Chapter 1159: Go for It!

"Heart-Tempering Bridge?"

Zhang Xuan, puzzled, turned to look. The speaker was a Six-Star Master Teacher like himself.

He was about forty years old, with a face full of weariness.

"Teacher Zhang is so young and already this strong. Because his strength has increased too quickly, his mental state has become his greatest weakness. Thus, Hall Master Gou has him train hard. Once he returns from this training, he plans to test himself and try to break his previous record."

The Six-Star Master Teacher explained.

Zhang Jiuxiao, not yet thirty, had already reached the peak of Saint Realm Tier 3, and his Master Teacher rank had reached Seven-Star. Because he came from the Saintly Zhang Family, he was flawless in every other aspect, with only his mental state being his greatest weakness.

For this reason, he had been training diligently these days, striving to break through as soon as possible.

"Ahem, I was asking about the Heart-Tempering Bridge..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

What he was curious about was what the Heart-Tempering Bridge was.

He didn't care about where this Zhang Jiuxiao was strong or weak.

If they ever really competed, he would just crush him. If one punch wasn't enough, he'd use two... There was no need to study the opponent's strengths and weaknesses in advance.

"The Heart-Tempering Bridge is a special artifact. When you walk into it, you endure immense pressure, which tests your mental state. Those with slightly weaker spirits will immediately be unable to hold on. The entire bridge has ten marks. Even Seven-Star peak Master Teachers find it hard to reach the end. Previously, Teacher Zhang only walked four marks. This time, as soon as he returns, he wants to test whether he has improved compared to before."

The Six-Star Master Teacher gave Zhang Xuan a strange look, but still explained in detail.

In the Qingyuan Empire, there was hardly any Master Teacher who didn't know about the Heart-Tempering Bridge. This person before him didn't care about who was challenging it, wasn't surprised by the number one prodigy, but instead cared about a bridge... Thinking about it left him speechless.

"Four marks?"

"Don't underestimate four marks. The record for those under thirty on the Heart-Tempering Bridge was set by Teacher Ye two thousand years ago. He only managed to hold out for three marks! Teacher Zhang, being able to hold out for four, is already very strong... However, Hall Master Gou has extremely high expectations of him and feels it's still not enough, which is why he has him train hard!"

The Six-Star Master Teacher said.

"Oh."

Zhang Xuan responded.

"You're not shocked?"

Seeing the young man's expression as if nothing had happened, the Six-Star Master Teacher felt a bit stifled and couldn't help asking.

If it were anyone else, hearing such a brilliant result, they would have been stunned beyond words long ago. But this person before me... doesn't feel a thing. Is he really clueless, or is he faking it?

"Stunned? Why should I be stunned? Didn't you say there are ten marks? Only four have been passed... Even if there's some improvement, it's just five or six—still a long way from perfection, isn't it?"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

This thing called state of mind... to be honest, he hadn't cultivated it much and truly couldn't appreciate the difficulty and pain of testing on the Heart-Tempering Bridge.

What were four marks, five marks? He had no concept at all. Since he had no concept, why should he be stunned?

"You..."

Hearing this, the six-star master teacher swayed, nearly spitting blood on the spot, and couldn't help explaining in detail.

"The Heart-Tempering Bridge—even master teachers at the peak of seven stars find it hard to reach the end... That is to say, even experts at the peak of Saint Domain Tier Four cannot do it. At Saint Domain Tier Four, the Primordial Spirit realm, the primordial spirit is powerful, and the state of mind naturally improves rapidly... Even they cannot reach ten marks. For you, Master Zhang, a Saint Domain Tier Three cultivator, to surpass four marks is already a terrifying achievement..."

"Oh!"

Zhang Xuan nodded: "So it's that impressive. Then... how should I react? Should I be stunned, or like those people, shout out madly?"

"Forget it..."

Seeing that the other still didn't understand, the six-star master teacher shook his head.

He really suspected whether this guy had stolen a master teacher's robe from somewhere... A proper master teacher, not even knowing about the Heart-Tempering Bridge, and not understanding that reaching four marks under thirty was such an achievement...

How impoverished must his knowledge be!

"Look, Master Zhang has broken through the fourth mark..."

"Ah, really, so amazing, I admire him even more..."

"No wonder he's an idol—with one move, he makes a stunning debut. Tears of excitement have soaked my pants..."

Just then, the surrounding screams grew louder.

