right?"
Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan finally felt the exhaustion coursing through his body.
While it might seem like he had won the battle easily, in truth, he had been so focused that even the slightest mistake had left him feeling completely drained.
"To possess such fighting prowess at such a young age, and given that their master teacher robes are slightly different from ours, they should be …"
Dong Xin nodded in agreement.
She had read quite a few books, so she knew how fearsome the occupation of combat master was. She hadn't thought too much about it before, but with Zhang Xuan's reminder, she immediately came to a realization.
These two could really be the real deal!
Otherwise, in a duel between master teachers, there were many supporting occupations, and it was rare for them to compete directly in terms of cultivation.
"Combat master?"
The others glanced at one another before nodding in agreement.
Perhaps, only the legendary master teachers with the greatest fighting prowess would possess such strength!
Despite facing four opponents of the same cultivation realm, they were still able to put them in a difficult position.
Recalling something, Hu Yaoyao turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, "Since Zhang Shi was able to defeat even combat masters so easily, doesn't that mean that he has met the requirements of a combat master as well?"
"Easy?" Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "He went easy on me. Otherwise … it would have been hard to say whether I would have won or not!"
In the eyes of others, he had won easily, but that wasn't the case at all!
"Went easy on you?" The crowd was perplexed.
You were using a straw while the other party was using a Spirit pinnacle sword. After exchanging so many blows, the other party didn't even retaliate at all. How could he possibly have gone easy on you?
"If I had used a Spirit pinnacle sword this time, the outcome of the duel would still have been uncertain! Given how prideful the other party is, there's no way he would have taken advantage of a superior weapon, thus limiting the execution of his swordsmanship. On top of that, I intentionally severed the wooden log so as to leave a sharp impression on his zhenqi … That was the reason why he was forced to retreat. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to emerge victorious! "
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Even though the duel seemed to be a battle of moves, in truth, it was already a psychological battle.
"I see …"
Only then did the crowd come to a realization.
Originally, they didn't care about the wild grass, but when Zhang Shi's hand fell, the round wood that was as thick as a bowl was instantly chopped off. This move made their hearts palpitate.
It was probably the same for Lu Cheng. That was why he didn't dare to come into contact with the wild grass, causing him to lose the initiative in one move.
"Forget it, let's not think too much about it. This is the Scarlet Firefly Fruit. Adjust your condition and consume it as soon as possible so that I can break through my bottleneck before I return!"
After regulating his breathing for a moment, Zhang Xuan felt that his body had recovered. With a flick of his wrist, he took out the Scarlet Firefly Fruit.
"Zhang Shi … really got it?"
"Why is it in your hands?"
Everyone blinked their eyes in disbelief.
They had been standing guard outside the cave all this time. They had personally seen Lu Cheng and Wu Xu rush in before returning in disappointment. They had never seen Zhang Shi enter … How did the Scarlet Firefly Fruits end up in his hands?
"I found another entrance behind the valley and snuck in ahead of time!"
Zhang Xuan said casually.
Since he couldn't reveal the matter regarding his soul, he could only use other excuses. As for whether there was another entrance to the cave, since he had already obtained the Scarlet Firefly Fruit, no one would bother to verify it.
"Incredible …"
Everyone was filled with awe and praise.
To think that they would be so lucky as to invite him over.
Flicking his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out four gourds of Earth Vein Spirit Essence and passed them over. "Here is a gourd of Earth Vein Spirit Essence. Everyone, take a gourd. Recover your stamina and start pushing for a breakthrough to Half-Saint!"
These four gourds were much smaller than the one he sold to Wu Xu, but if they were filled to the brim with Earth Vein Spirit Essence, they would definitely be worth more than the Origin Heavy Water.
"This …"
"Thank you, Zhang Shi!"
The young man before them had just sold a gourd of Earth Vein Spirit Essence to them, and they knew that it was worth more than fifty high-tier spirit stones. To think that he would give it to them directly …
This was a favor that they would never be able to repay!
Knowing that they would have to live up to the other party's expectations if they succeeded in their breakthrough, the four of them were filled with fighting spirit.
Gugugugu!
With the Byzantium Helios Beast and Jin Yuan Ding guarding the area, they didn't have to worry about anyone interfering. Thus, the four of them sat on the ground and began cultivating.
Six hours later, they were in their peak condition, and they began consuming the Scarlet Firefly Fruit.
As expected of a saint pill that could raise the chances of a breakthrough to Half-Saint. After consuming it, Hu Yaoyao's spirit immediately grew stronger, and her soul became clearer. Having received Zhang Xuan's guidance, Hu Yaoyao was the first to achieve a breakthrough.
After her was Dong Xin.
After the incident at the Elder Hall, this young lady's mind had become much more resolute than before. Following closely behind, she also achieved a breakthrough to Half-Saint.
After her was Xue Zhenyang. Having listened to the fundamental knowledge imparted to him by Wang Ying and the others, his cultivation was much more stable. Even though he was only ranked third among the group, his cultivation was much more stable.
While the three of them succeeded, Long Cangyue wasn't as lucky.
After four consecutive breakthroughs, he felt extremely fatigued. He knew that if he were to attempt another breakthrough today, his cultivation would go berserk. Thus, he could only stop and sigh in despair.
There shouldn't have been any difference between the four leaders of the Great Master Teacher Societies. Yet, three of them had managed to achieve a breakthrough while he was the only one who couldn't.
"The three of them are either Zhang Shi's apprentices, grand-disciple, or grand-disciple, and great-grand-disciple. As for me … due to my overthinking and arrogance, I haven't gotten close to them …"
Long Cangyue shook his head bitterly.
Hu Yaoyao and the others were more or less related to Zhang Shi, and they had all received his guidance or favor. On the other hand … due to his worries, he didn't have much interaction with the other party. As a result … he was unable to achieve a breakthrough!
If only he had known that this would happen, he would have tried his best to get closer to the other party.
"What you lack isn't strength, but confidence! Unlike Xue Zhenyang, you tend to be overly cautious. As a result, your breakthrough to Half-Saint is inferior to the others! "
Seeing through Long Cangyue's thoughts, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
If one were to say that he didn't affect the others' breakthroughs, he did.
His explanation of the cultivation technique and the problems that he faced were straight to the heart of the matter. If one were to cultivate according to his method, it would indeed be easier for them to achieve a breakthrough.
However, breaking through to Half-Saint wasn't just a matter of one's cultivation. More importantly, one's mental fortitude and temperament were crucial as well.
Hu Yaoyao was resolute in her decisions, and Dong Xin had become more resilient after the incident with the Elder Hall. On the other hand, Xue Zhenyang had always been a courageous person. On the other hand, Long Cangyue was indecisive, and he tended to overthink things. As a result, it was hard for him to succeed.
"Zhang Shi is right!"
Long Cangyue's eyes lit up. Coming to a realization, he sat down cross-legged and frowned deeply.
Succeed or die trying!
Hong long long!
Driving the zhenqi in his body, a frenzied aura gushed into his mind.
After an unknown period of time, the bottleneck above him began to loosen, and eventually, it collapsed.
He had reached Half-Saint!
"Incredible!"
Standing by the side, the Byzantium Helios Beast and Jin Yuan Ding couldn't help but feel impressed by their master's guidance.
Even though their master wasn't too old, his comprehension of cultivation and human nature had already reached an unfathomable level. He was able to accurately point out the crux of the matter.
More importantly … he never held back when guiding others. Regardless of whether the other party was his opponent or not, he was still magnanimous. This magnanimity was sufficient to win the respect of countless master teachers.
"Thank you, Zhang Shi!"
After achieving a breakthrough to Half-Saint, Long Cangyue no longer had the arrogance of the past. He kowtowed to Zhang Xuan sincerely.
"Let's return!"
Since they had already achieved their goal, there was no need for them to remain here any longer. Stepping onto the back of the Byzantium Helios Beast, they flew back to Hongyuan City.
…
After leaving the valley, Lu Cheng and Wu Xu came to a halt.
"Brother Lu, did you not use your full strength earlier?"
Wu Xu was still a little taken aback by the earlier battle. Along the way, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.
He knew very well how powerful Brother Lu was, and the other party had already lost before he could even execute his strongest moves … Clearly, the other party had gone easy on him earlier!
"Didn't use my full strength?"
Shaking his head, Lu Cheng couldn't take it any longer. His body staggered, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth.
"Brother Lu …"
Not expecting the other party to be so severely injured, Wu Xu hurriedly found a place to sit down and fed him a pill. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief. "Brother Lu, you …"
"I didn't use many of my strongest moves. It's not that I didn't want to use them, but … I couldn't!"
Recovering slightly, Brother Lu shook his head.
"Couldn't use your strongest moves?" Wu Xu was perplexed.
"Yes, he used a piece of straw. It looked like he was looking down on me, making it inconvenient for me to clash head-on with him. But in reality, every single one of his sword moves struck my weak points with incomparable accuracy! As a result, I was unable to circulate my zhenqi properly … I was unable to execute my strongest moves! "
Brother Lu said with a bitter smile. Even though the duel had already ended, the thought of the other party's eye of discernment couldn't help but narrow his eyes in astonishment.
It was not that he didn't want to execute his strongest moves, but … with his zhenqi being severed by the other party, he couldn't execute his strongest moves at all.
It was as if a river had been intercepted, preventing it from flowing smoothly. How could it possibly cause a flood?
"Unable to circulate your zhenqi properly?" Wu Xu was taken aback.
"That's right. That Zhang Shi isn't just powerful in his ability to challenge those of higher cultivation realms, his eye of discernment is even more fearsome. It's as if he has a complete understanding of my moves, able to see through my flaws with just a single glance. Actually, I knew that I had lost from the very first move, so the remaining hundred moves were only because he was going easy on me!"
Brother Lu shook his head.
"Going easy on you? How is that possible? "
Wu Xu couldn't believe it.
He was well aware of his good friend's strength, but to lose in a single move … Why didn't he feel that the other party was going easy on him?
"You don't believe me? Allow me to tell you then! Previously, I was severely injured by the Byzantium Helios Beast and that cauldron. Even though I had two hours to recuperate, I still haven't fully recovered yet … You should be aware of this, right? "
Brother Lu said.
"Un!" Wu Xu nodded.
He had been present when the other party was pummeling him, so how could he not be aware of it?
"I used a secret art to suppress my injuries. Since we share the same origin, I believe that you should know of this secret art as well!"
Brother Lu continued.
"It's … the secret art that Elder Hu Bo left behind, the Hu Bo Recovery Art!" Wu Xu replied.
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