Zhang Xuan and the six-star master teacher stopped talking and looked forward in unison.

On the Heart-Tempering Bridge, Zhang Jiuxiao had already approached the middle of the bridge. Although he looked strained, with cold sweat pouring from his forehead, he was indeed persevering.

"So these are the marks?"

Seeing the other exhausted like this, Zhang Xuan couldn't help looking at the bridge body and indeed saw red lines marked on it. This Zhang Jiuxiao had just passed the fourth line, and it seemed he was not far from the fifth.

"As expected of the number one genius, after spending less than a month in the Jibei Marsh, his mental state has grown so much. It's even possible for him to break through to the fifth mark!"

The six-star master couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"Jibei Marsh?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He hadn't been in Qingyuan City long, but he had already heard this place mentioned at least three or four times.

The ruthless man was there, the soul shaman was there... Why was this number one genius going there for training?

"Indeed! It's said that in the Jibei Marsh, there is a Ghost Cave that greatly aids one's mental state. Many masters visit it out of admiration. Master Zhang stayed there for less than a month, and his performance on the Heart-Tempering Bridge increased by one mark. It's highly likely he found that place!"

The six-star master was full of excitement.

"Ghost Cave? What's in there?"

Zhang Xuan was curious.

Things that could temper the mind were无非是 heart demons, illusions, various visualizations, and using physical pain to refine willpower... What was this Ghost Cave? It could rapidly improve one's mental state and attract countless masters?

"I haven't been there either, so I don't know. But I've heard there's a spring inside, shaped like an eye. If you look into it, you can see the thoughts arising in your mind. The longer you look, the more thoughts arise. As long as you follow the images reflected in the spring and slay these distracting thoughts, your mental state will become increasingly rounded and elevated..."

After thinking for a moment, the six-star master explained.

"A spring that can reflect thoughts?" Zhang Xuan's eyes widened.

"Yes. When I first heard about this, I couldn't believe it either. But after hearing it more often, it no longer seemed strange... However, this Ghost Cave is not fixed in one place; it moves. Even masters need luck to find it! This time, over twenty people went with Master Zhang, but only he experienced a surge in mental state... It seems the others didn't have that luck!"

The six-star master said.

"Oh!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

It seemed this so-called Jibei Marsh was indeed a strange place. After the assessment for seven-star master, if he had the chance, he would definitely go check it out.

"Look, it's already the fifth mark..."

As he was pondering, excited shouts continued around him, especially one particularly sharp voice.

Zhang Xuan turned to look and saw the millstone woman he had seen earlier, staring excitedly at the Heart-Tempering Bridge, as if she wanted to pounce on the person on the bridge and bear his children.

He looked up and saw that Zhang Jiuxiao on the bridge had already reached the fifth mark, but he seemed to have reached his limit, swaying constantly as if about to fall at any moment.

"He should be at the end..."

Zhang Xuan nodded to himself and was about to leave and pay no more attention, when he heard a displeased voice: "See the guest out!"

Immediately after, a door behind the bridge creaked open, and two men in armor walked out, looking disheveled.

"It's Master Wu!"

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

The voice was familiar; it was none other than Master Wu. It seemed he was in the room.

"Let's go over!"

There was nothing more to see here. Seeing that to get over there he had to cross the bridge, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate and stepped onto the bridge.

...

"Ah... hold on, hold on, I must hold on..."

On the bridge, Zhang Jiuxiao was sweating profusely, his vision blurry, and he kept roaring in his heart.

But no matter how he persisted, his spirit was exhausted, and he could no longer hold on.

"Forget it, I'll stop here..."

Just as he was about to give up, his spirit relaxing, he saw a young man in a six-star master's robe, whose cultivation could faintly be discerned as the peak of the Saint Realm Second Layer.

At that moment, he was walking gracefully from behind, came up to him, raised his fist to his chest, and nodded sincerely.

"Keep it up!"

Then, he leisurely continued along the bridge...

For him, the Heart-Tempering Bridge assessment, which would cause others to lose consciousness from exhaustion, was as easy as taking a stroll...

"He walked ten marks... without any trouble?"

His mouth twitching, Zhang Jiuxiao stood there, completely dumbfounded.

Not just him, the audience below also fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The six-star master who had spoken earlier stared wide-eyed, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

The millstone buttocks also stopped wiggling, its mouth gaping even wider than its rear...